School grants decreased
University students everywhere received an unexpected and unwelcome Christmas present from the federal government this year.
President George W. Bush announced during the holiday break that the U.S. Department of Education has made a change in the eligibility for Pell Grants that will affect millions of students.
The change was made after a revision to the tax table used to decide if a student receives a grant or not.
Upon examining state taxes, the Department of Education found that overall state tax burden has declined, according to the American Council on Education.
“The government looks at it as if people are paying less taxes then they don’t need grants,” Dave Feitz, Utah Department of Education deputy executive director for policy and development.
Such changes will affect the eligibility of about 90,000 students nationwide, resulting in not qualifying or losing grants completely, and another million who will receive smaller grants than in previous years.
According to the Department of Education, federal Pell Grants are loans that students do not have to repay. Pell Grants are awarded to students doing undergraduate work that meet certain income and tax standards.
Students with the lowest income and most need won’t be affected by the change, Feitz said.
But those receiving the minimum grant of $400 will run the risk of losing it completely and those in the middle range will likely be lessened.
Although $400 may not seem like a lot of money, Feitz said for many students it makes a big difference for textbooks and other expenditures.
In the 2003-04 school year, 56,967 students in Utah received Pell Grants totaling around $136 million.
Of these grant recipients, 7,500 were Utah State University students, Steve Sharp, financial aid associate director at USU, said. Individual Pell Grants range from $400 to $4,050. The average Pell Grant awarded at USU was $2,588, Sharp said.
Many worry that the reduction in grants will result in more college drop-outs.
Feitz said while he doesn’t know if this will happen, he does worry that students will be forced to borrow more money and take on loans they can’t manage. Others may be forced to work more or take less credit hours.
But in a budget crisis year, Feitz said it’s likely the federal government didn’t know what else to do with such competing issues as health care, road projects and the war on terrorism.
“It’s a very difficult balancing act for legislators,” Feitz said. “The money just doesn’t go as far as we’d all like it to.”
Because the Pell Grant situation is essentially an issue of priorities, it is highly political. However, Feitz said he wishes everyone could see education as an investment not only for the individual but for society as well.
Last year Congress prohibited such tightening in Pell Grant eligibility, Sharp said, but approved it this year due to the money it will save. The American Council on Education estimates the change will save $300 million.
Questions of legality have also come up. In theory, Sharp said, the change should have been made last July before the start of the 2004-05 school year.
Because of this, many believe the change shouldn’t go into affect this year and that it’s a possibility that students could sue if their grant amount is changed this year.
Civic minded students concerned about Pell Grants should write their representatives in Congress, Sharp said, even though that would be a long-term solution and not an immediate one.
Historically, Utah has had low tuition and low financial aid, Feitz said. But with the recent trend and need to increase tuition, Utah now has medium tuition and low financial aid.
“It’s a big issue and it hits people right in the pocket book that want to go to school,” Feitz said.
-hilaryi@cc.usu.edu