Capital drive ups aid goal by $15 million

University financial administrators have decided to alter the capital campaign to place a greater emphasis on raising financial aid money, particularly for undergraduates. And in another change in financial aid policy, schools will be able to raise money for their own undergraduate financial aid programs starting April 1. Officials said that long-term budget problems, made worse by a proposed $18.6 million cut in state appropriations, forced the administration to adopt the two changes in financial aid fundraising. Before the change, the capital campaign targeted $85 million for financial aid, already making it one of the drive's largest single benefactors. The new policy raises the goal to almost $100 million. Administrators hope to raise enough money through the policy changes to decrease the percentage of general funds spent on financial aid, an amount which has been growing steadily over the past ten years. The shaky financial aid picture became even more bleak because of the possible losses in state funding, Vice President for Development Rick Nahm said yesterday. Despite the changes, administrators said Wednesday in their Fiscal Year 1992 budget announcement that the financial aid allocation will still get lower increases in the 1992-93 school year. Officials said the future cuts in financial aid will be necessary if major state funding cutbacks proposed by Governor Robert Casey are passed. Casey's budget calls for an $18.6 million cut in University appropriations. Because of the loss of funds for financial aid, administrators also said that they may be forced to end the need-blind admissions policy. Nahm said his department would stress to potential donors their money would restore cuts in existing programs rather than create new programs. The new policy allowing schools to raise money for their own undergraduates does not directly respond to Casey's budget, but Nahm said the proposal "ended up being very timely." Currently, schools cannot raise financial aid money for their own undergraduates. President Sheldon Hackney said Wednesday that this policy has made fundraising for undergraduate financial aid more difficult than efforts for raising graduate aid. Currently, money raised for undergraduate financial aid can only be restricted by field of study, grade-point average and a student's geographic area. If no restrictions are made, the money goes into the general financial aid pool. Only graduate financial aid can be directed to a certain school. "In the past, there was not a strong incentive for raising funds for student financial aid," Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington said. "If you raised the funds, they kind of disappeared." Officials said the new proposal should encourage schools to raise money for undergraduate financial aid, including graduate schools which have submatriculants. Farrington agreed, saying the new proposal would allow schools to ask for donations for undergraduate aid and make fundraising for financial aid a high priority. Provost Michael Aiken said Wednesday the University needs to generate an additional $10 million for financial aid in the next ten years. Nahm said yesterday $10 million could be generated with a combination of endowment donations and gifts for scholarships. To gain $10 million from endowment funds alone would require an endowment of about $200 million, Nahm said. He added, however, annual gifts, in which donors agree to give a certain amount of money every year for a set number of years, would supplement endowment earnings.

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