On behalf of the students in our respective Universities, and for college students across the country, the Association of the Big Ten Students (ABTS) demands that the Congress of the United States reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) in a comprehensive beneficial way to students. The last time this Act was reauthorized was in 2008, over 10 years ago. The world was substantially different 10 years ago, and so are our Universities and students. As such, we demand that Congress take care to keep in mind what issues impacts students of today and make the appropriate updates and changes including: 

1). The simplification of the FAFSA and the removal of outdated questions concerning citizenship and drug conviction status. 

• Studies show that approximately 2 million Pell Grant eligible students do not receive aid because they did not fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). (https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2018-fafsa-study/
• The FAFSA has 108 questions on the form. (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/2019-20-completing-fafsa.pdf
• Over 1,000 students a year are not granted access to federal aid because of a drug-related conviction, which tends to disproportionately affect students of color.(https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/07/higher-ed-groups-want-end-student-aid-restriction-applicants-drug-convictions

2). The increase of Pell Grants funding. 

• In 1980 Pell Grants covered 69% of the costs associated with a college degree, but in 2011  Pell Grants only covered up to 34% of the cost of attending college. (http://www.coenet.org/files/publicationsReflections_on_Pell_June_2013.pdf

3). The addressing of issues relating to Title IX and the damaging changes the Department of Education has recently made that endangers students at Universities across the country.

• Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience sexual assault. (https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence

4). The providing of resources to campuses to address inadequate mental health services, and making statistics regarding mental health resources on campus more transparent. 

• Studies have reported 60% of  college students felt “overwhelming anxiety” over a 12-month period, with 40% of students feeling as if they were “so depressed they had difficulty functioning.” (https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHAII_Spring_2018_Reference_Group_Executive_Summary.pdf
• Mental health is the largest reason for students to drop out of college, with studies showing 64% of students say they dropped out for mental health reasons. (https://www.nami.org/getattachment/About-NAMI/Publications-Reports/Survey-Reports/CollegeStudens-Speak_A-Survey-Report-on-Mental-Health-NAMI-2012.pdf

Given all of this, we ask Congress to readily take up the task of modernizing, updating, and improving the Higher Education Act in a way that benefits college students across the country. 

Sincerely, 

The Executive Board of the Association of the Big Ten Students

The undersigned students of the Association of the Big Ten Students