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Show March 1, 1985 Forum Page 2 news Budget Proposals May Curb Financial Aid (CPS) As many as 2.5 million college students could lose their financial aid funding next year if the education budget President Reagan sent to Congress 4th passes, education proponents warn. The budget proposals incorporate many of the worst fears expressed by educators since the November election. And while education groups last year succeeded in pressuring Congress to overrule most of the presidents education cuts, officials worry they may not be as lucky this time. Reagan wants to cut next years student aid budget by $2.3 million, a 27 percent decrease from the $9 billion appropriated for the current funding year, according to Education Department spokesman Dun-cfa- n Helmrich. Under Reagans plan, the entire education budget would be slashed by nearly $3 billion from $18.4 billion to $15.5 billion- for the upcoming fiscal year. But (the current $18.4 billion budget) includes a $750 million appropriation for payment of prior Pell Grants and Guaranteed Student Loans (GSLs) debts, so were really only talking about a little over a $2 billion cut, Helmrich says. Student aid will suffer most of the decrease. Under Reagans proposal: Students with family incomes over $32,500 will be cut from the GSL program beginning with the 1986-8- 7 school year. Those family incomes above $25,000 would be denied Pell Grants, National Direct Student Loans (NDSLs), or College Work-Stud- y funds. The State Student Incentive Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant programs will be eliminated. Assistance programs for international education, foreign language study, and the Fund for the Improvement of Education will be cut drastically or eliminated. Funding will be frozen for remedial education, block grants, handicapped education, bilingual learning programs, and vocational and adult education programs. Needless to say, Reagans proposals are drawing harsh criticism from education groups. We see (the proposals) as a very major assault on education and student aid, says Dallas Martin, executive director of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. More than one million students will be made ineligible by the $25,000 ceiling on the Pell Grant, NDSL, and Work-Stud- y Programs, Martin contends. Roughly one million more will be displaced by the $32,500 cap on GSLs, and another 300,000 will be affected by the cuts in state grant programs, he predicts. Congress must still review and approve Reagans proposals, or pass its own version of the education budget Martin frets he and his colleagues face a hard battle to beat back the proposed cuts. Were in a totally different environment this year, he explains. Last year was an election year and no one wanted to do anything too unpopular. This year, he says because of the tremendous pressure to control the deficit, we should not assume that Congress will automatically step in and reduce the Fe-brau- ry Floyd. George, Heather McShane and other students enjoy the Valentines Day Dance held Feb . U at the Quality Inn. Rising Costs Necessitate Financial Aid (CPS) Students this year have more financial aid dollars to use for college than any time since the 1981-8- 2 school year, but, after weighing inflations effects, the total actually works out to a 15 percent drop in financial aid since the Keagan administration took office, two new studies report. Students and their families also are shouldering more of the financial burden for their educations because much of the aid money available must be paid back eventually, the studies found. In all, students will get nearly $18 billion in federal, state and institutional aid this year, about the same amount as in 1981-8- 2 and up low, according to a $1.6 billion from its 1982-8new student aid trend report by the College Board's Washington office. 3 With those funds, most American college students have no trouble financing their educations, another survey of over 1700 colleges by Petersons Guides concludes. Over 97 percent of this years freshmen are getting some kind of aid money, and theyre using it to cover an average of 85 percent of their financial needs, the Petersons survey shows. About 65 percent of all undergraduates get some form of financial aid, a significant increase over last year in light of soaring college costs and tuition levels, notes Peter llegener, Petersons president. While most of the $18 billion in aid this year will go to students with demonstrated financial needs, over $113 million will go toward merit aid programs based on students academic standing and performance, the survey also points out. The average merit award increased less than eight percent over the past year to $1,1 hile d the average award grew by almost 1 1 percent to $ 1 ,377 the survey found. These statistics suggestthat merit awards are not being given at the expense of needy students, as many have feared," llegener says. But the statistics do suggest all students, regardless of needs, have suffered from the repeated federal student aid cuts in recent years. Allowing for inflation, financial aid funding this year is down 15 percent from its peak 1980-8level, while college costs have grown more in the last three years than in the 17 years so-call- 12-w- need-base- 1 between 1963 and 1980, the College Board study figures. Federal aid, in particular, has failed to keep pace with inflation. In constant dollars, federal student aid has fallen nearly 20 percent in the last four years, the study shows, and dropped as a proportion of all aid from 83 to 78 percent. Even more alarming to College Board officials as well as many other aid experts is the shi ft from grants and other y awards. forms of aid to loans and non-repayab- le work-stud- Grants now make up only 45 percent of all financial aid awards, the study reports, compared to over 80 percent in 1975-7The greater emphasis on loans not only means students incur sizeable debts, but way down the road loans could also end up costing (the government) more than grants, claims Lawrence Gladieux, executive director of College Boards Washington office. If interest rates rise significantly, the federal government could lose a significant amount of money financing loans, he warns, consequently spending more than if the money had been awarded as grants and scholarships. 6. low-cos- t, low-intere- st Post-Seconda- ry cuts. |