US: Debt deal spares student aid scheme - for now

If the devil was in the detail of the hard-fought, last-minute deal to reduce US federal spending by trillions of dollars, there was an angel looking out for higher education, writes John Marcus for Times Higher Education.

In 11th-hour negotiations last week, budget-cutters unexpectedly spared the nation's principal financial aid programme for undergraduates, Pell Grants, despite widespread speculation that its huge price tag made it an obvious target. But to do that, higher costs were placed on graduate and professional students, who typically already leave with crushing debts.
Full report on the Times Higher Education site