Many Boston University students could lose vital financial assistance under a bill currently being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cut nearly $15 billion in federal student aid over the next 10 years.
The Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act would change many aspects of the federal government’s financial aid programs if passed, according to Jennifer Grodsky, BU’s vice president of federal relations.
The act is a mandatory reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, said Cheryl Constantine, director of financial aid for the BU School of Law. She said while in some years the House will make small technical changes to the HEA, this year, the changes are more drastic.
“This particular bill is looking at some pretty extensive alterations to the way federal financial aid is handled,” Constantine said.
Undergraduate students would lose access to Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and see the cost of their federal loans increase, Grodsky wrote in an email, while graduate students would face new federal limits on borrowing money for school and lose access to Federal Work-Study funds.
Grodsky wrote that the university is concerned about the impact the PROSPER Act could have on BU students.
“It would reduce the amount of federal financial aid available to our students, making college less affordable,” she wrote.
Justin Harlan, a freshman in the College of Engineering, said he was upset to learn Congress is considering slashing major federal financial aid programs.
“My education is funded almost completely by scholarships and grants,” Harlan said. “I wouldn’t be able to pursue higher education as far as I would like to without incurring debt that I would struggle to pay off at a later date.”
BU is a member of several larger organizations, such as the Association of American Universities, that do the primary work in dealing with higher education legislation, said BU spokesman Colin Riley.
Still, Riley said, the university is working on assessing the potential impacts the legislation could have on campus.
“We are keeping a keen eye on it,” he said. “We care very much about accessibility and affordability issues.”
Allison Huang, a sophomore in the School of Hospitality Administration, said she thinks these cuts to federal aid will likely make students less inclined to pursue a college education.
“Tuition now is so expensive, and it’s been getting worse every single year, so lots of people are trying to get financial aid or loans,” Huang said. “So, if they’re cutting those, there will probably be fewer students trying to go to college or grad school.”
In a letter to Rep. Michael Capuano, who represents the district that includes BU’s campus in the House of Representatives, BU President Robert Brown admonished the passing of the PROSPER Act on the basis that it includes several provisions that would be harmful to undergraduate and graduate students alike.
Brown wrote that the loss of SEOG grants, from which 16 percent of freshmen entering BU in 2017-18 received money, “would be a significant loss for college affordability.” He added that the university is also concerned about the elimination of the graduate PLUS loan program and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which aids students in pursuing lower-paying but vital public service careers.
“I urge legislators to take the opportunity to enhance federal support for both undergraduate and graduate students as the [PROSPER Act] moves through Congress,” Brown wrote.
There are some provisions in the bill the university does support, Brown wrote in the letter, including the elimination of Student Loan Origination Fees and the creation of a Pell Grant Bonus Award, but these provisions would likely only be passed along with those provisions that cut student aid.
Ariel Swift, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said she relies heavily on student aid and that cuts to federal grants would be detrimental to her education.
“I don’t know if I’d be able to attend college anymore,” Swift said. “A prosperous nation relies on prosperous students, so it’s kind of ridiculous to cut funding for them.”
Shaun was the Editor-in-Chief for the Spring 2019 semester. Before that, he was the Multimedia Editor, the Layout Editor and a News writer. He also sat on the Board of Directors. Follow him on Twitter @shaun_robs.
