Sandy Bernard, president of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) says new provisions in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998 approved by committees in both the Senate and House havel gone a long way toward making colleges both safer and more responsive to women's changing needs as students.

With leadership from Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Paul Wellstone (D-MN), the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee approved provisions to expand campus-based child care, make financial aid more accessible to non-traditional students, and strengthen efforts to reduce campus crime.

The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee also included language that would increase public access to information on college and university athletic programs including participation rates and women athletes' share of scholarships.