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Publication
Date: December 1, 2006
FRPart:
Page Numbers: 69556-69557
Summary: Notice of
upcoming hearing; Advisory Commission on Student Financial Assistance
Posted on 12-01-2006
[Federal Register:
December 1, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 231)]
[Notices]
[Page 69556-69557]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01de06-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Advisory Committee Student Financial Assistance: Hearing
AGENCY: Advisory Commission on Student Financial Assistance, Education.
ACTION: Notice of upcoming hearing.
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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a
forthcoming hearing of the Advisory Committee on Student FinancialAssistance
(The Advisory Committee). Individuals who will needaccommodations for
a disability in order to attend the hearing (i.e.,interpreting services,
assistive listening devices, and/or materials in alternative format) should
notify the Advisory Committee no later thanMonday, December 11, 2006,
by contacting Ms. Hope Gray at (202) 219-2099 or via e-mail at Hope.Gray@ed.gov.
We will attempt to meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee
availability of therequested accommodation. The hearing site is accessible
to individuals with disabilities. This notice also describes the functions
of the Advisory Committee. Notice of this hearing is required under Section
10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This document is intended
to notify the general public.
DATES: Monday, December 18, 2006, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at
approximately 3:30 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The University of Illinois at Chicago, Student Service Building,
Conference Room B/C, 1200 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, IL60611.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Erin B. Renner, Director of Government
Relations or Ms. Julie J. Johnson, Assistant Director, Advisory Committee
on Student Financial Assistance, Capitol Place, 80 F Street, NW., Suite
413, Washington, DC 20202-7582, (202) 219-2099.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Committee on Student Financial
Assistance is established under Section 491 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 as amended by Public Law 100-50 (20 U.S.C. 1098). The Advisory
Committee serves as an independent source of advice and counsel to the
Congress and the Secretary of Education on student financial aidpolicy.
Since its inception, the congressional mandate requires the Advisory Committee
to conduct objectives, nonpartisan, and independent analyses on important
aspects of the student assistance programs under Title IV of the Higher
Education Act, and to make recommendations that will result in the maintenance
of access to postsecondary education forlow- and middle-income students.
In addition, Congress expanded the Advisory Committee's mission in the
Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to include several important areas:
access, Title IV modernization, distance education, and early information
and needs assessment.
Specifically, the Advisory Committee is to review, monitor and evaluate
the Department of Education's progress in these areas and report recommended
improvements to Congress and the Secretary.
The Advisory Committee has scheduled the hearing on Monday, December
18 in Chicago, IL, to conduct activities related to its congressionally
requested study to make textbooks more affordable (Textbook Study). This
one-year study, which was requested by members of the Education and the
Workforce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, will investigate
further the problem of rising textbook prices; determine the impact of
rising textbook prices on students' ability to afford a postsecondary
education; and make recommendations to Congress, the Secretary, and other
stakeholders on what can be done to make textbooks more affordable for
students. Over the course of the study, the Committee will conduct three
field hearings that will include testimony from stakeholders around the
country who are currently working to make textbooks more affordable for
students.
The proposed agenda includes expert testimony and discussions by
prominent higher education community leaders, state representatives, and
institutions who will share what they are doing to make textbooks more
affordable for students. The Advisory Committee will also conduct a roundtable
discussion among Advisory Committee members and panelists on its recently
released report on the impact of financial barriers on bachelor's degree
attainment, titled Mortgaging Our Future: How Financial Barriers to College
Undercut America's Global Competitiveness. This report can be accessed
at the following Web address: http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/mof.pdf.
The Advisory Committee invites the public to submit writtencomments
on the Textbook Study to the following e-mail address: ACSFA@ed.gov.
Information regarding the Textbook Study will also be available on the
Advisory Committee's Web site, http://www.ed.gov/ACSFA.
To be included in the hearing materials, we must receive your comments
on or before Monday, December 11, 2006; additional commentsshould be provided
to the Committee no later than January 29, 2007.Space for the hearing
is limited and you are encouraged to register early if you plan to attend.
You may register by sending an e-mail tothe following address: ACSFA@ed.gov
or Tracy.Deanna.Jones@ed.gov.
Please include your name, title, affiliation, complete address(including
internet and e-mail address, if available), and telephoneand fax numbers.
If you are unable to register electronically, you may fax your registration
information to the Advisory Committee staffoffice at (202) 219-3032. You
may also contact the Advisory Committee staffdirectly at (202) 219-2099.
The registration deadline is Monday,December 11, 2006.
Records are kept for Advisory Committee proceedings, and areavailable
for inspection at the Office of the Advisory Committee onStudent Financial
Assistance, Capitol Place, 80 F Street, NW.--Suite
413, Washington, DC from the hours of 9 am to 5:30 pm Monday throughFriday,
except Federal holidays. Information regarding the AdvisoryCommittee is
available on the Committee's Web site, http://www.ed.gov/ACSFA.
Dr. William J. Goggin,
Executive Director, Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.
[FR Doc. 06-9478 Filed 11-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-M
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