PENN ON THE HILL: Alliance fights financial aid cuts

Thirty national organizations have joined together to form the Alliance to Save Student Aid, a group fighting to prevent the cuts in student financial aid currently being discussed in Congress. Organizations involved in the Alliance include the American Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the United Negro College Fund. Terry Hartle, vice president for governmental relations for the American Council on Education, said the Alliance has several major objectives. These include highlighting proposals to reduce or eliminate student financial aid programs, alerting students and members of Congress about the potential consequences of these cuts and informing students of ways they can voice their opinions to legislators. "I think it's directly in response to the perceived threats to the federal student aid programs," Hartle said. In an effort to reduce federal spending, members of the Republican majority have proposed sweeping changes to financial aid. Some of these proposals, such as eliminating federal interest payments on student loans, could significantly increase the cost of a college education for students receiving federally-funded financial aid. Bill Schilling, the University's student financial aid director, said last month that this proposal would mean an additional debt of approximately $3,000 to students borrowing the maximum possible amount. Assistant Vice President for Policy Planning David Morse said the most an undergraduate student could borrow in guaranteed student loans is $17,125. Morse said this would amount to an increase in the student's debt total of approximately 20 percent. For graduate students, who borrow more than undergraduates and thus have a higher limit on the amount they can borrow, the affect would be even greater. "We're trying to use the Alliance to try to develop a coherent message that all the organizations can carry to the different folks they represent," Hartle said. "Otherwise, you'd have lots of organizations running around doing very similar things." The Alliance has published a "local organizing kit" informing people how to contact members of Congress about this issue. The group runs a telephone hotline through which callers are connected directly to Congressional offices. A fee of $3.65 is billed to the caller's credit card. The Alliance kit also includes a form letter urging legislators not to cut financial aid that students may send to members of Congress. In addition, a sample letter to the editor is included in the kit.

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