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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 3, 2017 11:11 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Thomas J. Quigley |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Distance Education Sunset Removal Legislation |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that will remove the sunset date for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s (PHEAA) Distance Education Pilot Program. As you may remember, in 2013 the General Assembly passed Act 59, which authorized PHEAA to create a five-year Distance Education Pilot Program that would sunset with the 2017-2018 academic year. The pilot program allows PHEAA to provide grants to eligible students enrolled in approved distance (i.e. online) education programs. Under the pilot program, students who take more than 50% of their credits online from an institution of higher education that is headquartered and domiciled in Pennsylvania are eligible to receive grants. These students are not currently eligible to receive grants under the traditional PA State Grant Program. My legislation would remove the current sunset date, making the current Distance Education Pilot Program permanent and maintaining grant eligibility for distance learners. Furthermore, during the 2014-2015 grant award year, more than 5,900 recipients received grant awards totaling $8.52 million, through this pilot program. As online learning becomes an ever more prevalent and important method for delivery of instruction to students in the 21st century, I believe it is essential for us to recognize and accommodate such technological developments in education. Thank you for your consideration of this proposed legislation. |