News from NAICU

Washington, D.C., July 6, 2006—Americans overwhelmingly object to a proposed federal system for tracking each college student’s academic, financial aid, and enrollment information in a central database, according to poll results released today by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

A recently released (June 22) draft report by the U.S. Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education calls for the creation of a "national student unit record tracking system" to collect longitudinal data on college students. The proposal comes on the heels of a continued effort by officials at the U.S. Department of Education during the past two years to develop such a system, despite growing concern about invasion of student privacy. Such a system would substantially change the way the federal government collects higher education data. The department currently collects only aggregate data from institutions.

The survey found that:

• Sixty-two percent of the respondents oppose the proposed federal data collection effort, while 33 percent support it.
   
• By a factor of more than two to one (68 percent to 27 percent), Americans think that enough information is already collected at the college and university level. They believe that dredging for more data would be a breach of students’ privacy that could result in the misuse of their personal information.
   
• Sixty percent of Americans believe that collecting individual student data is costly, intrusive, and does not address a pressing public policy issue. Only 34 percent support the idea.

The survey of 1,000 American adults was conducted June 23-27 by Ipsos Public Affairs. Its margin error is +/- 3.1 percent.

As envisioned by supporters of the "student unit record tracking system," student information would be linked to individuals through a unique identifier. Opponents are concerned that the system could potentially be tied to information from the student’s high school and elementary records, and follow the individual into the workforce.

"It is ironic that we are considering such an assault on Americans’ privacy and security in the shadow of the Fourth of July, when we celebrate the American values of freedom and choice," said David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Rebecca Thompson, legislative director of the United States Student Association, said, "USSA feels that this is a massive invasion of student privacy. We fear that information in this proposed database could be used for purposes that are unrelated to higher education."

"The proposed student unit record database goes against the commission’s own goal of reducing the federal regulatory burden on higher education," said David Shi, president of Furman University.

Katherine Will, president of Gettysburg College, added that there is "no compelling need for this database. There is no clear case for public policy that would be informed by the information gathered."

Christopher Nelson, president of St. John’s College, called the student unit record database "an Orwellian proposal that would federalize higher education."

"What this poll tells us is that the proposal should be DOA. The public is opposed to it, and the House has already shown its opposition in the Higher Education Act. The commission would do well to reconsider its support for this idea," said Loren Anderson, president of Pacific Lutheran University.

Ralph Wagoner, president of the Lutheran Educational Conference of North America, said, "Supporters of the proposal say it will promote accountability. However, we are already held accountable through the accrediting process, existing federal and state regulations, our trustees, and, most important, by the marketplace."

"This is not a partisan issue," said Rolf Wegenke, president of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. "It is a matter of student privacy and the security of personal information."

More Information ...

• Survey Results
   
• A Response to NAICU's Critics
   
• Media Coverage
   
• Contact Information for the Press Conference Participants
   
• Summary of the Student Database Issue
   
• Call-in Number for Conference Replay: (866) 499-4547
   
• Press Conference Transcript

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Tony Pals

National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

202-739-0474 (office), 202-288-9333 (mobile), tony@naicu.edu

Heather Berg

American Association of State Colleges and Universities 202-478-4665 (office), bergh@aascu.org  

Democracy 101: National Initiative Aims  to Get More College Students to the Polls  

The National Campus Voter Registration Project launches nonpartisan Web site and guidebook for registering, educating,  and turning out student voters for the 2006 mid-term election  

WASHINGTON, DC—The 2004 presidential election marked a sharp reversal in voting patterns among college students, as they turned out in numbers not seen in 12 years. 

Unprecedented campus mobilization efforts, combined with deep student interest in several hot-button issues, raised turnout among 18- to 24-year-old college students by 11 percentage points over the 2000 presidential election. 

The 2004 election set a high bar for college students and their institutions. In that election, nearly 70 percent of 18- to 24-year-old college students registered to vote. Nearly 60 percent cast a ballot. Almost twice as many college students vote as do 18- to 24-year-olds who do not attend college.  

Observers have asked whether the sharp increase is an anomaly in a long decline in voting rates, or the start of a new upward trend. 

“A renewal in civic awareness and participation has taken hold in higher education in recent years,” said David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and co-chair of the National Campus Voter Registration Project. “In the last two presidential elections, students saw the difference that each individual vote can make. Today’s national issues—terrorism and homeland security, the war in Iraq, the nation’s financial future, and student aid funding—are issues of great concern to this ideologically diverse group. A surge of proactive, coordinated campus voter registration and turnout initiatives, most nonpartisan in nature, motivated millions of students to cast a ballot.  

“As the 2006 election approaches, college and university leaders are not resting on their laurels,” Warren said. “Participation in midterm elections is always lower than in presidential election years. Campus organizers will be focused on topping the 26 percent of students who turned out in 2002.” 

To help accomplish this, the National Campus Voter Registration Project, a joint effort of nearly 50 national higher education associations, is again making resources available to the nation’s 3,700 colleges and universities to aid campus efforts for the 2006 election. The National Campus Voter Registration Project is a nonpartisan, nationwide campaign to register college students, foster learning about the issues and candidates, and motivate students to go to the polls on Election Day. A record number of administrators, faculty, and students turnedto the project’s materials in 2004. 

This month, the National Campus Voter Project is distributing to every campus in the nation Your Vote, Your Voice, a comprehensive guide to developing and implementing a campus-based voter education and participation campaign. It is available online at www.YourVoteYourVoice.org. 

”Nurturing America's future leaders is the business of America.s colleges and universities,” Warren said. “Our students receive rigorous intellectual training, character development, and exposure to a world rich in new ideas. Just as important to us is fostering a strong sense of civic awareness and commitment in students of all political persuasions to regularly engage inparticipatory democracy.” 

Constantine Curris, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and co-chair of the initiative, added: “The deep commitment of America’s colleges and universities to preparing our students for citizenship has been matched by the energy and seriousness that this generation of college students brings to American civic life.” 

“If our democracy is to be sustained and strengthened, we must continue to educate students about their rights and responsibilities as citizens and foster their engagement in the electoral process,” Curris said.

(By a vote of 221 to 199, the House of Representatives today passed the Higher Education Act (HEA), H.R. 609. The bill moves on to the Senate.)

We appreciate the willingness of Chairman Buck McKeon and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to listen to the concerns of America’s private colleges and universities. The bill passed by the House today is a marked improvement over the one that came out of committee.

While the bill is not perfect, the progress made has opened the way for us to work together with Mr. McKeon and his Democratic counterpart Rep. Miller to seek further improvements in the legislation.

While flaws remain, significant improvements were made to the bill over the past week. The Republican Leadership agreed to support two amendments that (1) addressed our major policy problems with transfer of credit; (2) fully struck the states as accreditors language; and (3) removed the most egregious, but not all, enforcement mechanisms for federal price controls, although aspects of the reporting requirements that are troublesome still remain.

Although we do not endorse the bill, those improvements allowed NAICU to remove its vigorous opposition to the bill on the House floor.

In the past week, independent colleges around the nation voiced a number of concerns about the House bill. Principal among our concerns were provisions we believe establish inappropriate federal control over a private college's responsibility to set its own prices, and those that would allow states to become accreditors.

America's private colleges play an essential role in ensuring the diversity of choice that is the strength of American higher education. We look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to safeguard the diversity and quality of private higher education, by ensuring appropriate accountability to federal taxpayers without imposing inappropriate federal or state control.

WASHINGTON, D.C., — Clare Cotton, retired president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts (AICUM), has been selected by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) to receive the 2006 Henry Paley Memorial Award.  He will receive the award from NAICU President David L. Warren on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the NAICU Annual Meeting.  The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. 

Since 1985, the Paley Award has recognized an individual who, throughout his or her career, has unfailingly served the students and faculty of independent higher education.  The recipient of this award has set an example for all who would seek to advance educational opportunity in the United States.  The Paley Award is named for Henry Paley, president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities of New York from 1975 until 1984. 

“Clare Cotton is that increasingly rare figure in American higher education – a person who can take us out of arcane policy conversation to remind us of the larger truths at hand,” said NAICU President David L. Warren. “He does it in his signature style of humor and grace, with a large dose of wisdom.” 

For 17 years, Cotton served as president of AICUM.  In his second year in office, the state’s Gilbert Grants for independent students were targeted to be eliminated. Under Cotton’s leadership, the program was not only saved, but has grown into a major program with annual funding levels in the tens of millions of dollars. 

During the past decade, Cotton has risen to national prominence as an articulate voice for what American higher education is and should be. Congress – both mystified and angry about college cost – established the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education in 1997. Cotton was one of 11 appointees to this distinguished panel, where he immediately established himself as one of its leading figures. “His ability to understand and then explain complex matters of higher education economics added enormously to public understanding of this difficult policy issue,” Warren said.

With the recommendation of Sen. Edward Kennedy, in 2002 the Senate again tapped Cotton to serve on the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, created in 1986 to advise Congress on national higher education and student aid policy. Cotton was appointed committee chair in 2003. During his tenure, the committee has put forward innovative proposals in such diverse areas as streamlining the student aid application process, identifying future federal student aid eligibility for low-income students, and improving coordination of state, federal, and private student aid funds.  

Cotton also has served as a leading national voice for private higher education in his roles as chair of the National Association of Independent College and University State Executives (NAICUSE) and a member of the NAICU board of directors. In addition, he has served as a national negotiator for private colleges at numerous negotiated rulemaking sessions conducted by the U.S. Department of Education.  

“In recognition of his artful engagement with the thorniest of higher education issues over the years, his lucid insights into state and national policy and politics, and his extraordinary service to private higher education throughout his career, we are honored to present the 2006 Henry Paley Memorial Award to Clare Cotton,” said Warren. NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. 

With nearly 1,000 member institutions and associations nationwide, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  NAICU members enroll 85 percent of all students attending private institutions.  They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.    

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       

CONTACT: Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu

office: 202-739-0474     cell: 202-288-9333 

Rep. Phil English to Receive 2006 NAICU Award for Advocacy of Independent Higher Education 

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 3—Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) has been selected by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) to receive its 2005 Award for Advocacy of Independent Higher Education.  The award will be presented at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, at the NAICU annual meeting.  The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. 

The NAICU Advocacy Award was established in 1993 to recognize individuals outside of academe who have championed the cause of independent nonprofit higher education. Whether in government, business, or philanthropy, the winner of this award has provided leadership, established resources, or enacted policy at the state or national level that recognized the role of independent colleges and universities in serving public purposes.  No single contribution makes one eligible to receive the award.  Instead, it recognizes a lifetime of service, initiative, and determination. 

Since being elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, Rep. Phil English has been one of the strongest supporters of independent higher education in Congress.  One of the first bills he introduced after taking office was legislation to make college savings plans tax-free.  Over the course of his 10 years in office, he has continued to support tax incentives to increase access to college, provide relief to students and families, and reduce burdens after graduation. 

English and his staff have worked directly with the colleges in and around his congressional district for years, as well as working with NAICU on key issues important to our institutions.  Early last year he introduced the Higher Education Availability and Affordability Act, which would:  

• Expand the student loan interest deduction
• Increase allowable contributions to all types of education savings plans
• Allow scholarships and grants to be used for room and board expenses without tax penalties
• Expand allowable expenses under the Hope tax credit
• Make permanent all of the higher education incentives currently set to expire in 2011
• Permanently expand the tuition deduction for higher education expenses 

“Rep. English's steady and determined work has made college more affordable to millions of families across the nation,” said NAICU President David L. Warrren.  “America’s students, families, and colleges and universities are fortunate to have a champion like him on Capitol Hill.  We are honored to recognize his leadership and commitment to independent higher education.” NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. 

With nearly 1,000 member institutions and associations nationwide, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  NAICU members enroll 85 percent of all students attending private institutions.  They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.    

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