THE number of hardship payments made to struggling students has doubled because of a lengthy delay in handing out grants and loans.
Two months after the university term started, many students have still not received their loans and grants, with the result that many are struggling to buy food and pay their rent.
Bournemouth University handed out 119 emergency loans in the first two months of term – more than double the 48 granted in the same period last year.
And the students’ union has also been handing out £10 Asda vouchers to students who approach them for help.
Across the country, thousands of students are still waiting for part or all of their money.
The Student Loans Company took over the processing of applications from local authorities this year but is still working through a backlog.
James Ricci, president of the students’ union at Bournemouth University, said: “There have been a fair few complaints, we’ve had people coming to us saying they can’t even afford to buy food.
“First years are not too badly affected because they are in university accommodation and there isn’t the pressure for them to pay their rent immediately.
“But students who are living in rented accommodation are having to explain to their landlords that they can’t pay their rent just yet.
“I know of one student who actually got threatened with being kicked out of his house if he didn’t pay his rent in two days. He had to ring his dad who transferred £1,700 into his account. A lot of students really rely on that loan to sustain them through university. This just adds pressure on top of what university brings with it in the academic sense.”
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Education bill will improve grants, loans
While health care reform and the economic stimulus have received a lot of media attention recently, one initiative that directly affects students nationwide is going through the U.S. legislature almost unnoticed.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, House Resolution 3221 of 2009, is a reform bill primarily aimed at revamping federal Pell Grants, Stafford Loans and other federal student loan programs.
Angela Martinez, a senior micro & molecular biology major, said such reform is long overdue.
“The government doesn’t properly account for how much families spend. The current income caps for Pell Grant recipients are far too low,” she said.
The initiative was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., on July 15 of this year and then passed on Sept. 17. The bill was received in the Senate four days later on Sept. 21 and subsequently referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where it awaits further debate.
The version of the bill that passed the House proposes an increase in Pell Grants by close to $40 billion over the next 10 years, as well as an increased asset cap of $150,000 to qualify. Under the bill, year-to-year grant amounts would increase with inflation. Such increases would start in 2011, increasing the current Consumer Price Index inflation plus one percent.
“I think it’s really important to extend federal aid, especially Pell Grants, to students who are financially disadvantaged during eras of high unemployment such as the time we’re in now,” said Ian Bell, a sophomore political science major.
Federal student loan programs will also be reformed under the proposed bill. Under the current system, federal subsidies enable banks to guarantee loans to students. Because banks are profit-oriented businesses, their control over interest rates has led to skyrocketing costs to students.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act seeks to eliminate the guaranteed loan system and replace it with direct loans. Federal loan money would go directly to the student, with banks acting solely as administrative intermediaries.
The savings garnered from the new system, estimated at around 10 to 20 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would allow the government to decrease interest rates on student loans initiated between the year 2000 and 2010 while new loans would have their interest rates tied to U.S. Treasury rates.
“I think anything that encourages people to go to school and makes it easier for them should be supported; in the long run it should benefit society as a whole,” said Sabrina Stein, a senior political science major.
In addition to the monetary advantages associated with the proposed changes, student soldiers facing deployment would see further benefits. Members of the armed forces who are forced to withdraw from classes due to deployment would have their loans forgiven under the new initiative.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposed changes will decrease federal costs by $74.8 billion over the next 10 years. Various initiatives are to be funded with the projected savings.
Among these projects are a public school modernization, renovation and repair fund and a “Quality Pathways” grant that would increase the number of early-learning programs specifically in low-income communities as well as overall.
Also among the initiatives is a university funding program that would allocate grant funds to engineering, technology, science and mathematics-related areas as well as schools with high completion rates. Any extra savings not allocated would be used to help pay down the federal deficit.
“I know a lot of my friends have to work 40 hours a week to survive and it’s still not enough to give them access to grant money,” Martinez said.
If the bill passes in the Senate in time, the proposed changes could take effect for the 2010-2011 academic aid year, giving many students quick relief from their financial burdens.
“The money feeds me,” Bell said.
Source
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, House Resolution 3221 of 2009, is a reform bill primarily aimed at revamping federal Pell Grants, Stafford Loans and other federal student loan programs.
Angela Martinez, a senior micro & molecular biology major, said such reform is long overdue.
“The government doesn’t properly account for how much families spend. The current income caps for Pell Grant recipients are far too low,” she said.
The initiative was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., on July 15 of this year and then passed on Sept. 17. The bill was received in the Senate four days later on Sept. 21 and subsequently referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where it awaits further debate.
The version of the bill that passed the House proposes an increase in Pell Grants by close to $40 billion over the next 10 years, as well as an increased asset cap of $150,000 to qualify. Under the bill, year-to-year grant amounts would increase with inflation. Such increases would start in 2011, increasing the current Consumer Price Index inflation plus one percent.
“I think it’s really important to extend federal aid, especially Pell Grants, to students who are financially disadvantaged during eras of high unemployment such as the time we’re in now,” said Ian Bell, a sophomore political science major.
Federal student loan programs will also be reformed under the proposed bill. Under the current system, federal subsidies enable banks to guarantee loans to students. Because banks are profit-oriented businesses, their control over interest rates has led to skyrocketing costs to students.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act seeks to eliminate the guaranteed loan system and replace it with direct loans. Federal loan money would go directly to the student, with banks acting solely as administrative intermediaries.
The savings garnered from the new system, estimated at around 10 to 20 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would allow the government to decrease interest rates on student loans initiated between the year 2000 and 2010 while new loans would have their interest rates tied to U.S. Treasury rates.
“I think anything that encourages people to go to school and makes it easier for them should be supported; in the long run it should benefit society as a whole,” said Sabrina Stein, a senior political science major.
In addition to the monetary advantages associated with the proposed changes, student soldiers facing deployment would see further benefits. Members of the armed forces who are forced to withdraw from classes due to deployment would have their loans forgiven under the new initiative.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposed changes will decrease federal costs by $74.8 billion over the next 10 years. Various initiatives are to be funded with the projected savings.
Among these projects are a public school modernization, renovation and repair fund and a “Quality Pathways” grant that would increase the number of early-learning programs specifically in low-income communities as well as overall.
Also among the initiatives is a university funding program that would allocate grant funds to engineering, technology, science and mathematics-related areas as well as schools with high completion rates. Any extra savings not allocated would be used to help pay down the federal deficit.
“I know a lot of my friends have to work 40 hours a week to survive and it’s still not enough to give them access to grant money,” Martinez said.
If the bill passes in the Senate in time, the proposed changes could take effect for the 2010-2011 academic aid year, giving many students quick relief from their financial burdens.
“The money feeds me,” Bell said.
Source
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