Young, Bennet Reintroduce Legislation to Promote Innovation in Higher Education Programs
WASHINGTON – Today,U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) reintroduced the Fund for Innovation and Success in Higher Education (FINISH) Act, legislation to spur more innovative opportunities in higher education programs.
“Institutions of higher education should adapt and think innovatively about ways to retain, support, and graduate high-need students. This bill would help ensure more young Americans are equipped with the tools to finish their degrees and find good-paying jobs in their desired career fields,” said Senator Young.
“First-generation and low-income college students often don’t get the support they deserve to help them finish their degrees. By encouraging colleges and universities nationwide to innovate, make educational materials more accessible, and focus on outcomes, our bipartisan bill can improve educational attainment for every student,” said Senator Bennet.
The FINISH Act would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to better support innovative, evidenced-based approaches that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of postsecondary education for all students.
More specifically, the legislation would:
- Authorize innovation grants to increase retention and completion of postsecondary education programs;
- Encourage open educational resources to make instructional content more widely available;
- Support pay for success initiatives, performance-based agreements that result in increased public value or social benefit to students and the public sector; and
- Establish better evaluation authority in order to rigorously and independently evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the outcomes of all programs authorized under this bill.
Full legislative text can be found here.