University Business - March 2007 - (Page 12)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 B E H I N D the NEWS Bush Budget Boosts Pell Grant But Cuts Loan Subsidies Overhauling financial aid is on the agenda. IT IS FEDERAL BUDGET TIME AGAIN, BUT THIS YEAR THE PROPOSED numbers stand to shake up the status quo in higher education. President Bush’s proposed 2008 $56 billion education budget includes a plan to cut, among other things, about $18.8 billion in federal subsidies to the banks and financial institutions that make college loans. These federal subsidies have been the target of criticism for several years, but they will now be addressed by a proposal that takes the savings and pours them into the Pell Grant program—boosting the latter by about $20 billion. If the president gets his way, the maximum annual Pell award would climb from the current $4,050 to $5,400 by 2012. Before that happens, though, the budget will have to be approved by a Democratic-controlled Congress whose leaders are already at work on revamping education funding, but who are not entirely in step with Bush’s plans. Sen. Edward Kennedy D-Mass. , chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, told the press that while cuts in subsidies to student loan lenders are long overdue, he will fight the president’s other money-saving proposals. Namely, Sen. Kennedy and other he opposes the president’s plan to cut the Supplemental EduDems have more power. cational Opportunity Grants SEOG , the Perkins program, the Leveraging Educational Assistance partnership LEAP , and the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships. The American Council on Education estimates that these cuts would free up $942 million for other higher ed student aid programs, yet cautions that cuts will hurt students in the short term. Kennedy is also pushing for students to borrow direct government loans and avoid loans that go through banks and other commercial lenders. Currently the SEOG program provides grants to 1.3 million students. ACE estimates that one million students will lose money in the short term, although the administration argues that they will eventually gain the money back with the Pell Grant increases. “Last year this program funded $772 million to students,” notes Larry Zaglaniczny, director of congressional relations for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. NASFAA, as well, is opposing these program cuts. The president’s proposed budget also calls for an increase from $5,500 to $7,500 in the minimum that a student can borrow through the Direct Loan and the Federal Family Education Loan programs. This increase would apply to undergraduates who are in at least their third year of study. Proposed federal legislation would cut interest rates in half for subsidized Stafford loans. The average borrower would save $4,420 in college loan payments. This move would help low-and middle-income families. —Jean Marie Angelo SOUND BITE Safety: 25.5 U diddly squat What most kids know about preparing for college. KnowHow2G0.org An ad campaign asks adults to help young people who want to go to college. Campaign Targets High-Aspiring, Low-Income Youth LOW-INCOME YOUTH AND WOULD-BE first-generation college students often have high aspirations about post-secondary education. But they also typically lack the resources, know-how, and/ or support to fulfill their ambitions. A new public service advertising campaign aims to inspire these teens to seek help and information and empower them to take action. The national outreach effort was launched in January by the Lumina Foundation for Education, the American Council on Education, and The Advertising Council. Public service announcements are appearing on television, on the radio, and in print. A television PSA shows students using paper airplanes to connect with adults who might help them navigate the college preparation process. Other ads, such as the one above used in print and outdoors on billboards, help open the eyes of adults about the need to provide guidance to youth who dream of college but may feel lost in the process. The ads point students and adults to the campaign’s website, www .knowhow2go.org, for more information, including a college planning timeline and resources specific to students from middle school through senior year of high school. —Melissa Ezarik ‘L Update03.indd 1 arry Summers, we couldn’t have done it without you. —Kim Gandy, president, National Organization for Women on the appointment of Drew Gilpin Faust as the next president of Harvard University. ‘ 12 | March 2007 www.universitybusiness.com 2/21/07 11:44:11 AM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://www.knowhow2go.org http://www.knowhow2go.org http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - March 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Financial Aid
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Title IX Turns 35
It’s Electric
Lost in Space
Transportation Trends
Details of Retail
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - March 2007