To the relief of many college lobbyists and officials, the Republican leaders of the education committee in the U.S. House of Representatives have dropped a proposal that would revise the formula used to allocate funds for the government’s three campus-based student-aid programs—Federal Work-Study, Perkins Loans, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. The proposal had been part of a bill to extend the Higher Education Act, and the lawmakers plan to bring that legislation to the House floor on Wednesday.

Lobbyists for four-year public and private colleges had fought the provision because they feared that their institutions would see their share of funds drop significantly if the formula were changed. But the authors of the legislation had argued that the current formula was unfair because it divides the funds largely on the basis of figures set more than 20 years ago, even though college demographics have changed since then, with more financially needy students now attending community colleges and for-profit institutions.

For background information on the renewal of the Higher Education Act, see this in-depth series from The Chronicle.

A longer report on the Higher Education Act legislation to be debated in the House on Wednesday will appear tomorrow on this Web site.