The Higher Education of 1965 was passed to increase educational resources to colleges and universities to help them to provide financial assistance to students to attend post secondary education.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) established several funding mechanisms to help support higher education institutions and students. The main components of the HEA are: 1
Title I
Provided funding for extension and continuing education programs, provided definitions and general provisions for implementation and information dissemination.
Title II
Allocates money to enhance higher education library collections (Later amended to provide funding to increase teacher quality)
Title III
Provisions for strengthening developing institutions by providing them funding. Usually to institutions that serve high levels of minority and/or low-income students.
Title IV
Provided student assistance through scholarships, low-interest loans, and work-study programs. (Has now been amended to include several other programs).
Title V
Provisions for improving the quality of teaching (Has been amended to primarily focus on building Hispanic-American Educational institutions.)
Additional provisions have been added providing funding for international educational programs and improvements to graduate and post-secondary programs, among others.
Title IV authorizes the Pell Grant program which began in fiscal year 1972. The appropriation of funds is provided on a year by year basis. Funds are estimated prior to the beginning of a particular school year, meaning the amount of funds needed can be either over or under funded. If underfunded, The Department of Education usually borrows off of the anticipated appropriation from the next fiscal year to all eligible students in need receive the funds they qualify for. 2
For more information of Pell Grants, see here.
For a full breakdown of the Higher Education Act of 1965, see here.
For the full text of the bill, see here.
Endnotes