Legislative Alert - April 22, 2004

To:  COHEAO Members
From: Harrison Wadsworth

We thought you would be interested in the following press release from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, which follows up on a story leaked to the New York Times earlier this month.  This is an announcement that the Higher Education Act reauthorization bill that will be introduced next week by the Committee majority - led by Reps. John Boehner (R-OH) and Buck McKeon (R-CA) - will include a re-write of the allocation formulas for campus based aid.  This could apparently have a dramatic effect on the distribution of the Perkins Federal Capital Contribution among schools, according to the analysis contained in the press release.  We don't know exactly what the plan is for changing the formula, but indications have been that campus-based funding could be tied to the number of Pell Grant-eligible students at a school and/or the number of subsidized Stafford Loan-eligible students attending the school.  This is in keeping with the stated goal of reallocating money to schools with high percentages of low-income students.   

The COHEAO Steering Committee has not taken a position on this issue but held discussions on the subject at its planning meeting last week in order to be prepared to review this at the appropriate time.   

In that vein, the Steering Committee plans to have a conference call open to COHEAO members to discuss and react to the proposal from the House Education and Workforce Committee, when the proposal is made public in detail.  We would expect this call to take place late next week or the following week, following the introduction of the bill.  We will provide you with a call-in number and the exact time and day after we see the proposed legislation.

   

News from the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
John Boehner, Chairman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2004

CONTACTS: Todd Shriber or 
Alexa Marrero 
Telephone: (202) 225-4527

 

Florida Colleges Would Receive Increased Student Aid Under GOP Plan to Restore Fairness to Higher Education Programs

          WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A legislative proposal being readied by Republicans on the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce would result in significant increases in federal financial aid for a number of Florida colleges and universities, committee leaders John Boehner (R-OH), Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) and Ric Keller (R-FL) said today.         

"The increase in student aid is much needed help for low and middle income students at Florida's rapidly growing college campuses," stated Keller. "I firmly believe that a college education is a young person's passport out of poverty and an essential step toward living out their dreams."

House Republicans recently announced plans to introduce legislation to bring fairness to an outdated formula used to distribute federal campus-based student aid among the nation's colleges and universities. Because of special provisions inserted into federal law over decades, the current campus-based aid distribution formula disproportionately benefits rich, elite or well-established colleges at the expense of many low and middle-income students attending newer, often lower-cost schools.

The House GOP plan, expected to be formally introduced this spring, would help colleges in Florida that serve a greater percentage of needy students. Based on a committee staff analysis of U.S. Department of Education data, if the Republican plan were in effect today, these schools could see their campus-based aid funding for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) increased by almost 3 percent, funding for Federal work-study programs increased by 6 percent and Perkins Loans increased by 47 percent. Some increases for Perkins loans could be as high as 230 percent. The following estimates show how Florida students and schools would benefit if the first phase of the GOP plan to restore fairness to federal campus-based aid programs was in place today. 

Students and schools across Florida stand to benefit from the changes.

  • FLORIDA COLLEGES AND STUDENTS WIN: Under the GOP campus-based aid plan, Florida colleges and students would collectively receive about $4.2 million more in annual federal funding than they are likely to receive under the current federal campus-based aid formula. This funding would come through the three federal campus-based aid programs - the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal work-study and Perkins Loan programs. ·        
  • Republican plan helps the University of Miami: The University of Miami would receive an increase of $500,000, bringing funding from $5.2 million to $5.7 million for the three programs, under the more equitable plan proposed by House Republicans.
  • University of South Florida students would benefit from GOP Plan: University South Florida students would see funding for all three programs increased by $300,000, or 12 percent to $2.5 million.
  • More than a dozen Florida community colleges, under the GOP Plan, would receive increases of 10 percent or more in federal funding for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Some would receive increases over 13 percent.
  • Hundreds more Florida colleges and universities will benefit from the Republican plan to distribute federal financial aid funds more fairly. Among them:
  • The University of Florida would receive a 230 percent increase in federal funding for its Perkins Loan Program.
  • Nova Southeastern University would receive a 13.6 percent increase in funding for its SEOG program and the Republican plan would more than DOUBLE the amount of funding Nova receives for its Perkins program.
  • Miami Dade College would receive $6.5 million in federal funding, up from $5.8 million, for all three programs.
  • Rollins College would receive $717,000, an increase of more than $95,000 for all three programs.
  • Saint Leo College would gain more than $130,000, receiving $888,200 for all three programs.
  • Stetson college would receive $1.4 million, an increase of $200,00, for all three programs.

As the New York Times noted recently, "[t]he federal government typically gives the wealthiest private universities, which often serve the smallest percentage of low-income students, significantly more financial aid money than their struggling counterparts with much greater shares of poor students." ("Rich colleges receiving richest share of U.S. aid," Winter, NY Times, 09 Nov 03)

The Republican plan would begin to change this, to provide fairness for schools that serve larger numbers of low and middle-income students. 

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), which represents the student financial aid interests of most U.S. colleges, is urging Congress to end the special subsidies. And in his 2005 budget request, President Bush called on Congress to provide fairness for low and middle-income students.

For further information on House Republican efforts to expand college access for low and middle-income students, visit http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/108th/education/highereducation/highereducation.

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