Washington, D.C. – Congressman Steve Austria (R-Beavercreek) spoke on the House floor today in support of H.R. 2117, the Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act. Below are Congressman Austria’s remarks:

“A year ago I spoke on the House Floor urging this Committee to introduce legislation repealing the Program Integrity Regulations.  Today I speak in support of H.R. 2117, which would repeal two of these regulations.

While we must ensure that our small number of schools who have acted in bad faith are dealt with accordingly, the credit hour and state licensing regulations are an overreaction with vast unintended consequences.  First, these regulations will significantly alter the federal role in accrediting and licensing education.  Second, they will also drastically limit student access to educational programs and negatively impact all schools.  Let me give you an example of a school located in the Midwest in my district, Ohio Christian University – an example of a school that would be adversely affected by these regulations.

It’s located in Pickaway County, a typical county in Southeastern Ohio, and mirrors that of many across the Midwest struggling with this difficult economy, which has lost over 2,500 jobs and only 11% of the residents in this county have a Bachelor’s Degree. In contrast, Ohio Christian University has created 150 jobs in just five years while graduating thousands of students since its founding in 1948. In addition to offering traditional undergraduate degrees, OCU offers an online degree program; currently more than 1,000 students from over 15 states are enrolled in that program. Because of the high cost of administrative burdens required to get licensing in every state where an online student resides, OCU will be forced to un-enroll at least half of its online students and layoff a large number of staff.  Further, as part of the adult degree program, they offer a limited number of credit hours for prior learning and work experiences.  This allows nontraditional students to return to school and earn their degree. To comply with the regulation, the University will be forced to eliminate that program – which will be a significant disincentive for older students.  The regulation will also negatively impact traditional students by setting a strict definition of a credit hour. This will limit the school’s ability to credit innovative courses which provide students with the cutting-edge skills and knowledge required for future employers.

Today I urge my colleagues to protect our schools, states, and students from these burdensome overreaching regulations by supporting H.R. 2117.”                      

-30-