Roundup: News You Need to Know, Fri., Mar. 2nd

The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would eliminate a provision in federal law that limits the size of the Pell Grants that students at community colleges can receive. The “Pell Grant Equity Act” would repeal the “tuition sensitivity” rule, which limits Pell to offsetting only tuition costs as opposed to total college cost of attendance expenses. California is the only state affected by the repeal, for it is the only state that has kept tuition at community colleges low enough for the “tuition sensitivity” rule to remain in effect. If the legislation is enacted, approximately 96,000 students in California would be eligible to receive an average Pell Grant increase of $108. The repeal has met with little opposition, as skyrocketing tuition costs naitonally have made the rule almost obsolete. Lawmakers also want to ensure that colleges are not punished for keeping costs down and students are not punished for attending low-cost institutions.

Tensions are running high between the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and Governor Ed Rendell. At issue is the Governor’s fiscal 2008 state budget, which includes no additional appropriations for the state grant program that PHEAA runs and helps finance. Instead, the Governor is calling for the state loan agency to use proceeds from its student loan business to increase the program’s budget by $88.6-million, to about $475-million. PHEAA had pledged to provide $60 million, believing that the state would cover the rest of the increase. The Governor feels that the agency is in the position to dole out more funding, considering that it gave its seven top executives almost $1 million in bonuses in August. PHEAA officials, of course, disagree.

An audit released on Monday by the Department of Educations Office of the Inspector General recommends the elimination and consolidation of several federal grant programs that, according to the audit, focus similar resources on the same groups of students. The Inspector General identified significant reductions that could be made in the areas of pre-college preparation and support for postsecondary and adult education. Some of the programs have been perennial targets for elimination, like TRIOs Upward Bound program, but there are some new additions, such as programs focusing on assisting minority students and colleges historically serving African Americans and Hispanics. It is unclear whether Education Department leaders, who have proposed eliminating several major student aid programs, requested the audit.