H.R. 6543 – Aim Higher Act

Summary: On September 19, 2018, PAEA submitted a letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and its Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development.

PAEA applauded the legislation’s provisions that would:

• Revive the Perkins loan program and protect Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Grad PLUS loans that serve as key financial avenues to accessing PA education
• Remove origination fees from the federal student loan repayment process
• Create incentives for students who wish to serve as faculty members at Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs)
• Develop opportunities to further facilitate the implementation of competency-based education
• Additionally, PAEA offered recommendations to improve aspects of the Aim Higher Act, such as:

Incorporating language to explicitly include PA students in the definition of “health professions students” as it relates to the determination of borrowing limits for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans
Revising sections of the Higher Education Act to expand the availability of funding opportunities dedicated to PA program development at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and HSIs