This morning, Rep. George Miller, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, hosted a breakfast discussion where he spoke at length about certain provisions of the Student Aid and Financial Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA).

An especially interesting theme that came up throughout the discussion was taking a closer look at institutions of higher education—especially how they do in terms of providing degrees, keeping students enrolled, and clearer credit transfer opportunities. Miller touched on several ways for this to occur, the largest of which would be a “substantive review of the role of higher education and the financing of higher education,” a process that would also examine how colleges perceive their roles versus what society needs from them.

In addition to taking a closer look at institutions, Miller also suggested that schools receiving lots of federal money from student loans should have an obligation to be more upfront about credit transfer policies in the form of articulation agreements. He said these measures are important  so that students in a community college will not suddenly find out that classes they paid for can’t actually be accepted at other schools. “When people are borrowing money they have a right to say ‘what’s going to happen now,’” Miller said.

Miller also raised concerns about institutions of higher education in relation to student debt. He singled out colleges that enroll students that they know will not be able to graduate so that they can “harvest” federal dollars to pay for remedial education. He also expressed worry about schools that get a student to take out a loan to enroll in the fall but provide so little support that the student is gone by Easter. “It’s not a minor problem,” Miller said of the students who borrow but never receive a credential. “It’s a lot of money. It’s a lot of debt, and a lot of incompletes.”

In the SAFRA bill, improving the outcomes for students and the quality of higher education institutions at the federal level will largely occur through the College Access Completion and Innovation Fund (CACIF), which provides grants to states in three different ways. But as we’ve mentioned on this blog before, we have concerns that the completion part of the fund will be eaten away by money given to not-for-profit agencies to provide financial literacy programming.

When asked about this, Miller emphasized that completion is a major goal of the administration, so when the U.S. Department of Education selects grant recipients, it is likely to make that a major funding requirement. He added that financial literacy can be broader than it is traditionally conceived. “One definition of financial literacy is ‘are you mapping your education and planning your education,’” Miller said. He also said that many students would benefit from receiving this information first, something that does not typically occur.

That being said, in response to a later question on nonprofit servicers and agencies, Miller said their inclusion also matters politically to help the bill get through. “You have members of Congress who are very familiar with their nonprofit and state agencies and they like the attention that they give to their students and schools.” He added that these members like the fact that these agencies are “homegrown,” instead of a big corporation such as Citibank or Sallie Mae.

While a strong case can certainly be made that including these agencies in the CACIF could limit its reform potential, Miller took a more optimistic view. He said members’ affinity for nonprofit and state agencies could be a chance to expand these entities’ effectiveness at improving completion and also for helping students plan for college.

With the bill likely to pass the House within the next few days, attention is soon to shift toward the Senate, which Miller said is expected to mark up its version of the legislation by the end of the month. While there will be some opposition based on ideology, Miller expects that in the long-run, the cost savings and benefits give the bill pretty good odds of passing.