Homework answers / question archive / Reflect: Reflecting on your policy and your previous research, think about how to best structure your thesis (the argument) that you are supporting within this assignment

Reflect: Reflecting on your policy and your previous research, think about how to best structure your thesis (the argument) that you are supporting within this assignment

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Reflect: Reflecting on your policy and your previous research, think about how to best structure your thesis (the argument) that you are supporting within this assignment. For this assignment, you will establish your thesis and then outline your paper with your supporting resources. You will utilize your four references from last week and add at least two additional references this week, for a total of six sources for this week’s assignment.

Write: You will establish and develop a strong thesis for your Final Paper. The thesis will serve as the backbone of your Final Paper and should showcase in one complete statement what your policy is, why it is important, and how it relates to policymaking and government program administration within the American national government.

Once you have established your thesis, you will then outlineyour Final Paper utilizing outline format. When utilizing an outline, be sure to include the elements from the Week 2 assignment and remember to use headings and subheadings. All sentences within your outline should be complete and should help to support your ideas.

Running Head: HIGHER EDUCATION ACT Higher Education Act Student’s Name POL 201 – American National Government University Instructor’s Name Month Day, 2021 1 HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 2 Higher Education Act The number of Americans graduating from institutions of higher learning was quite low around the mid-nineteenth century until the introduction of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965. President Lyndon Johnson signed this policy to ensure that every person has an equal opportunity to access higher education regardless of location, income, and any other factor creating a gap hindering citizens from receiving an education there before. HEA governs federal college and student aid programs and is purposed to strengthen the educational resources of American universities and colleges hence offering financial assistance for learners pursuing higher education programs. Several concepts regarding the Health Education Act, such as the historical and constitutional background, checks and balances, the relation of this Act to public policy and how the media portray it, as well as looking into how the voting process impacts this policy enhances one's understanding of the policies' need and its impact on society. Historical and Constitutional Background The Higher Education Act is a statutory document that was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. It became law on 8th November 1965. It increased federal funds for post-secondary institutions, developed talent search programs, and helped establish the National Teacher Corps, a program meant to improve elementary and secondary teaching mainly in low-income regions (Collier & Herman, 2016). Initially, the Act consisted of six titles that explained how the Act would help increase higher education opportunities. However, they have since changed due to the multiple reauthorizations that the Act has undergone over the years that involve lawmakers removing and adding provisions that align with the student's changing needs. The first title provided funds to cater to the continuation and extension of education programs. The second one allocated money to enhance library collections. HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 3 The third title was concerned with providing the necessary finances to boost upcoming institutions. The fourth one dealt with providing learners with financial assistance through workstudy programs and offering low-interest loans and scholarships. The fifth title dealt with providing money to improve the quality of teaching, and the last title provided funds for improving undergraduate institutions. In addition to understanding the historical background of HEA covered above, it is important to comprehend the constitutional background of this policy as the constitution, which is the primary source of law, establishes the governmental power and authority that affects the success or failure of laws. The then administration proposed improving and increasing postsecondary and higher education resources on 19th January 1965, which happened in the House of bills and the Senate (McCants, 2003). In July of the same year, the administration introduced proposals for teacher training programs as a bill to the Senate. After the administration introduced these proposals, the special subcommittee on education conducted hearings for thirteen days in Washington D.C. the following year in addition to two field hearing days at the University of Chicago. Members of the Education Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare also held hearings for twelve days in the same year (McCants, 2003). Among the matters that this committee handled included the recommendations from education administrators, professors, and student aid officers, which they had received through informal correspondence and meetings. In July of the same year, the House Committee on Education and Labor headed by Adam Clayton Powell Jr., an American politician and Baptist Pastor, presented a new bill that incorporated most of the provisions and suggestions were given by senior education officials. This bill passed and was sent to the Senate for approval. The Senate passed the bill in September HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 4 and met with the House Committee on Education the following month in a conference where the two houses merged their reports to produce one version of the report. President Johnson then signed the bill on 8th November, which made the bill a public law that has since helped provide more resources and financial aid for American students in higher education institutions (McCants, 2003). Since its enactment, lawmakers have reauthorized the Higher Education Act by changing the policies and language of existing programs depending on the emerging trends and needs occurring in the education sector. Checks and Balances Checks and balances generally play a significant role in education, including higher learning. It is a government strategy that facilitates the protection of citizen's rights and liberties through equalizing the Judiciary, executive, and legislature hence ensuring that none of these branches have power over the other. Each of these government branches has checks and balances, promoting fairness and equality in the national government. Since policies like the HEA play a significant role in society, they have to go through a process involving the three government branches before they became public laws (Varughese, 2017). Therefore, gaining more understanding of each of these branches is vital as it allows one to understand how the decisions made in these branches affect policies like the HEA and the role played by checks and balances in determining the policy's results. The legislature, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, is in charge of creating the laws, the executive, whose members include the President, Vice President, and the cabinet, executes the laws, and the Judiciary which involves the federal and the Supreme Court evaluates the laws. In the making of the Higher Education Act, each of these branches played its role. HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 5 The legislature and the House of Representatives analyzed the bill and voted on it, with the majority voting in favor. The Senate then passed the bill, which was then passed on for the president to sign. Regardless of the changes made throughout the process of approving the Higher Education Act, each of the branches ensured that the importance of the Act, which is to provide financial aid to learners seeking to pursue higher learning, remained. Since then, any reauthorization process of the HEA, which occurs after every six years, focuses on extending, building on, and improving the programs created by the original law (Prøitz et al., 2017).. The branches accomplish these with the help of the federal government, which affects higher education performance since it defined the distribution terms of the financial resources involved. Hence since its enactment in 1965, the concept of checks and balances has helped ensure that the Higher Education Act helps to provide equal education opportunity to all Americans through a fair process supported by the legislature, executive, and judicial branches of the government. Public Policy, Elections, and Media Public policy usually plays a significant role in higher education. For higher education, public policies usually have more impact than is apparent at first. Although the government usually has a minimal direct impact on how higher learning institutions are run, its indirect control through looking out for national interest and financial means that the government can impact a student. Higher education has majorly relied on public policy at the state and federal levels for the longest time. Public policy, therefore, has an impact on higher education in various areas, including regulation and funding. Further, during elections, it is common for all candidates to aim at making education more affordable or even lowering the student loan debt. As such, elections also impact higher education, as it is the elected officials and their ideologies that shape the public policy. The higher education act, similar to other policies, also suffers from political HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 6 changes arising from elections (Demaine, & Entwistle, 2016). From one presidency to another, several policies, including the higher education action, are bound to change for political reasons, leading to negative consequences. When it comes to the media, it affects the way citizens perceive and think of the Higher Education Act, which is vital, especially in the current society where most people interact with media sources daily. The media can influence the public to favor or be against the HEA, depending on the information they portray (Florescu, 2014). In this case, since the number of students in higher learning institutions has increased because of HEA, citizens are highly likely to support the Act. However, there are negative reports about HEA that might affect people's opinions about this policy. Voting and the Election Process The voting and election process is crucial in determining the successful enactment of a policy. Voters have varying expectations regarding the voting process, which they use to evaluate the entire process and make a decision. Before a bill becomes a law, the Senate and Congress need to review it, and the majority have to vote in favor of the proposal for it to pass to the next process. It is then presented to the president, who may sign or veto it after both representative houses and the Senate have passed the bill. President Johnson signed the Higher Education Act after the bill underwent the above process. It became a major law governing learners' aid aiming to offer financial assistance for higher learning. The situation would have been different if Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee would have won the presidential election (Michelsen, 2015). HEA would probably not exist because Goldwater had a different agenda. Again the outcome of the voting and election process determines the modifications and amendments that the HEA Act will undergo. For instance, it was highly likely for Democrats to emphasize free college modules with subsidized tuition fees catered to by the federal government HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 7 if they took control of Washington (Cezarino et al., 2018). With such modifications, college students and those looking to join higher education institutions would continue benefiting from this Act. However, the case would be different if the Act did not align with the Democrats' goals implying that the success and continuity of the Higher Education Act depends highly on the elections and voting process. Conclusion To gain deeper insights on the role played by the Higher Education Act on American society, concepts such as checks and balances and the Act’s constitutional and historical background help to provide in-depth information. HEA was formed to provide financial aid to students with limited opportunities to access higher education and has since undergone several changes to accommodate the transforming needs in the education world. With the application of the concept of checks and balances, the government can ensure that policies such as the HEA go through the appropriate processes before becoming public laws. Further, the media influences people’s perceptions and attitudes towards policies like the HEA. The Higher Education Act is also affected by the voting and election process with the Act’s extension and changes depending on the ruling government. Generally, the Health Education Act has played a significant role in improving the number of students receiving higher learning, making American society a better place. HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 8 References Cezarino, L. O., Abdala, E. C., Soares, M. A., & Fernandes, V. D. C. (2018). Students' knowledge of sustainability issues in higher education. Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development, 4(1), 24-40. Collier, D. A., & Herman, R. (2016). Modifying the Federal Loan Guarantee Provision in the Higher Education Act of 1965: An Overview of Federal Loan Policies that Have Transitioned Higher Education from the Social Good. Higher Education In Review. Demaine, J., & Entwistle, H. (Eds.). (2016). Beyond communitarianism: citizenship, politics and education. Springer. Florescu, O. (2014). Positive and negative influences of the mass media upon education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 149, 349-353. McCants, J. (2003). The early history of the Higher Education Act of 1965. National TRIO. Michelsen, G. (2015). Policy, politics and polity in higher education for sustainable development. In Routledge handbook of higher education for sustainable development (pp. 64-79). Routledge. Prøitz, T. S., Havnes, A., Briggs, M., & Scott, I. (2017). Learning outcomes in professional contexts in higher education. European Journal of Education, 52(1), 31-43. Varughese, R. (2017). National policy on education and higher education. Higher Education for the Future, 4(2), 158-165. Week 3 Research Paper Outline Worksheet Paper Outline 1. Introduction Your introduction should start with a hook to draw your reader in, establish your topic, and create interest. It should then provide very brief background on your topic before including your thesis statement and an overview of the main points of your paper. It should be a minimum of one complete paragraph of at least five sentences in length. 2. Thesis Statement Your thesis statement, should come at the end of your introduction to fully address your topic and the four main points of your position. Your thesis statement should be one sentence in length. It should be a statement, not a question. It should clearly and concisely establish your topic, explain why your topic is important, and address how it connects to the four main points of the Final Research Paper. . 3. Heading for Main Point 1- Describes the historical and Constitutional basis of American Government’s structure and how this relates to the policy. Each heading should address a specific topic or component of your paper. This area will be the body paragraphs of your paper. This is where you will explain your ideas and support your topic with the references you have found. This section of the outline can be quite long and does not have to be condensed into only four headings. Within your outline, you must cite (within the text) at least six references; four of which must be scholarly peer-reviewed sources. While this is an outline, all sentences must be complete thoughts and support your topic. a. Subheading 1- This should be the first main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. b. Subheading 2- This should be the second main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. 4. Heading for Main Point 2 – Explains how the policy is involved within the process of checks and balances. a. Subheading 1- This should be the first main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. b. Subheading 2- This should be the second main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. 5. Heading for Main Point 3 – Describes how the policy relates to public policy and elections and how the policy is portrayed by the media. a. Subheading 1- This should be the first main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. b. Subheading 2- This should be the second main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. 6. Heading for Main Point 4 – Explains how the policy impacts voting and the election process. a. Subheading 1- This should be the first main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. b. Subheading 2- This should be the second main point to support your argument or assertion here. This is where you will outline this point, and include the APA in-text citation when you are incorporating your research information. 7. Conclusion Your conclusion should summarize the key points, restate your thesis (but not verbatim), and establish a conclusion regarding your topic. It should be a minimum of one complete paragraph of at least five sentences in length. 8. Reference List Full APA citations for all six sources referenced in your outline, should be included in this section. Please be sure to use proper APA formatting and hanging indents.