Monday, April 10, 2017
Ask not for whom the Pell tolls...
It tolls for me.
Come August, I will have been a financial aid counselor for 19 years. I can't believe it's been that long, but my incredulity at surviving in this profession is minuscule compared to my blanching at the whipsaw politics of the day. One year ago I would never have believed Trump would be president, and I'm dumbstruck at Albany. When I'm done with this post, I'm getting canned goods.
There are lots of expensive goodies in the budget, and plenty of progressive aims fulfilled, but none are more relevant to me than the new policy of free SUNY and CUNY tuition, for families making less than $100,000 starting Fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018, and stopping at $125,000 in Fall of 2019 - all figures are the federal adjusted gross income. Now, does this mean the end of financial aid as I know it? No. Certainly there will be some changes, and if I am interpreting the policies correctly, the free tuition will lower the student loan borrowing of our students - maybe However, our workload will increase overall, to a much greater degree than any relief we could expect from fewer student loans.
Programs such as this, whether it's termed financial aid, or tuition credit, or a scholarship (which is supposedly the case here, as the official name is the Excelsior Scholarship, but isn't quite the case, as I'll explain below), follow one of two models: first dollar or last dollar. First dollar means that, if you meet the criteria, the tuition (but not necessarily the fees, books, etc.) is paid, and any other aid you receive (Pell, SEOG, loans, school aid, etc.) can be used for other purposes. Last dollar is just the opposite: whatever aid you're awarded pays the bills, and whatever tuition isn't covered is then paid via the scholarship. This means that someone with an income around $50,000 would probably get just enough Pell and TAP to cover our tuition, but the fees, etc., would have to be paid out of pocket. The Excelsior voucher is a last dollar program, so everyone under the federal limit would need to apply for aid, be approved or denied (and a family of four making $95,000 wouldn't normally get anything besides loans, so not all families bother), then the new money would be available. As a result, a sizable portion of the student body, who would otherwise never be in my office, will be filing the FAFSA, applying for TAP, and financial aid would be required to process them: collecting tax forms, worksheets, green cards, etc. When I say our workload will explode, I mean it.
There are other requirements (for both students and financial aid) beyond the paperwork being processed. The academic requirements are quite stringent, and they are in addition to the regular TAP and Pell satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements. First, the student must be full time, a minimum of 12 credits per semester. However, the student must also complete (note: I didn't say earn) 30 credits per year, so I'm expecting our summer enrollment to go up as students play catch-up. Moreover, would that summer term be covered by anything other than loans? The TAP and Pell would be used up, and the Excelsior program says full time only. A certain GPA must be maintained as well. I'll guess that's a 2.0 or better, but I'm not sure. There's some flexibility built into the program, but don't ask me what the originators of the law mean by that. Also, TAP is reviewed academically every term. Will this follow suit? I am prepared for that to be the case. This could mean a significant increase in SAP appeals, on a semester to semester basis. It's a concern.
Also unclear is who will qualify for the program. The official statement uses the term families, not students, so does that mean a child considered a dependent for state purposes? Is there an age limit? Do you need to be taken as a dependent? I don't know. New York is especially eager to make students dependent, to the point that a 37 year old can be required to use parental tax returns if certain criteria are met. On the other hand, you could be independent at 22. Also, do parents with dependents qualify? Again, I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll get more guidance soon.
Finally, this money isn't really free; there are strings attached. For every year you get the aid, you are expected to live and work in New York. If you don't, your free money then becomes a student loan. Again, what does this mean? Who manages the loan? What is the interest rate? Does it count against lifetime loan limits? I have no clue. I'm not against this facet of the program, and the Smart Grant has a similar requirement and conversion policy.
There's a larger question as to New York's finances and whether or not this is sustainable. I doubt it, depending on what happens to Obamacare and New York's odd relationship with Medicaid. That is a topic for another time.
Come August, I will have been a financial aid counselor for 19 years. I can't believe it's been that long, but my incredulity at surviving in this profession is minuscule compared to my blanching at the whipsaw politics of the day. One year ago I would never have believed Trump would be president, and I'm dumbstruck at Albany. When I'm done with this post, I'm getting canned goods.
There are lots of expensive goodies in the budget, and plenty of progressive aims fulfilled, but none are more relevant to me than the new policy of free SUNY and CUNY tuition, for families making less than $100,000 starting Fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018, and stopping at $125,000 in Fall of 2019 - all figures are the federal adjusted gross income. Now, does this mean the end of financial aid as I know it? No. Certainly there will be some changes, and if I am interpreting the policies correctly, the free tuition will lower the student loan borrowing of our students - maybe However, our workload will increase overall, to a much greater degree than any relief we could expect from fewer student loans.
Programs such as this, whether it's termed financial aid, or tuition credit, or a scholarship (which is supposedly the case here, as the official name is the Excelsior Scholarship, but isn't quite the case, as I'll explain below), follow one of two models: first dollar or last dollar. First dollar means that, if you meet the criteria, the tuition (but not necessarily the fees, books, etc.) is paid, and any other aid you receive (Pell, SEOG, loans, school aid, etc.) can be used for other purposes. Last dollar is just the opposite: whatever aid you're awarded pays the bills, and whatever tuition isn't covered is then paid via the scholarship. This means that someone with an income around $50,000 would probably get just enough Pell and TAP to cover our tuition, but the fees, etc., would have to be paid out of pocket. The Excelsior voucher is a last dollar program, so everyone under the federal limit would need to apply for aid, be approved or denied (and a family of four making $95,000 wouldn't normally get anything besides loans, so not all families bother), then the new money would be available. As a result, a sizable portion of the student body, who would otherwise never be in my office, will be filing the FAFSA, applying for TAP, and financial aid would be required to process them: collecting tax forms, worksheets, green cards, etc. When I say our workload will explode, I mean it.
There are other requirements (for both students and financial aid) beyond the paperwork being processed. The academic requirements are quite stringent, and they are in addition to the regular TAP and Pell satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements. First, the student must be full time, a minimum of 12 credits per semester. However, the student must also complete (note: I didn't say earn) 30 credits per year, so I'm expecting our summer enrollment to go up as students play catch-up. Moreover, would that summer term be covered by anything other than loans? The TAP and Pell would be used up, and the Excelsior program says full time only. A certain GPA must be maintained as well. I'll guess that's a 2.0 or better, but I'm not sure. There's some flexibility built into the program, but don't ask me what the originators of the law mean by that. Also, TAP is reviewed academically every term. Will this follow suit? I am prepared for that to be the case. This could mean a significant increase in SAP appeals, on a semester to semester basis. It's a concern.
Also unclear is who will qualify for the program. The official statement uses the term families, not students, so does that mean a child considered a dependent for state purposes? Is there an age limit? Do you need to be taken as a dependent? I don't know. New York is especially eager to make students dependent, to the point that a 37 year old can be required to use parental tax returns if certain criteria are met. On the other hand, you could be independent at 22. Also, do parents with dependents qualify? Again, I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll get more guidance soon.
Finally, this money isn't really free; there are strings attached. For every year you get the aid, you are expected to live and work in New York. If you don't, your free money then becomes a student loan. Again, what does this mean? Who manages the loan? What is the interest rate? Does it count against lifetime loan limits? I have no clue. I'm not against this facet of the program, and the Smart Grant has a similar requirement and conversion policy.
There's a larger question as to New York's finances and whether or not this is sustainable. I doubt it, depending on what happens to Obamacare and New York's odd relationship with Medicaid. That is a topic for another time.
