Stimulus package aids students
Jenny Anzelmo
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: Money
The Department of Education is slated to get $84 billion in added funding, some good news for college students. This money is a result of the $838 billion stimulus package the Senate passed Tuesday.
Federal Pell Grants and Federal Perkins Loans will receive $13.9 billion, which will allow seven million students to pursue a college education. The added money will increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $681 per award over the next two years. The bill also provides $3.5 billion specifically for instructional equipment for full-time undergraduate students and up to a $2,500 tax credit per student.
Twenty three percent, or almost 500, undergraduate students at Lynchburg College currently receive financial aid through Federal Pell Grants, and another seven percent, or about 150 students, receive financial aid through Federal Perkins Loans, Michelle Davis, director of financial aid, said.
"The additional funding anticipated in the Economic Stimulus bill…for the Federal Pell Grant funding would significantly impact our students, especially for those whose families have suffered economic losses or lost their jobs," Davis said in an e-mail.
However, the effects of increased funding will not be as dramatic until the 2010-2011 school year. Next year, these grants are being raised an additional $281 per grant. Students at LC who receive Perkins Loans get an average of $1,400, while the average Pell Grant package is $3,350 Davis said.
Students eligible for Pell Grants come from families who make under $55,000 a year, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. For the 2008-2009 school year the average grant nationwide is $2,490, which is about $1,000 less than the average Pell Grant at LC. For '08-'09 the maximum award is $4,731, but with the additional $681 added by the stimulus for the 2010-2011 school year brings the maximum award up to $5,412.
Perkins Loans are given to students with "exceptional" financial need, and are a low interest- five percent- loan, but still make an education possible for many students, according to the Department of Education website.
"Both of these federal programs recognize financial need of students and their families and support their access to quality higher education like Lynchburg College," Davis said in the e-mail.
The $84 billion for education in the Senate bill is far less than the $140 billion provided in the House version. The House also slated $15.6 billion for financial aid nearly two billion more than the Senate version, but there are funding increases for low-income college students in both bills.
The economic stimulus bill, named the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is now headed to a conference committee, where the House and Senate will have to reach an agreement on what is sent to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign.
Obama has some qualms about the amount of money not being doled out for education and called for it to be restored while he campaigned for his plan in Elkhat, Ind. on Monday.
"The Senate version cut a lot of these education dollars, I would like to see some of it restored," Obama said. "We should talk about how we can make sure that we're investing in education, because that's what's going to keep companies investing right here in the United States over the long term."
Virginia is expected to get roughly $4 billion of the package including $966 million for state education programs, $230 million for public school construction, $745 million for highways, $39 million for child care, $124 million for housing, $21 million for water and an additional $617 million in undesignated funds, according to an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Federal Pell Grants and Federal Perkins Loans will receive $13.9 billion, which will allow seven million students to pursue a college education. The added money will increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $681 per award over the next two years. The bill also provides $3.5 billion specifically for instructional equipment for full-time undergraduate students and up to a $2,500 tax credit per student.
Twenty three percent, or almost 500, undergraduate students at Lynchburg College currently receive financial aid through Federal Pell Grants, and another seven percent, or about 150 students, receive financial aid through Federal Perkins Loans, Michelle Davis, director of financial aid, said.
"The additional funding anticipated in the Economic Stimulus bill…for the Federal Pell Grant funding would significantly impact our students, especially for those whose families have suffered economic losses or lost their jobs," Davis said in an e-mail.
However, the effects of increased funding will not be as dramatic until the 2010-2011 school year. Next year, these grants are being raised an additional $281 per grant. Students at LC who receive Perkins Loans get an average of $1,400, while the average Pell Grant package is $3,350 Davis said.
Students eligible for Pell Grants come from families who make under $55,000 a year, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. For the 2008-2009 school year the average grant nationwide is $2,490, which is about $1,000 less than the average Pell Grant at LC. For '08-'09 the maximum award is $4,731, but with the additional $681 added by the stimulus for the 2010-2011 school year brings the maximum award up to $5,412.
Perkins Loans are given to students with "exceptional" financial need, and are a low interest- five percent- loan, but still make an education possible for many students, according to the Department of Education website.
"Both of these federal programs recognize financial need of students and their families and support their access to quality higher education like Lynchburg College," Davis said in the e-mail.
The $84 billion for education in the Senate bill is far less than the $140 billion provided in the House version. The House also slated $15.6 billion for financial aid nearly two billion more than the Senate version, but there are funding increases for low-income college students in both bills.
The economic stimulus bill, named the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is now headed to a conference committee, where the House and Senate will have to reach an agreement on what is sent to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign.
Obama has some qualms about the amount of money not being doled out for education and called for it to be restored while he campaigned for his plan in Elkhat, Ind. on Monday.
"The Senate version cut a lot of these education dollars, I would like to see some of it restored," Obama said. "We should talk about how we can make sure that we're investing in education, because that's what's going to keep companies investing right here in the United States over the long term."
Virginia is expected to get roughly $4 billion of the package including $966 million for state education programs, $230 million for public school construction, $745 million for highways, $39 million for child care, $124 million for housing, $21 million for water and an additional $617 million in undesignated funds, according to an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.