New $410 Billion Omnibus Bill Means More Funding for Education
Posted 13 Mar, 2009
President Obama just signed $410 billion more stimulus legislation which includes a payday for higher education–some of which will be aimed at helping college students.
Dollars and Cents
While many criticize the bill for it’s funding of government “pet projects,” it contains several different college funding changes, including:
- Federal Pell Grants. $17.3 billion dollars will go to increasing the amount of Pell Grants, which are offered to lower-income students. (The maximum grant per student for 2009-10 will stand at the $5,350 we previously reported .)
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- Deferment of ACG and SMART Grant Funds. The Academic Competitiveness Grant and SMART Grant funds reportedly had some $887 million of funds remaining that were not needed for the 2009-10 school year’s awards. The bill defers this amount to help with the Pell Grant costs.
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- Perkins Loans and Other Aid. About $1.9 billion will be funneled into programs like the Perkins Loan program (a student loan) and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), free money for lower income students, among other programs.
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- Federal Work Study. The work-study program, which helps students get on-campus jobs to help pay for their education, will receive an additional $200 million in funds.
What it Means for Your Family
Unfortunately, the majority of families probably won’t see much of a reduction in their college bills after the passage of this new bill. Though it is encouraging to see legislators paying more attention to higher education, until colleges and universities also step up to the plate to help keep costs down, parents are likely to still have to grapple with the high cost of higher education for the foreseeable future. For now, it is important that you plan ahead (browse through the archives here for lots of helpful articles to get you started) and pay attention to the changing economy. I will be keeping you updated on changes as they come about!
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo: White House by afranklin
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Related Posts
President Obama just signed $410 billion more stimulus legislation which includes a payday for higher education–some of which will be aimed at helping college students.
Dollars and Cents
While many criticize the bill for it’s funding of government “pet projects,” it contains several different college funding changes, including:
- Federal Pell Grants. $17.3 billion dollars will go to increasing the amount of Pell Grants, which are offered to lower-income students. (The maximum grant per student for 2009-10 will stand at the $5,350 we previously reported .)
. - Deferment of ACG and SMART Grant Funds. The Academic Competitiveness Grant and SMART Grant funds reportedly had some $887 million of funds remaining that were not needed for the 2009-10 school year’s awards. The bill defers this amount to help with the Pell Grant costs.
. - Perkins Loans and Other Aid. About $1.9 billion will be funneled into programs like the Perkins Loan program (a student loan) and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), free money for lower income students, among other programs.
. - Federal Work Study. The work-study program, which helps students get on-campus jobs to help pay for their education, will receive an additional $200 million in funds.
What it Means for Your Family
Unfortunately, the majority of families probably won’t see much of a reduction in their college bills after the passage of this new bill. Though it is encouraging to see legislators paying more attention to higher education, until colleges and universities also step up to the plate to help keep costs down, parents are likely to still have to grapple with the high cost of higher education for the foreseeable future. For now, it is important that you plan ahead (browse through the archives here for lots of helpful articles to get you started) and pay attention to the changing economy. I will be keeping you updated on changes as they come about!
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo: White House by afranklin
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
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