State and National Higher Ed Policy Updates — October 2019
By: Bahar Akman Imboden
Tags: Students, College, News, Massachusetts, Education

Massachusetts Updates:

Student Advocates Applaud Inclusion of $20 Million in Public College Endowment Matching Funds, but urge for more MASSGrant funding

The supplemental budget passed by the Senate last week, and we, along with other Student advocates, applaud the inclusion of $20 million for public college endowment matches. This program incentivizes philanthropic gifts to the state’s public colleges and university endowments by matching private donations with public funds, at a rate of $1 in state funds for every $2 in private contributions. The Endowment Incentive Program, created in the 1990s, lapsed due to a lack of new funding in 2010. The proposed supplemental budget would set aside $10 million for the UMass campuses, $5 million for Massachusetts state universities, and $5 million for the state’s community colleges.

In May 2019, we released a report on the Endowment Incentive Program, noting that “twenty-four other states have created similar matching fund programs, which have proven to yield a substantial return on investment… Looking at the impact of the program in Massachusetts, public campuses raised over $125 million in private contributions over the first four years of the program’s inception. The state matched these donations with $50 million in public funding, resulting in a 250 percent return on investment.”

“When considering where to give, philanthropists look for opportunities where our money can go further and have a greater impact. The Endowment Incentive Program is an opportunity to attract millions of dollars in additional private funding for our public colleges and universities, whose graduates are the future of our state’s highly educated workforce,” said Bob Hildreth, our founder.

However, we are disappointed that the Senate supplemental budget does not include the $17.5 million for the MASSGrant scholarship program that the House supplemental budget proposed. In a March 2019 report on the MASSGrant, we showed that the MASSGrant “has not kept up with the constant increases in tuition and fees, which are in direct result of the deep funding cuts we witnessed [since 2001]…In 1988 it covered 80 percent of the average tuition, in 2013, the MASSGrant only covered 9%.” After two decades of deep budget cuts and despite growing enrollment, the MASSGrant’s purchasing power has fallen, and it no longer covers a significant portion of the costs associated with attending college. We have a long way to go if we want to provide the necessary financial aid to all Massachusetts students who need a college degree. Therefore we urge that the two chambers’ compromise bill includes this essential increase in funding for MASSGrant.

ACTION needed to Push Forward The Student Loan Bill of Rights

The Student Loan Bill of Rights is at House Ways and Means Committee. It’s time to show your support for protecting student loan borrowers’ rights by sending a letter to your representative urging them to connect with the House Ways and Means Committee members to approve bill H.3977* to establish our own Student Loan Bill of Rights here in MA.

Other MA news:

Big boost on campus: Massachusetts could offer a match for donations to UMass, public universities, community colleges

Real problem isn’t sudden college closures, but student debt

Proposed student loan bill of rights would create ombudsman for Mass. borrowers

When College Finances Falter, Mass. Lawmakers Want More Leverage

Massachusetts AG Sues DeVos Over Debt Relief

Why More Small Nonprofit Colleges Are Facing An Uncertain Future

Higher ed campuses face penalties in college closure bill

House set to advance college closure bill

Student Loan Default Rates At Every Massachusetts College

National updates:

Democrats’ “College Affordability Act” Doesn’t Go Far Enough

Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee passed the College Affordability Act out of committee yesterday. The bill includes: a tuition-free community college, a $625 increase to the maximum Pell grant award, a repeal of the ban on Pell grants for incarcerated students, emergency aid and support to students experiencing food or housing insecurity, and attempts at closing the loopholes that for-profits schools exploit to recruit veterans and service members predatorily. While this is a welcomed improvement from last month’s recommendations coming out of the Senate HELP committee, disappointedly, the proposal doesn’t go far enough in addressing the severe affordability and student debt crises we are experiencing.

The Pell Grant increase is insignificant. To put in perspective: while Pell covers 29% of the average public cost of attendance, it will now cover 31% average college costs (it used to cover 79% of the average cost of attendance in 1975).

While student debt is weighing heavy on multiple generations of borrowers, stiffening the economy and exacerbating existing inequality, the proposal does not include any provisions to lessen this burden.

Future students will continue experiencing significant unmet need and borrowing significant amounts, despite the proposed free community college program.

We need to boldly reform our higher education system so that it is genuinely affordable. We need to ensure that obtaining a higher education is not a debt sentence!

“The unraveling of federal oversight of college quality”

The final version of the federal rules covering accreditation and the states’ oversight of online education providers was released yesterday. Following the trend that is weakening borrowers’ protection and oversight efforts, with these new rules, the Department of Education has further deregulated the already-lax oversight of the nation’s college accreditors. Additionally, undermining States’ ability to enact and enforce laws protecting residents enrolled online across state lines.

As a consequence, more students will be at risk of falling prey to low-quality colleges that leave them with debt but no earning potential.

There is a public comment period on this Proposed Rule; you can leave a comment HERE.

Other National news:

These Students Want to Know: Where’s Their Tuition Money Going

Judge Holds Betsy DeVos In Contempt For Violating Student Loans Order

House Dems unveil college affordability plan

New Rules on Accreditation and State Authorization

Expect These Student Loan Changes In 2020

Judge Holds Betsy DeVos In Contempt For Violating Student Loans Order

These Students Want to Know: Where’s Their Tuition Money Going?

State Cuts to Higher Education Funding Shift the Burden to Students