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Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the higher education subcommittee on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, looked to witnesses for thoughts on two issues in higher at a hearing today: measuring student achievement measure in higher ed, and updating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Christine Keller, vice president for research and policy analysis at the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities, told Foxx that adding a student achievement measure to data collecting is important because it would add new information on how nontraditional students are faring.

As for the FAFSA, it’s important to streamline the form, but it doesn’t need to consist of only two questions as some lawmakers have proposed, said Michael Bennett, associate vice president at St. Petersburg College.

Foxx also said she feels strongly that gainful employment regulations should apply across higher education. “I have long felt that that is the way we should do it; it brings us right back to our accountability issues,” Foxx said.

As a subcommittee chair, Foxx has a key role in planning the next iteration of the  Higher Education Act.

She stresssed that there needs to be a different mentality when it comes to reforming higher education so colleges and universities don’t expect to get more money solely because they are “doing the lord's work” — educating students.