President Obama signed the Budget Control Act on Aug 2., a bill that was approved by Congress in order to cope with the mounting debt-ceiling crisis, but the act could affect the financing of several federal agencies, including those directly tied to funding higher education within the United States, such as the Stafford Direct Loan program and the Pell Grant.
The youth of America are not ready to give up on their education yet, such as Rhian Stotts, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Anthropology. Stotts is a board member of Arizona Students Association, as well as the Vice President of External Affairs in the Graduate and Professional Student Association, both of which have worked to keep the Pell Grant and Stafford Direct Loan program alive.
“We did some reaching out to students via social media to try to prevent (Stafford) cuts, but obviously it didn’t happen. It didn’t save anything,” Stotts said.
The Stafford Direct Loan, which is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, was hit especially hard, with their subsidized loan program for graduate students to be completely eliminated as of July 1, 2012.
The Stafford Loan program provided assistance to students via subsidized lending, meaning the government picked up the interest acquired on students’ loans throughout their college years and up to six months after graduating.
Eliminating this program will save the government $21.6 billion over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“We keep encouraging (students) to write emails, send letters and make phone calls to their state representatives in Washington,” Stotts said.
Despite the much needed increase in the U.S. Treasury funds from slashing the Stafford subsidized loans, these cuts could make it fiscally impossible for many students to pursue post-graduate studies.
Student organizations across the nation took it upon themselves to work with White House representatives to save both the Stafford Subsidized Loans program as well as the Federal Pell Grant, which provides a $5,500 grant each year to nearly eight million students nationwide.
Undergraduate Student Government President Jacob Goulding, a senior political science major, is doing his part to save the grant. He represents ASU in Young Americans, an organization comprised of 120 student government presidents that collectively represent some 1.9 million students.
“Young Americans is basically a working group to set education as a priority nationwide,” said Goulding, who has personally spoken to President Obama in regards to the importance of maintaining the Pell Grant.
Exceptions to the cut are for those pursuing a teaching certificate, as well as those who were receiving subsidized loans prior to July 1, 2012.
Freshman Alex Savage, who is pursuing a major in secondary English education, plans to begin his master’s degree once he has already started to teach.
“I’m a little worried about being able to get loans because the policies change every year,” Savage said. “Who knows what it’ll be like by the time I need them.”
In 2013, the 108th US Congress will be considering the Higher Education Act for renewal, which could result in more funding changes for institutions of higher education.
Reach the reporter at doberhau@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
