STUDENT ASSISTANCE HANDBOOK Guide to Financial Assistance for Education Beyond SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE UNITED STATES SENATE PREPARED BY EDUCATION AND PUBLIC WELFARE DIVISION NOVEMBER 1964 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 38-460 WASHINGTON 1964 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402 Price 50 cents JOINT FOREWORD The breakthrough in educational legislation which characterized the work of the 88th Congress was made possible in large part because of the spirit of consensus and conscionable compromise transcending partisan consideration which prevailed during the consideration of education bills. Areas of legislative agreement which were reached on higher education construction assistance, expansion of vocational education, library services and construction assistance, and National Defense Education Act programs all testify to this spirit. In the best interests of the Nation and the Nation's children, it is my hope that the same factors which have led to the success we have had in this Congress will continue to manifest themselves in future, as we take up and complete the unfinished work which remains. Certainly, one of our major objectives in the 89th Congress should be the provision of soundly based financial assistance to our young men and women who have the ability to profit from higher education but who lack the financial resources to undertake or complete college work. In order that our Education Subcommittee might have ready access to the factual situation which prevails with regard to the resources under other programs which are available to the potential college student, Senator Prouty and I last spring jointly requested the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress to make the study which follows. I know I speak for our entire subcommittee when I express our sincere appreciation and thanks for a job well done to Dr. Hugh L. Elsbree, the Director of the Legislative Reference Service, and his staff associates led by Miss Helen Miller. I also am personally greatly indebted to the gracious and distinguished junior Senator from Vermont for his unfailing courtesy, as ranking member of the minority on the subcommittee, in resolving the problems which we faced in our operations. I fully concur in his comments and share the sentiments which he has so well expressed in the concluding paragraphs which follow. WAYNE MORSE, Chairman, Education Subcommittee. How can I ever afford to send my children to college? This is a question that is heard more and more often these days and quite understandably so. During the last 30 years, college tuition costs have risen nearly 500 percent and the American Council on Education sees no relief in sight. Indeed, the council estimates that tuition will rise by another 50 percent in both private and public institutions over the next decade. A recent study discovered that 69 percent of parents interviewed expect to send their children to college, but 40 percent of these families feel that they cannot afford to do so. The Education Subcommittee, of which I am ranking Republican member, has become convinced that the cost of providing a college education places too heavy a burden on the average American family and the membership, working in a bipartisan spirit, has endeavored constantly to alleviate this major problem. We have provided substantial fund increases for the national defense student loan program and we have developed legislation designed to encourage part-time employment of college students from low-income families who need additional support in order to stay in college. Yet these programs, however worthy, are not adequate in themselves to remove the heavy load which the cost of higher education places on the mothers and fathers of this country. Recognizing this, the distinguished senior Senator from Oregon and I requested the Library of Congress to assist the Education Subcommittee in compiling a much-needed volume of information on possible sources of financial assistance for needy and talented young men and women who deserve but cannot afford a higher education. It is our hope, and indeed the hope of all members of the subcommittee, that this volume will reveal new vistas of opportunity that might not have been discovered without its publication. And we hope too that the volume will serve as a symbol of our belief that every young American should be given a fair chance to succeed. WINSTON L. PROUTY, Ranking Minority Member, Education Subcommittee. |