News

2 aid programs could be slashed

Federal budget cuts may reduce TRIO funds by 13 percent

Posted on April 13, 2011, at 10:38 p.m.

A $25 million cut to the budget of the Federal TRIO Programs, which prepare potential students to both enroll in and succeed at higher education institutions, could result from a vote in Washington, D.C., today.

Students who benefit from TRIO funding may have low incomes, may be first-generation college students or may fall into both categories.

At the University of Maine, 3,918 students benefit from TRIO programs.

“They’re our most at-risk students and if we’re going to break the cycle of poverty, they need to get an education,” Karen Keim, associate director of the Maine Educational Talent Search and the Maine Educational Opportunity Centers for UMaine said.

Talent Search and EOC programs nationwide may stand to lose the most funding through this cut. Grants that fund those programs are up for renewal, making them the likely target for budget cuts.

If the $25 million cut, which is equivalent to 2.9 percent of TRIO’s total funding, were split evenly between the two programs, each would stand to lose approximately 13.2 percent of their budgets. That means Talent Search could lose 61 programs and EOC could lose 124 programs nationwide.

Talent Search could lose nearly $19 million and EOC could lose roughly $6 million in funding.

If the cut were spread evenly throughout TRIO, every program would see a more moderate dip in funding.

“It takes us back to just over the 2003 funding level” for TRIO by about $1 million, said David Megquier, director of METS and MEOC for UMaine.

Keim stressed that these two programs could bear the brunt of this budget cut purely by chance. They happen to be approaching the end of their funding, and unfunded programs are often the first to receive cuts.

Talent Search runs early-intervention programs that target students in grades 6 through 12 who otherwise would be unlikely to attend college. Students served by Talent Search have an 8 percent chance of earning a bachelor’s degree by the time they are 25 years old unless they take advantage of TRIO’s help, according to a METS fact sheet.

In 2010, 89 percent of high school seniors involved with METS both graduated from high school and enrolled for college in the fall. In that same year, 94 percent of students who had been involved with METS in high school completed their first year of college study and returned for a second year, which is higher than average retention rates.

Keim said METS students are taken on college tours each year they are involved with the program. She said families often cannot spare the time or money to help these students develop a “college consciousness,” such as knowing which type of college or university would fit their needs or knowing what they would like to study.

“We’re trying to create a middle-class feeling for these kids that otherwise wouldn’t have it,” she said.

METS serves at least 850 students each year in schools across the state. Money allocated to the program is used to pay staff costs, such as salary and travel expenses.

“To cover the whole state, we pay a fortune in travel,” Megquier said.

The potential $19 million cut to Talent Search programs nationwide scaled down to Maine’s program would take a significant percentage out of the budgeted $680,000.

MEOC assists 8 percent of unemployed people in Maine further their education. The program is mandated to serve 2,250 people each year. According to Keim, it served at least 3,250 people last year.

MEOC’s individual budget is normally $510,000; scaling down the potential $6 million nationwide cut would eliminate a large chunk of that funding.

Combined, METS and MEOC aids 69 percent of all students served by TRIO in Maine. Both programs provide application fee waivers, state school tuition deposit waivers and test fee waivers. Each of those expenses, ranging from $40 to $150, can be a hardship to TRIO students, Keim said.

“It’s like dropping someone in a foreign country without an interpreter,” Keim said, describing these particular students’ difficulty navigating the pitfalls of financial aid. “We teach them how to get a college education … how to stay in school.”

Today’s scheduled vote will determine which portions of TRIO’s budget will be cut. Keim urged all students — not just the nearly 4,000 UMaine students who directly benefit from TRIO funding — to speak against this cut by calling their senators and representatives in Washington.

“Programs that work — like this — and make such a change in people’s lives need to be supported,” Keim said. “If we don’t call, our low-income students lose their vocal advocates.”

The Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 13th, 2011, 10:38 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.