The College Planning Blog

Hey Guys,

Here’s what is going on locally here in Texas. Things are getting ugly. So far the politicians solution is to make it harder to get help, instead of actually fully funding the program in place.

July 25, 2008

Source: The Dallas Morning News

Holly K. Hacker

Jul. 25, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) — When it comes to qualifying for the state’s biggest pot of college financial aid, being poor may no longer be enough.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board forwarded a plan to lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday that could fundamentally change the design and mission of the TEXAS Grant program.

It would favor students who excel academically, shifting priority away from those with the greatest financial need.

Kimberly Anderson of Dallas fears the proposed changes could prevent some students from going to college. The 2008 graduate of Carter High School is headed to the University of Texas at Austin in the fall and plans to pay with grants and scholarships.

“I understand they don’t want to waste the money,” she said. “I think it’s still fair to go off needs.”

Thursday’s move paves the way for debates in the coming legislative session about spending priorities for higher education.

Since 2004, the state hasn’t provided enough money to cover all students eligible for the grants, which provide about $5,200 a year — enough to cover average tuition and fees at public universities.

For the coming school year, the coordinating board estimates there will be enough grant money for only 28,000 of the 70,000 new students who qualify.

Thursday’s action is a move toward deciding which students deserve the money most.

“It is not a good message to send to poor students that by virtue of the fact you’re poor, you’re going to get aid,” said Raymund Paredes, the state’s higher education commissioner. “Students from all income classes should be sent the message that you should be expected to perform as well as you can.”

But state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said the changes could hurt the very students the program was supposed to help.

“Don’t be in a position where we end up being penny-wise and dollar-foolish. The plan is working,” said Mr. Ellis, who led efforts to create TEXAS Grants in 1999.

Under current rules students must take a college-preparatory curriculum in high school to qualify for the grants. The vast majority of Texas students meet that standard today.

The proposed changes come at a time when political and business leaders are pressing public universities to enroll more low-income and minority students — people who make up a growing share of the state’s workforce.

The bulk of TEXAS Grants goes to students whose families make less than $40,000 a year. Three-fourths of recipients are minorities.

Last year, the Legislature ordered a review of state aid programs to make sure money is spent efficiently. The coordinating board hired a private consultant to come up with recommendations.

The consultant recommends that to receive TEXAS Grants, students either score 1350 out of 2400 on the SAT or 18 out of 36 on the ACT; graduate in the top half of their high school class; or complete the state’s most rigorous high school curriculum.

Dr. Paredes offered an even tougher set of recommendations Thursday. They include requirements that students either score 1500 on the SAT or about 21 on the ACT; graduate in the top 30 percent of their high school class; or graduate high school with a B average.

While board members voted to send the consultant’s report to the governor and lawmakers, they didn’t expressly endorse it. Nor have they endorsed Dr. Paredes’ recommendations. Rather, several board members said they need more information on how the proposed changes would affect lower-income and minority students.

Board member Robert Wingo of El Paso said more study is needed “so we are not putting the very students we’re trying to help at risk.”

The possible changes come as tuition at four-year public universities keeps rising in Texas, and as students are relying more heavily on loans to pay for college.

Tuition and fees at four-year public universities have risen about 50 percent since 2002, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis that adjusts amounts for inflation. The charges have risen as the Legislature has allowed state funding per student to drop and authorized campuses to make up for the shortfall by setting their own tuition.

And TEXAS Grants don’t begin to cover the total cost of attending a four-year public university in Texas — add in books, room, board and other expenses, and the total averages $17,500 a year.

Keshav Rajagopalan, student government president at UT-Austin, said adding some academic standards makes sense, but the consultant’s report leaves out a key issue.

“There is nothing that talks about actually funding these programs,” he said. “You can’t just say we’ve got programs and then not put money toward them.”

Coordinating board officials said any changes in eligibility wouldn’t take effect for several years.

An advisory group of financial aid experts and others helped prepare the report, though not all their suggestions were included.

The group made a point that, however the state’s aid programs are structured, they must be fully funded to meet the state’s goals of sending more low-income students to college, said George Torres, a committee member and official with Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (NYSE:STU) , a nonprofit created by the state to guarantee federal student loans.

He said any surplus money in future state budgets should go toward making sure all eligible students receive TEXAS Grants.

Staff writer Joanna Cattanach contributed to this report.

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