A controversial proposal to cut federal financial aid money from colleges that repeatedly raise tuition, such as UW-Madison, will not be part of a proposed bill, Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., the bill's sponsor, announced this week.
McKeon's bill had originally included a provision which would penalize colleges and universities that raise tuition at double the rate of inflation for three consecutive years. It was initially discussed last March and was introduced in October as part of the Higher Education Act.
UW-Madison would have been one of the institutions affected by this bill, according to the American Council on Education.
The bill \sent a strong message to colleges and universities that more must be done to reign in the cost of tuition and fees,"" McKeon said in a statement. He said there is currently a positive trend of institutions working to lower costs, but will put the provision back in the bill if this trend does not continue.
McKeon cited the American Association of State Colleges and Universities as an organization whose efforts had convinced him to drop the provision. The organization had opposed the provision, AASCU spokesperson Heather Berg said.
""Part of our argument was that it's going to hurt the students, not the institutions, because they still have to come up with that money,"" Berg said.
AASCU's efforts to persuade the congressman to reconsider his proposal included sending college presidents to testify before McKeon's committee about affordability and tuition, Berg said.
She added public colleges and universities often have little control over tuition costs due to funding cuts from state legislatures and strains on resources from increasing enrollment.
""[Public institutions] can't operate without the funds from the state government, so they're all just trying to find an answer there,"" Berg said.
Berg said she did not know of current specific trends in lowering tuition such as those to which McKeon alluded.
Vartan Djihanian, McKeon's spokesperson, would not comment on the removal of the provision or reasons behind it.
McKeon said in the statement he believes removing the more controversial and publicized measure will bring focus to other parts of his bill, including a measure which would make fee-hiking colleges explain factors behind the cost increase and plans to reduce costs.
