University Business - April 2010 - (Page 12)

BEHIND the NEws Tough Times for Trio? In hIs state of the UnIon address earlier this year, President obama pledged ambitious education goals for his administration, particularly to ensure that by 2020 america will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. his administration’s proposed 2011 budget includes $2.1 billion for higher ed programs. It would provide $125.9 million for International education and foreign Language studies programs and 5 percent increases in funding for both historically black colleges and universities and the developing hispanic-serving Institutions program. to help close the gap in enrollment and degree attainment between minority and low-income students and others, $508.5 million in discretionary funding for the aid for Institutional development programs would be provided, an increase of $23.8 million over the 2010 level. however, there is concern over a proposal to level-fund federal tRIo programs in obama’s 2011 budget request and the unfunded mandate for the talent search program included in the higher education opportunity act of 2008. obama’s budget would provide $910.1 million in combined discretionary and mandatory appropriations to maintain college prep and college student support services for participants in tRIo programs. the Council for opportunity in education is requesting slight increases, arguing that demand for their programs continues to rise. tRIo is a set of seven federally funded educational opportunity outreach programs and a staff training program that aids mainly low-income, first-generation students. tRIo funding has substantially decreased since the early 2000s, resulting in dropped services, according to heather Valentine, vice president of government relations for the Council. “We’re very 12 | April 2010 U Concerns over level-funding leading to decrease in student support services During the annual National Student Leadership Congress, TRIO students learn about policy and share their experiences with legislators, who in turn see the impact TRIO programs make. concerned that all this new investment money in education comes from one-time only innovation funding and the budget is ignoring programs like tRIo that have a [lengthy] history.” started in the midsixties, tRIo now involves nearly 850,000 students across the nation. “the president’s budget request for the tRIo programs is an example of asking campuses to do more with less,” says Becky timmons, american Council on education’s assistant vice president for government relations. she argues that efforts “cannot be sacrificed to a future hope that improvements in elementary and secondary education will eliminate the need for such services.” the student aid alliance, a coalition cofounded by the american Council on education and the national association of Independent Colleges and Universities, rec- ommends that tRIo funding be boosted from $853.09 million to $1 billion. a tRIo fact sheet explains that an investment in the 2011 fiscal year would: • Allow 15 percent of Talent Search students to receive services that promote their success in rigorous secondary curricula ($35.8 million). • Expand the Student Support Services program to improve retention, transfer, and graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients. • Sustain Upward Bound for 12,000 students in 187 programs ($57 million). • Expand programs within the Educational opportunity Center by 30 percent ($14.5 million). • Restore services lost as a result of stagnant funding and provide opportunity for nearly 43,000 students ($42.7 million). —Michele Herrmann ‘W SOUND BITE e are not getting out of the theater business. —Adam Jaffe, dean of arts and sciences, Brandeis University (Mass.), on a proposal to drop its graduate program in theater design ‘ universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - April 2010

University Business - April 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
Internet Technology
Certified for Safety
Managing the Enterprise on Limited Resources
A New Chapter for Campus Bookstores
Independent Outlook
What's New
End Note

University Business - April 2010