Higher Ed Roundup: Week of March 2 – March 6

Senate Omnibus Spending Bill Stalls

Ed Dept. Announces Finalists for ECASLA Servicer Contract

Higher Ed Watch Wins National Education Reporting Award

Senate Omnibus Spending Bill Stalls

Progress on a $410 billion omnibus spending bill that would finance federal government operations for the rest of the current fiscal year stalled on Thursday in part because of growing concerns over thousands of Congressional earmarks included in the legislation, many of which would go to colleges. The legislation is to cover appropriations for the 2009 federal fiscal year, which began back in October. All told, the bill includes $66.5 billion for the Department of Education, $5.3 billion more than last year’s appropriation. Included in that figure is $134 million in earmarks (starts here on page 161) for higher education under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)–$14 million more than last year’s bill. The measure includes a $3.1 billion increase in spending on Pell Grants over the 2008 fiscal year, as well as an additional $30 million for the federal GEAR UP and TRIO programs, which help prepare low-income middle-school and high-school students for college. (Our sister blog Ed Money Watch has more on the omnibus bill here.) Senate leaders are expected to try and bring the bill up for a final vote again next week.

Ed Dept. Announces Finalists for ECASLA Servicer Contract

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday six finalists for the contract to service loans sold to the government under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act (click here for a description of the programs). Those making the cut include the current direct loan servicer (ACS Education Solutions), three for-profit loan companies (Sallie Mae, Nelnet and Wells Fargo), and two nonprofit lenders/guaranty agencies (the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and Great Lakes Educational Loan Services). The Department has not said when or how many servicing winners it will choose, but the contract could be quite large if as many lenders end up selling their loans to the Department as is expected.

Higher Ed Watch Wins National Education Reporting Award

For second year in a row, Higher Ed Watch has won a national reporting award from the Education Writer’s Association. This year, the blog won a special citation in the education blog category for a series of posts we ran last year on the subprime private student loan scandal. The following are links to the prize-winning posts: Subprime Mess Reaches Higher Ed (1/30/08); Blind-Sided at Sallie Mae? (3/25/08); Missing Those Sweetheart Deals (4/10/08); Helicopter School’s Crash Leaves Students Grounded (4/16/08); Fueling Sham Trade Schools (5/1/08); A “Key” Development in the Case of Silver State Helicopters (6/17/08); Mailbag: Private Loan Borrowers Speak Out (9/25/08); A “Key” Reason Not to Bail Out Private Student Loan Providers (12/10/08); A “Key” Tactic to Undermine Consumer Protections” (12/11/08); Key Bank’s One-Two Punch (12/17/08).