The Business Roundtable commended the U.S. Senate for introducing the Student Aid Improvement Act of 2019
The bill would expand the opportunity for more Americans to access higher education and workforce training programs. It would also provide mandatory funding for historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. Further, it would expand Pell Grants for students enrolled in short-term certificate programs and restore them for incarcerated individuals. It would also simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
“Business Roundtable supports the Student Aid Improvement Act of 2019, and its provisions have broad bipartisan support,” Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and CEO of IBM Corporation and chair of the Business Roundtable Education and Workforce Committee, said. “We welcome the extension of funding for HBCUs to underpin their central role of broadening opportunity in our communities. Many BRT members have partnerships with HBCUs to provide vitality and diversity in their hiring. With the expansion of Pell Grants for short-term certificates, the legislation takes an important first step on reforming higher education to better serve the jobs of the 21st century. We will continue to work with policymakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate to advance further reforms in higher education to expand opportunity and add pathways to the jobs of the future.”
The Business Roundtable is also urging Congress to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) with provisions that update the federal work-study program to focus more on work experiences that are tied to students’ programs of study. The Business Roundtable would also like to see provisions in the HEA that make post-secondary education more affordable.