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Help Keep Your Student Financial Aid
In August, President Obama signed into law legislation raising the federal debt ceiling limit and making additional cuts in federal spending. The law also established a Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction or “Super Committee” which is mandated to reach an agreement by November 23, 2011 on cutting the deficit by $1.2 trillion. Student aid has already lost over $30 billion paying down the deficit in prior Reconciliation bills and the Budget Control Act.
If you are interested in expressing your support of saving Pell grants and protecting student aid from potential cuts from the ”Super Committee” and the FY12 Appropriations, the Student Aid Alliance, a higher education coalition consisting of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and 61 other higher education associations, has developed a petition in support of Federal Student Aid which will be sent to Capitol Hill.
Highlights of the House Version. The House version of the FY12 budget bill preserves the interest-free grace period for low-income students’ loans, and instead reduces eligibility for the Pell Grant program by modifying eligibility criteria. The draft bill maintains the $5,550 maximum Pell Grant, along with level funding for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Federal Work Study, TRIO, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEARUP).
The House version of the FY12 budget bill also makes numerous changes to the Higher Education Act which reduces eligibility for Pell Grants, including but not limited to:
- Eliminating eligibility for students enrolled less-than-half-time.
- Immediately lowering the lifetime limit for total Pell Grant eligibility from 18 to 12 semesters (pro-rated for part-time students).
- Reducing the income protection allowance for all categories except parents of dependents, making them more equitable.
- Lowering the income amount for automatic-zero-Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) to $15,000.
- Eliminating approximately half of the students who currently receive the minimum Pell Grant.
- Changing the definition of untaxed income. The House version would add sources of untaxed income to those that determine EFC, including: child tax credit, welfare benefits, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), foreign income excluded from federal tax, untaxed social security benefits, and special fuels tax credit.
- Allowing the Secretary of Education to reduce the Pell Grant maximum if funding from Congress is insufficient to cover the grants.
According to analysis by the United States Department of Education, these proposed changes would cut $4.3 billion from the Pell Grant program by removing 554,320 students from the program, and lowering the average grant by $240.
Highlights of the Senate Version. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved its version of the FY12 Federal Budget on September 21. The Senate kept the Pell Grant maximum at $5,550 for the 2012-13 academic year without cutting any students out of the program and level funded all student aid programs.
The Senate version, however, eliminated the six-month interest-free grace period following graduation for low-income student borrowers and uses those savings to restore mandatory funding for Pell Grants and maintain the $5,500 maximum award.
The Senate has also requested that the United States Department of Education “report on the impact that the elimination of the [Leveraging Education Assistance Program] LEAP program has had on the total amount of need-based grant aid available to low- and moderate-income students in the 2011-12 academic year. The report should be submitted to the Committee by August 1, 2012.” Funding for the LEAP program was eliminated in the FY 2011 bill.
Marquette and Federal Student Financial Aid. Marquette University’s Office of Public Affairs, in conjunction with the Office of Student Financial Aid, continues to monitor the decisions made by Congress and to advocate on your behalf. Both Pell and SEOG are very important to Marquette students. During the 2010-2011 academic year, 1,567 Marquette students received nearly $6.3 million in Pell Grants and 545 students received $1.24 million in SEOG funding.
Again, we continue to work hard on your behalf to help the Members of Congress and others understand the importance of federal student financial aid.
You can help keep the aid that enables undergraduates to attend Marquette
As a member of the Marquette community, you know that an integral part of the university’s mission is to educate men and women who are prepared to be informed leaders in their civic community. We encourage everyone to participate in the process of governance by learning about how these funds impact you and sharing your thoughts with your elected representatives.
How You Can Help
By letting us know that you are interested, the Office of Public Affairs will send you information on how to reach out to your elected officials as you see fit. You can share for both federal and state representatives:
- E-mail: Sending a quick e-mail from the Web sites of elected representatives in a respectful way can help educate elected officials weighing cuts why you feel these programs are important.
- Video: Tell your story in a creative way, post it to YouTube, and share.
- Phone: Call your representatives’ offices. A brief call telling your story in a respectful tone can make a huge difference. And make sure to indicate you want student financial aid to continue.
- The old-fashioned way: Spend a few minutes writing a letter that speaks to how financial aid plays a role in your life and make sure it gets to your representatives. It’s sure to get read.
To get started, please fill out this form, and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
Internet campaigns
Join the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ Save Student Aid Facebook campaign! Like the page, make it one of your favorites, invite your friends, and share your story in the “Discussions” area.
You can also follow the Student Aid Alliance on Facebook and Twitter.
In the state of Wisconsin, sign the Protect Financial Aid Petition being sponsored by the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and follow developments on Facebook and Twitter.
Advocate for Student Financial Aid
