U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., introduced legislation to incentivize colleges to expand access for low-income students and increase graduation rates for all students.
 
The Access Success and Persistence In Reshaping Education Act, or ASPIRE Act for short, will spur some of the nation’s more selective institutions to improve access for low-income students and will devote resources to help boost completion rates at institutions that serve disproportionately high numbers of low-income students.
 
“Accessing quality, affordable higher education should be part of the American dream for those who choose to pursue it,” said Senator Isakson, a member of the Senate education committee. “We’re working to even the playing field to make sure that’s a reality for students of all economic backgrounds at every college and university in the country. We’re modeling this new initiative after schools such as Georgia State University and Georgia Tech, among others, who have opened their doors to more students while offering innovative ways to make tuition more affordable and creating a path to success for its students.”
 
Specifically, the ASPIRE Act gives more selective colleges with lower numbers of low-income students four years to boost low-income student enrollment or pay a fee to participate in the federal college loan program. High-access, low-performing colleges would have the option to get up to $8 million over five years to improve student outcomes. These resources – which are generated through the fees collected from schools that do not improve low-income student enrollment and will not come from new taxpayer dollars – will come with a requirement that the school meet new bare-minimum completion standards, applicable to all four-year institutions choosing to participate in federal financial aid programs.
 
The bill also rewards institutions that are already on the right track when it comes to access and completion by making additional competitive funding available for completion efforts, with priority for minority-serving institutions. Finally, it enables institutions that are performing well on access and completion to apply for non-financial rewards, such as bonus points in federal competitive grants or a reduced regulatory burden.
 
In Georgia, Isakson looked at schools that have found low-cost, effective ways to graduate more students without lowering academic standards, such as Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Georgia State University offers “Panther grants” and a student advising system that have allowed helped the school completely eliminate the achievement gap between Pell-eligible and non-Pell students. Georgia Tech’s G. Wayne Clough Georgia Tech Promise program has allowed qualified students from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend Georgia Tech without the need to take on debt.
 
Isakson introduced the ASPIRE Act with U.S. Senator Chris Coons, D-Del. It is backed by a wide variety of stakeholders, including Historically Black College and University associations, education think tanks and university presidents.