Dive Brief:
- Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), champion of simplified student aid forms and less regulation for higher education, is likely the next chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Alexander has talked about starting from scratch with the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, a process he would control as the committee's new chairman, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
- Deregulating higher ed would be his principal goal, Alexander told the Chronicle in an email.
Dive Insight:
Critics have some issues with the deregulation agenda. Oversimplifying financial aid could lead to less financial aid funding. Opposing U.S. Department of Education college ratings and gainful employment requirements could let for-profit colleges off the hook for the lousy student outcomes and mountains of student loan debt that they’ve been blamed for. Other critics say he would favor a liberal approach to college funding, providing higher ed with a lot of federal funding and few requirements about how it should be spent.