Issue Briefs

About

The Higher Education Act of 1965  is organized into eight titles that determine the requirements that students and institutions must meet in order to participate in federal student aid and related higher education programs.

While all eight titles of the bill have an important impact on higher education, the biggest section of the bill, Tile IV Student Assistance, authorizes more than $130 billion a year in grants, loans, work-study and student support services to ensure low-income students have access to postsecondary education. Title IV authorizes Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study, Student Loans, TRIO and GEAR UP. Title IV also establishes the need analysis formula used to determine student eligibility for federal aid, administrative provisions for the student aid programs, and rules governing program integrity and accreditation.

In Congress, the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have jurisdiction over the HEA. For decades, major education legislation was reauthorized on a regular cycle every four to five years, allowing the Department of Education time to implement the statutory changes contained in each authorization.

In more recent years, a gridlocked Congress has been unable to agree on HEA changes, and the statute has not been fully reauthorized since 2008. Instead, changes are now made on a piecemeal basis. These changes have predominantly focused on amendments to the student aid and student loan programs, which have been altered six times over the last 18 years in four budget reconciliation bills and two omnibus appropriations bills. This new approach means that the student aid programs have been updated, but  other important parts of the legislation remain largely unchanged.  

NAICU's HEA Priorities

The vast majority of the policy work NAICU engages in is based on the HEA. Generally, these priorities are ensuring that students at private, nonprofit colleges and universities have equal access to federal student aid and that private colleges and universities are treated equitably in their participation in federal student aid and higher education programs. NAICU is deeply engaged in analysis of the HEA and its implementing regulations as bills move through the legislative process and laws are implemented at the Department of Education. NAICU also regularly activates its member presidents to contact Congress or the Department of Education on specific provisions of legislation or regulations as issues arise.

Summary of the HEA Titles

Below is a high-level description of each title of the HEA.

Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended, Government Printing Office, August 4, 2025)

Title I: General Provisions: definitions that apply throughout the law and institutional reporting requirements

• Part A: Definitions

• Part B: Additional General Provisions: authorization of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI); disclosures of foreign gifts; disclosures and reporting on campus issues

• Part C: Cost of Higher Education

• Part D: Administrative Provisions for Delivery of Student Financial Assistance

• Part E: Lender and Institution Requirements Related to Education Loans

Title II: Teacher Quality Enhancement: governs accountability for teacher preparation programs and provides for partnership grants between institutions, states, and teacher preparation programs.

Title III: Institutional Aid: originally called Strengthening Developing Institutions, this title provides support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and other Minority Serving Institutions

• Part A: Strengthening Institutions

• Part B: Strengthening HBCUs

• Part C: Endowment Challenge Grants

• Part D: HBCU Capital Financing

• Part E: Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program

• Part F: Strengthening HBCU and other Minority Serving Institutions

• Part G: General Provisions

Title IV: Student Assistance: the largest title of the bill, governing all the student aid programs and need analysis

• Part A: Grants to Students in Attendance at Institutions of Higher Education

  • Subpart 1: Federal Pell Grants

  • Subpart 2: Federal Early Outreach and Student Support Services Programs

    • Chapter 1: Federal TRIO Programs: the first TRIO program was created in 1964 as part of the Economic Opportunity Act

    • Chapter 2: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)

  • Subpart 3: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG)

  • [Subpart 4: Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP): the federal-state partnership has not been funded since FY 2011]

  • Subpart 5: Special Programs for Migrant Families

  • Subpart 6: Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships

  • Subpart 7: Child Care Access Means Parents in School

  • Subpart 9: TEACH Grants

  • Subpart 10: Scholarships for Veterans Dependents

• [Part B: Federal Family Education Loan Program: in 2008, all federal student loans became direct loans]

• Part C: Federal Work Study Programs, including work colleges

• Part D: William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program

• [Part E: Federal Perkins Loans: created in 1958 as the National Defense Student Loans, this campus-based loan program dissolved in 2017]

• Part F: Need Analysis: this part outlines the formula used to determine eligibility for financial aid

• Part G: General Provisions Relating to Student Assistance Programs: this part includes FAFSA, program participation agreements, articulation agreements, and other administrative sections

• Part H: Program Integrity: outlines the “triad” of federal, state, and institutional accountability for participation in the student aid programs

  • Subpart 1: State Role

  • Subpart 2: Accrediting Agency Recognition

  • Subpart 3: Eligibility and Certification Procedures

Title V: Developing Institutions: similar to Title III, this title addresses grants to institutions with high enrollment of Hispanic students

• Part A: Hispanic Serving Institutions

• Part B: General Provisions

Title VI: International Education Programs: created in 1958 as part of the National Defense Education Act, these programs promote foreign language instruction and global education

• Part A: International and Foreign Language Studies

• Part B: Business and International Education Programs

• Part C: Institute for International Public Policy

• Part D: General Provisions

Title VII: Graduate and Postsecondary Improvement Programs

• Part A: Graduate Education Programs

  • [Subpart 1: Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program: this program has not been funded since FY 2011]

  • Subpart 2: Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN)

  • Subpart 3: Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program

  • Subpart 4: Masters Degree Programs at HBCUs

  • Subpart 5: General Provisions

• Part B: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE): this part funds innovative pilot programs and houses congressionally directed spending for higher education programs

• Part D: Programs for Students with Disabilities

  • Subpart 1: Demonstration Projects to Support Postsecondary Faculty, Staff and Administrators in Educating Students with Disabilities

  • Subpart 2: Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities into Higher Education

  • Subpart 3: Commission on Accessible Materials

  • Subpart 4: National Technical Assistance Center

Title VIII: Additional Programs: many of these programs are authorized but have not been funded

• Part A: Project Grad

• Part B: Math and Science Scholars

• Part C: Business Workforce Partnerships for Job Skill Training in Higher Education

• Part D: Capacity for Nursing Students and Faculty

• Part E: American History for Freedom

• Part F: Teach for America

• Part G: Patsy T. Mink Fellowship Program

• Part H: Improving College Enrollment by Secondary Schools

• Part I: Early Childhood Education Professional Development and Career Task Force

• Part J: Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education with a Focus on Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Students

• Part K: Pilot Programs to Increase College Persistence and Success

• Part L: Student Safety and Campus Emergency Management

• Part M: Low Tuition

• Part N: Cooperative Education

• Part O: College Partnership Grants

• Part P: Jobs to Careers

• Part Q: Rural Development Grants for Rural-Serving Colleges and Universities

• Part R: Campus-Based Digital Theft Prevention

• Part S: Training for Realtime Writers

• Part T: Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success

• Part U: University Sustainability Programs

• Part V: Modeling and Simulation Programs

• Part W: Path to Success

• Part X: School of Veterinary Medicine Competitive Grant Program

• Part Y: Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment Demonstration Program

• Part Z: Henry Kuulaloha Giugni Kupuna Memorial Archives

• Part AA: Masters and Postbaccalaureate Programs