Tag Archives: financial aid

Supplemental Budget Agreement Reached

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Late today the Washington Senate and House reached a tentative agreement on reductions to the current fiscal budget.

The  budget agreement reduces funds to the State Need Grant by $25.4 million and requires the public two-year and four-year institutions to use locally held funds to provide a commensurate amount of aid to eligible students who would have received state need grant payments. The reduction to Evergreen is $368,000.

In addition,  funding reductions were made to Workforce Employment and Training (ESD) ($318,000) and the following HECB programs and services ($632,000): (1) College Readiness Program, (2) Health Sciences and Services Authority (HSSA), (3) student financial aid administration, and (4) the Technology Transformation Task Force.

The agreement also:

  • Makes $242 million in reductions and $125 million in transfers
  • Maintains the Disability Lifeline cash grant at 50 percent of the current amount
  • Limits the Children’s Health Program eligibility to families at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and allows families between 201 and 300 percent of FPL to buy in at full cost; does not freeze admittance
  • Limits Basic Health Plan eligibility to individuals eligible for a Medicaid waiver
  • Makes no transfer of local liquor profits

The supplemental budget  – HB 1086 – was referred to a Senate-House conference committee after the House chose not to go along with changes made by the Senate earlier this month. As a conference bill, it cannot be amended by either chamber prior to a vote, which could be as soon as Friday in the Senate

U.S. House Begins Debate on Bill to Reduce the Pell Grant

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Today the U.S. House of Representatives began debate on H.R. 1, a stop-gap spending bill that would fund the federal government for the rest of FY2011 after the current continuing resolution expires on March 4.

H.R. 1, introduced last week, would cut discretionary-funded maximum awards for the Pell Grant from $4,860 to $4,105.  When the mandatory funds ($690) are considered the 2011-12 maximum Pell Grant award would be $4,705. This is a 15% decrease from 2010-11.

In addition the bill provides no funding for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP). Both programs provide financial grants to students who qualify for financial aid.

The bill also reduces President Obama’s proposed FY11 budget request by $100 billion.

This week members of the U.S. House are introducing and debating amendments to H.R. 1.  To date nearly 400 amendments have been proposed, most of which call for greater reductions.  It is expected that the House could vote on the bill as early as this Thursday.

Senate Appropriations Committee Hears Higher Education Related Legislation

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This afternoon Senate Ways & Means heard a series of bills that would impact higher education.

Senate Bill 5758  streamlines the management of tuition and trust funds dedicated to maintenance and small capital projects at Central Washington, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington Universities, and The Evergreen State College.

Steve Trotter, Executive Director for Operational Planning and Budget for The Evergreen State College, testified in support of SB 5758 along with a representative for CWU, EWU, and WWU.  The Office of Financial Management testified with concerns.

In addition, the Committee heard SB 5304 and SB 5576.  Senate Bill 5304 would require the Caseload Forecast Council to  forecast the anticipated number of students eligible for the State Need Grant Program and the College Bound Scholarship Program who are also expected to attend an institution of higher education and to submit these forecasts to the Governor and the members of the legislative fiscal committees; and Senate Bill 5576 streamlines the management of tuition and trust funds dedicated to maintenance and small capital projects at the University of Washington and Washington State University.

The Evergreen State College signed-in, in support of both SB 5576 and SB 5304.

Finally, the Committee heard Senate Bill 5518 which would mandate that employees of state agencies or political subdivisions may only be paid by electronic transfer to an employee’s account at the employee’s designated financial institution. Each employee must designate such an account in order to receive payment. The Evergreen State College took no position on this bill.

Obama’s FY12 Budget Seeks to Protect Education

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Yesterday, President Obama released his proposed federal budget for FY12.  The budget makes several investments in education and proposes some changes to the Pell in order to fund the grant at the current maximum level.

Higher Education Programs

The Administration’s 2012 request includes $2.3 billion for Higher Education Programs to help achieve the President’s goal of significantly increasing the percentage of Americans with postsecondary degrees or industry-recognized certificates.

A key priority for 2012 is a $150 million request for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to support the “First in the World” competition. This proposal, which would be modeled after the i3 program for K-12 education, would provide incentives and rewards for innovation and building evidence of what works to reduce costs and improve outcomes in postsecondary education.

In addition the proposed budget would prioritize:

  • A $40 million request for first-time funding for the Hawkins Centers of Excellence program to increase the talent pool of effective minority educators by expanding and reforming teacher education programs at minority-serving institutions (MSIs).
  • A $484.8 million request in discretionary funding for the Aid for Institutional Development programs. The request would strengthen institutions of higher education that serve high proportions of minority and disadvantaged students, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGIs), by improving their academic programs, institutional capacity, and student supports. The budget also provides $117.4 million for the Developing Hispanic-serving Institutions program.
  • A $920.1 million request to support college preparation and completion activities for participants in the Federal TRIO Programs, as well as $323.2 million to serve an estimated 756,000 middle and high school students preparing for college through Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).
  • A $125.9 million request  for the International Education and Foreign Language Studies programs, which help meet the Nation’s security and economic needs through the development of expertise in foreign languages and area and international studies.
  • A  $40.7 million request for merit- and need-based scholarships and fellowships to postsecondary students under Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) programs.

Student Financial Assistance

The 2012 request would ensure that Pell Grants will be available to all eligible students through a combination of mandatory savings to offset rising Pell demand and changes in the Pell program that would reduce current and future costs. Proposed mandatory savings include the elimination of interest subsidies for graduate student loans and providing an opportunity for students with multiple loan servicers to convert their student debt to a single loan holder, while the elimination of the “two Pells” provision, which effectively made many students eligible for two Pell Grants in a single award year, would achieve significant cost savings. The 2012 request also would expand the Perkins Loans program and simplify access to student financial aid.

In addition, the 2012 budget includes a new College Completion Incentive Grants program that would make grants to States to encourage colleges to help students enroll in school and finish their studies with a degree or certificate and to reward institutions that produce successful outcomes. Finally, a new Presidential Teaching Fellows program would support K-12 education by recruiting and preparing talented students for the teaching profession through top-tier teacher preparation programs.

President Obama to Release FY12 Budget Next Week

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Next Tuesday, February 15, President Obama is expected to release his fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget request to the 112th Congress. 

The budget will contain proposed funding levels for student aid programs for the academic year 2012-2013. Many of these funding proposals face proposed reductions.

The release of the FY12 federal budget will be the first step of a lengthy and complex annual budget process that will last through July 2011.

It is important to note that Congress has yet to resolve the FY11 budget.  As a result, the federal government is funded by a Continuing Resolution that is set to expire on March 4. Upon its expiration Congress must pass either another resolution or an omnibus spending bill that contains all 12 appropriations bills.

Under this timeline FY11 and FY12 budget negotiations will occur at the same time. The

Senate Passes Supplemental Budget

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This morning the Washington Senate passed (38-9) a striking amendment to the supplemental budget bill (ESHB 1086), the House version of the operating supplemental budget.

The supplemental budget brought to the Senate floor this morning was amended and passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Thursday.  The Committee adopted a handful of amendments during the executive session, including language to add back funds each four-year, public baccalaureate institution pays as members of the Council of presidents that were reduced in the original bill.

The Senate’s supplemental budget still reduces higher education by $25.4 million through a tuition transfer from the institutions -public 2-year and 4-year – to the Higher Education Coordinating Board for financial aid.

In addition,  funding reductions were retained to the Higher Education Coordinating Board ($909,000), Workforce Employment and Training (ESD) ($318,000), and the following HECB programs and services ($632,000): (1) College Readiness Program, (2) Health Sciences and Services Authority (HSSA), (3) student financial aid administration, and (4) the Technology Transformation Task Force. 

The next step is to convene a conference committee comprised of three senators ( two Democrats and one Republican) and three representatives (two Democrats and one Republican) to iron out the differences between the two budgets. Once there is agreement, the bill will be voted on by both chambers with no opportunity for amendments, and then sent to the Governor for her signature.

Higher Education Opportunity Act Introduced in Washington

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Today Representative Carlyle, Vice Chair for House Higher Education, launched the Higher Education Opportunity Act.

Carlyle stated “the trend in the Legislature is to reduce funding for the institutions of higher education under the operating assumption that they can continue to absorb the cuts without measurable or meaningful consequences for students, faculty, families and supporters. The trend of decreasing state support and increasing tuition seems virtually unstoppable. The question is not whether this trend will continue but how we can get a handle on the negative consequences for the middle class and more intelligently manage this structural shift.”

The Higher Education Opportunity Act would: 

  • Tuition-Setting Authority: For a four year window between academic years 2011 and 2014, public baccalaureate institutions are granted full local authority to set tuition rates for all students. After that four year time frame, tuition-setting authority for in-state undergraduates reverts back to the Legislature.
  • Dramatically Increasing Financial Aid for the Middle Class: Fifty percent of all tuition raised above a 7 percent ‘base’ per year at public baccalaureate institutions must be protected, reserved and spent by the institutions to fund new financial aid to directly increase assistance for the middle class. This allows students from families earning from 70% of medium family income (about $56,000 for a family of four–the current level of aid) to 125% of medium family income can receive substantial financial aid to mitigate the negative effects of rising tuition.
  • Institute a Radical Commitment to the Leverage Federal Tax Credits and Incentives: Strong requirements are put in place for higher education institutions to inform, educate and reach out to students about highly valuable federal tax credits available to them such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifelong Learning tax credit.
  • Acknowledging Multiple Kid Family Costs for the Middle Class: In assessing higher education financing challenges, the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) is required for the first time to consider family size as part of the family contribution for students of the state need grant, and is also required to establish criteria for awards that is not solely based on “first come, first served.”
  • Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET Program): The Committee on Advanced Tuition Payment (state treasurer, HECB director, OFM director, program participant and business rep) are required to review tuition levels and recommend a possible “GET II.”
  • Higher Education Institutional Accountability: The National Governor’s Association Complete to Compete Metrics are established in statute.
  • Eliminating Reports and Studies that are Duplicative or Unnecessary: Over the years the Legislature, Governor and boards have saddled the institutions with a huge number of reports, studies and data requests that may or may not be useful. This plan moves forward to eliminate the burden while keeping quality data available for public policy decision makers.

At a press conference this morning, Carlyle  shared that this legislation is a work in progress and needs time to ripen.  The bill is expected to be heard before the House Higher Educationo Committee next week.

Tuition, Accountability and Budget Topics of Discussion

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Higher education advocates, inlcuding the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and the Council of Presidents (COP), spoke to the critical links between state funding, tuition, and financial aid and the role of accountability/performance metrics at the January 18 Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee’s work session.

Chair Rodney Tom focused the two-hour work session on the relationship between tuition, state funding, and accountability and the impact on student access. The work session provided the opportunity for higher education institutions to provide testimony and answer questions from policymakers.

Following informative presentations by the HECB , legislative staff, and COP institutions were provided the opportunity to share their thoughts.  The comments provided by representatives of the public, four-year higher education sector included the impacts of reductions to date, the importance of flexibility, and ideas about accountability and performance metrics.

In the afternoon, the presidents of all six public, baccalaureate institutions engaged the Senate Ways & Means Committee regarding state funding and the impacts of the Governor’s proposed 2011-13 biennial budget.

Chair Ed Murray focused the work session on higher education, including both two- and four-year institutions. 

Kicking off the discussion with an overview, the Council of Presidents highlighted the recent impacts to state funding for higher education and the potential impact of the Governor’s proposed budget. 

The presidents then spoke to the challenges they share with policymakers in funding services and programs for their constituents in a difficult fiscal climate.  The presidents acknowledged the difficult fiscal climate in their comments and asked for the flexibility and the opportunity to work with members to make strategic decisions that will allow institutions to steer through the storm.

Federal Bill Introduced to Reduce Spending on Programs and Services

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This week, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Cut Unsustainable and Top-heavy Spending (CUTS) Act to reduce federal spending by $153 billion over the next five years. The bill includes several provisions that would affect student aid, including:

  • Elimination of the administrative cost allowance (ACA) paid to schools for student aid administration to save $200 million over the next five years
  • Elimination of the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Program to save $1 million over five years
  • Elimination of the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program to save $42 million over the next five years
  • Elimination of the Department of Education’s Legal Assistance Loan Repayment Program to save $5 million over the next five years.  

The Act is among several that have already been introduced in the U.S. House. Further action on this bill has yet to be scheduled.

TEACH Legislation Reintroduced in Congress

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This week U.S. Representative Baca (D-CA) reintroduced the Teacher Education Assistance Creating Hope (TEACH) for Our Future Act. 

The legislation is intended to provide all public elementary and high school teachers in the U.S. who have taught full time for five consecutive years the opportunity to receive $25,000 in student loan forgiveness.