A report from the Presidents Council says more needs-based financial aid is available in Michigan. As a parent of two Michigan college students, both of whom got 70 percent less grant money for 2011-2012, I'm wondering where this financial aid exists.
The wording of the report is oblique. It says college students are paying about half of the "sticker price" for education. You can't assign a sticker price college tuition rates and fees are organic. It's calculated on unilateral scale. Some universities charge by credit hour, others by contact hour. Lab fees, books, parking fees, housing, meal plans and transportation fluctuate. It's nigh on impossible to choose a college by comparison shopping. It's like trying to shop when you don't know the currency or rate of exchange.
The threatened Pell grant did escape cuts in recent debt talks, but Republicans won't rest until the program is cut. Realistically, many students saw grant reductions of almost three quarters. Kids on welfare or whose parents receive benefits didn't lose as much. Our sons worked all summer and saved their money. They were rewarded for their frugality with significantly less financial aid. One son drained his bank account, $4,200 to pay for his education.
Maybe this extra money of which the Presidents Council speaks came because universities got more state funds? Wrong. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder cut university funding by 15 percent to 21 percent. Perhaps schools were able to find money in their budgets to avoid tuition hikes? Again, no. Many Michigan schools raised tuition this year by up to 7 percent. In fact, tuition would have risen higher if not for Gov. Snyder rather backhanded plan. He effectively capped tuition hikes at 7 percent, saying universities would see deeper funding cuts if they raised tuition any higher.
College students in Michigan also lost the use of their EBT (Bridge Card) privileges. EBT is Michigan's debit card food stamp program. Last year, college students were eligible for $150 to $200 a month in food stamps. Michigan's DHS cut off those monies except for some single-parent college students and those receiving other forms of welfare. That certainly won't bring sticker prices down.
Then there is the concept of FAFSA-determined "parent contribution." This is essentially a mythological amount that the government says a parent can contribute to their student's education. A family of five making $50,000 a year with two kids in college is supposed to contribute $4,000 per student. I think that is over and above whatever food, lodging, transportation, utilities and personal assistance parents may already provide. 16 percent of our income is supposed to go for college tuition and expenses.
What the Presidents Council calls increased needs-based financial aid is primarily student loans. Repayment programs don't count as financial aid. All that loan has to be paid back and at a tidy rate of interest. The Presidents Council can glibly promise that funds are available. They can pontificate about the importance of higher education, but talk isn't just cheap, it's free.
Education isn't free or cheap. I just co-signed a $10,000 student loan for one student, for one year. I think the Presidents Council needs to take the blinders off about this so-called reduced sticker price. They can click their ruby slippers together, but it doesn't make college money more available. When Republican congressman liken Pell grants to welfare, it's clear that Michigan's government does not value higher education.
A lifelong resident of Pure Michigan, Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about issues vital to the state.
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