HBCU Coalition Principals in Attendance:
Ms. Edith Bartley (UNCF Government Affairs) Ms. Lezli Baskerville, Esq. (NAFEO President/CEO) Dr. William Harvey (President's HBCU Advisory Board Chair)* Dr. Michael Lomax (UNCF President/CEO) Mr. Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. (TMCF President/CEO)
Arne Duncan (Secretary of Education) Martha Kanter (Under Secretary of Education) Carmel Martin (Assistant Secretary of Education)* Jim Runcie (Chief Operation Officer, Office of Federal Student Aid)* Eric Waldo (Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of Education) John Wilson (Executive Director White House Initiative on HBCUs)
The Principals listed above for the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) met with Secretary Duncan and the above-listed Department of Education representatives to discuss the following three issues: (1) Parent Plus Loan Issue; (2) federal financial support of HBCUs; and (3) recent Department of Education press release/statement regarding the $228 million award to HBCUs.
The HBCU Coalition, with President Lomax leading the discussion on this issue, shared with the Secretary the continuing negative impact the PPL has had on HBCUs. In response, the Secretary agreed that:
He would provide a draft written response to the October 10, 2012 HBCU Coalition letter regarding the PPL by early this week, and that his letter would provide, among other things, clear guidance on the appeals process for loans that were denied this semester
Senior Department of Education leaders would meet with the HBCU Coalition Principals to develop a plan of action for the Spring Semester 2013, said meetings to be scheduled next week
With regard to the future handling of the PPI, the Department of Education is actively considering a “fresh start” that would presumably return to the prior criteria and introduce a more transparent process. The Secretary made clear there exists statutory regulations requiring the Department to deny loans to individuals who are delinquent on their debts, but that they are working to find the most appropriate way to interpret those regulations. Ultimately, the Secretary said, the Department would have to balance the interests of taxpayers, parents, students, and colleges/universities in future handling of the PPL