Students on Pell Grants cheered on Aug. 2 as the federal grant program was spared by the debt-limit deal, but not without significant sacrifices in other areas of education funding.
President Barack Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 that would apportion $17 billion to the Pell Grant. The money would be taken from the loan subsidies for graduate students that were cut as a part of the bill.
“Protecting the maximum award was a priority,” said Steve Sauls, vice president for governmental relations at the university.
“We’ve taken a lead and reached out to other universities,” he said.
Sauls said he appreciates how University students got involved.
Recently, there had been talk about changing what the requirements for Pell Grants were and changing the maximum amount. The talks led to a deal that provides a sumptuous amount for the maintenance of the Pell program as it is, but remains $1.3 billion short of the amount necessary to cover the total.
“This gap closure means that for at least the next two years, the program will remain primarily intact,” Patrick O’Keefe, president of the Student Government Council at the Modesto Maidique Campus. “This could change in the fall with the bi-partisan commission, but as long as we continue to be vocal, it is doubtful that the program will be cut severely.”
University President Mark Rosenberg’s trip on behalf of Pell Grant to Washington, D.C. the efforts of SGA and the students of various universities across the nation rescued the Pell Grant, but at the expense of subsidized loans for graduate students.
Philip Bolton, ETD coordinator at the Graduate School office, and a soon to be masters in fine arts student at the University, recalls his experience in graduate school while he was receiving his masters in library science.
“During my grad studies, the government covered 100 percent of my tuition,” Bolton said. “I haven’t kept up with exactly what the new budget deal includes, but it can’t be good. If it’s reducing the amount of subsidized loans [the federal government] will disperse, so be it – could be worse.”
Others, like Ivanessa Arostegui, a graduate student in religious studies, had their graduate studies paid for by their institutions.
Arostegui said she received neither Pell Grants nor loans, but a teaching assistant-ship instead. Her department paid for her tuition and she received stipends every semester.
Still, the situation could be more dire for students who are not so fortunate to have someone else pay for their studies paid.
“It can definitely be a heavy blow. Although I have been planning to work during grad school, this surely puts more pressure on me to do so,” said Jason Oliver, an entering graduate student in finance. “I would not want to be unwise and sit around while debt accrues. Of course getting my studies done is most important.”
For the time being, Pell Grants have been secured at the expense of graduate students.
O’Keefe does not yet know what the victory for Pell is but to secure it, he said, requires staying active in the nation’s capitol.
“It definitely feels good knowing that there is temporary protection for Pell, but it is just that, temporary protection. More work is to be done and we need to continue being active in Washington, D.C.”
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