With the future of a key federal loan program for low-income and middle-class students in doubt, West Virginia University President Jim Clements joined several other university presidents in Washington recently to talk with Department of Education officials of the program’s importance.
The Perkins Loan Program, which provides long-term, subsidized loans to undergraduate and graduate students at a fixed 5 percent interest rate, is set to expire in 2014. Students have a nine-month grace period after the time they leave school before beginning repayment. The needs-based program was created by Congress in 1958.
“This is program is currently helping nearly 2,000 students at WVU with direct expenses of tuition, room and board and books,” Clements said. “If the program expires, some of our lowest income students will be left with few viable options to finance a higher education and all of the great benefits it brings.”
Based on current proposals at the federal level, the program will expire in three years if lawmakers take no further action. In February, Clements and 33 other university presidents signed a letter urging the Department of Education to continue the program, which assists more than 500,000 students nationwide.
On June 14, Clements and several other university presidents participated in the Federal Perkins Loan Policy Dialogue with federal education officials at the Department of Education’s offices in Washington, D.C. to convey the importance of the Perkins Loan Program to federal education officials in person. The coalition, led by Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun, wants to work out a solution before it is too late.
Brenda Thompson, WVU associate vice president for student affairs and enrollment management and services, joined Clements at the meeting. “I am encouraged by the fact that the Department of Education is soliciting input from colleges and universities on strategies that may help us save an important student aid program that has helped more than 100,000 WVU students since its inception,” Thompson said. ” Financing a college education is a primary concern for many students and their families, so we need as many options as possible to assist students.”
Students nationwide receive about $1 billion annually in Perkins Loans, according to the Department of Education. Loans averaged around $2,125 per student last year, though undergraduates can borrow up to $5,500. For WVU, the loaned amount for 2010-11 is estimated at nearly $5 million.
In addition to the college and university presidents, other attendees included Martha Kanter, under secretary of education; James Kvaal, deputy under secretary, Department of Education; Eduardo Ochoa, assistant secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education; Molly Corbett Broad, president, American Council on Education; Terry Hartle, senior vice president, American Council on Education; and Pamela Fowler, incoming chair, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators/University of Michigan.
-WVU-
js/06/13/11
CONTACT: University Relations/News
304.293.6997
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.