§ 1098.
(c)
Membership
(1)
The Advisory Committee shall consist of 11 members appointed as follows:
(A)
Four members shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, of whom two members shall be appointed from recommendations by the Majority Leader of the Senate, and two members shall be appointed from recommendations by the Minority Leader of the Senate.
(B)
Four members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, of whom two members shall be appointed from recommendations by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, and two members shall be appointed from recommendations by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
(C)
Three members shall be appointed by the Secretary, of whom at least one member shall be a student.
(2)
Each member of the Advisory Committee, with the exception of a student member, shall be appointed on the basis of technical qualifications, professional experience, and demonstrated knowledge in the fields of higher education, student financial aid, financing post-secondary education, and the operations and financing of student loan guarantee agencies.
(3)
The appointment of a member under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall be effective upon publication of such appointment in the Congressional Record.
(d)
Functions of the Committee
The Advisory Committee shall—
(1)
develop, review, and comment annually upon the system of needs analysis established under part F of this subchapter;
(2)
monitor, apprise, and evaluate the effectiveness of student aid delivery and recommend improvements;
(3)
recommend data collection needs and student information requirements which would improve access and choice for eligible students under this subchapter and assist the Department of Education in improving the delivery of student aid;
(4)
assess the impact of legislative and administrative policy proposals;
(5)
review and comment upon, prior to promulgation, all regulations affecting programs under this subchapter, including proposed regulations;
(6)
recommend to the authorizing committees and to the Secretary such studies, surveys, and analyses of student financial assistance programs, policies, and practices, including the special needs of low-income, disadvantaged, and nontraditional students, and the means by which the needs may be met;
(7)
review and comment upon standards by which financial need is measured in determining eligibility for Federal student assistance programs;
(8)
appraise the adequacies and deficiencies of current student financial aid information resources and services and evaluate the effectiveness of current student aid information programs;
(9)
provide an annual report to the authorizing committees that provides analyses and policy recommendations regarding—
(A)
the adequacy of need-based grant aid for low- and moderate-income students; and
(B)
the postsecondary enrollment and graduation rates of low- and moderate-income students;
(10)
develop and maintain an information clearinghouse to help institutions of higher education understand the regulatory impact of the Federal Government on institutions of higher education from all sectors, in order to raise awareness of institutional legal obligations and provide information to improve compliance with, and to reduce the duplication and inefficiency of, Federal regulations; and
(11)
make special efforts to advise Members of Congress and such Members’ staff of the findings and recommendations made pursuant to this paragraph.
(e)
Operations of the Committee
(1)
Each member of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, except that, of the members first appointed—
(A)
4 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;
(B)
4 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and
(C)
3 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years,
as designated at the time of appointment by the Secretary.
(2)
Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term of a predecessor shall be appointed only for the remainder of such term. A member of the Advisory Committee serving on August 14, 2008, shall be permitted to serve the duration of the member’s term, regardless of whether the member was previously appointed to more than one term.
(3)
No officers or full-time employees of the Federal Government shall serve as members of the Advisory Committee.
(4)
The Advisory Committee shall elect a Chairman and a Vice Chairman from among its members.
(5)
Six members of the Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum.
(6)
The Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the Chairman or a majority of its members.
(h)
Personnel and resources
(1)
The Advisory Committee may appoint such personnel as may be determined necessary by the Chairman without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, but no individual so appointed shall be paid in excess of the rate authorized for GS–18 of the General Schedule. The Advisory Committee may appoint not more than 1 full-time equivalent, nonpermanent, consultant without regard to the provisions of title 5. The Advisory Committee shall not be required by the Secretary to reduce personnel to meet agency personnel reduction goals.
(2)
In carrying out its duties under this chapter, the Advisory Committee shall consult with other Federal agencies, representatives of State and local governments, and private organizations to the extent feasible.
(3)
(A)
The Advisory Committee is authorized to secure directly from any executive department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics for the purpose of this section and each such department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and directed, to the extent permitted by law, to furnish such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Advisory Committee, upon request made by the Chairman.
(B)
The Advisory Committee may enter into contracts for the acquisition of information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics for the purpose of this section.
(4)
The Advisory Committee is authorized to obtain the services of experts and consultants without regard to
section 3109 of title 5 and to set pay in accordance with such section.
(5)
The head of each Federal agency shall, to the extent not prohibited by law, cooperate with the Advisory Committee in carrying out this section.
(6)
The Advisory Committee is authorized to utilize, with their consent, the services, personnel, information, and facilities of other Federal, State, local, and private agencies with or without reimbursement.
(j)
Special analyses and activities
The Advisory Committee shall—
(1)
monitor and evaluate the modernization of student financial aid systems and delivery processes and simplifications, including recommendations for improvement;
(2)
assess the adequacy of current methods for disseminating information about programs under this subchapter and recommend improvements, as appropriate, regarding early needs assessment and information for first-year secondary school students;
(3)
assess and make recommendations concerning the feasibility and degree of use of appropriate technology in the application for, and delivery and management of, financial assistance under this subchapter, as well as policies that promote use of such technology to reduce cost and enhance service and program integrity, including electronic application and reapplication, just-in-time delivery of funds, reporting of disbursements and reconciliation;
(4)
conduct a review and analysis of regulations in accordance with subsection (l); and
(5)
conduct a study in accordance with subsection (m).
(m)
Study of innovative pathways to baccalaureate degree attainment
(3)
Required aspects of the study
In performing the study described in this subsection, the Advisory Committee shall examine the following aspects of such innovative programs:
(A)
The impact of such programs on baccalaureate attainment rates.
(B)
The degree to which a student’s total cost of attaining a baccalaureate degree can be reduced by such programs.
(C)
The ways in which low- and moderate-income students can be specifically targeted by such programs.
(D)
The ways in which nontraditional students can be specifically targeted by such programs.
(E)
The cost-effectiveness for the Federal Government, States, and institutions of higher education to implement such programs.
(4)
Consultation
(B)
Consultation with the authorizing committees
(5)
Reports to authorizing committees
([Pub. L. 89–329, title IV, § 491], as added [Pub. L. 99–498, title IV, § 407(a)], Oct. 17, 1986, [100 Stat. 1492]; amended [Pub. L. 100–50, § 15(16)]–(18), June 3, 1987, [101 Stat. 357]; [Pub. L. 102–325, title IV, § 496], July 23, 1992, [106 Stat. 631]; [Pub. L. 103–208, § 2(h)(45)], (46), Dec. 20, 1993, [107 Stat. 2478]; [Pub. L. 105–244, title IV, § 490C], Oct. 7, 1998, [112 Stat. 1754]; [Pub. L. 110–315, title IV, § 494C], Aug. 14, 2008, [122 Stat. 3319]; [Pub. L. 111–39, title IV, § 407(b)(11)], July 1, 2009, [123 Stat. 1953]; [Pub. L. 113–174, § 2], Sept. 26, 2014, [128 Stat. 1900]; [Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(147)], Dec. 27, 2022, [136 Stat. 4322].)