Financial aid cut nationwide

Freshman Destiney Shaffer isn't sure if she will be at Gonzaga next semester. She might be, she hopes she will be, but she doesn't know. Schaffer, who is the first in her family to attend college, is studying nursing and paying for school through a complicated series of loans, scholarships and grants.

"I did consider going to community college," Shaffer said. "But Gonzaga gave me a financial aid package I couldn't turn down, plus they had a nursing program that is very successful."

That's all at risk under the current budget deliberation, both at the state and federal level.

State cuts

Under Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal, which is still being negotiated, the state funding for the state work study program would be eliminated — a cut of about $8 million statewide. At Gonzaga, that means 200 students would lose their jobs, according to Jim White, dean of student financial services.

"We're talking about work," he said. "The people who benefit from this program aren't using their political clout."

This is particularly ironic, White said, because the program gives local businesses cheap, reliable labor.

The state budget, unlike the federal, has less of an effect on Gonzaga than on state schools. Despite the detrimental nature of the work study cuts, the state budget might boost Gonzaga's enrollment.

"The more and more state institutions are suffering the more and more people will come here," he said. "This is the lesser of the evils."

The budget should be finalized by July 1.      

Federal

That brings us to the greater of the two evils, the federal budget cut. The scope and complexity of this budget and its ramifications are much broader. Already, federal budget changes have affected graduate students. Subsidized Stafford loans, for which the federal government pays the interest while the student is in school, are no longer available to graduate students.

"That will increase the cost of borrowing," White said. Unsubsidized Stafford loans have a 7 percent interest rate, which will encourage graduate students to take out more private loans, with lower rates, he said.

As for upcoming cuts, White said that no one is sure when or if the cuts will be implemented. In November, the congressional super committee issued a statement that no bipartisan agreement regarding the federal budget would be possible. This means that the federal government has to cut 9 to 10 percent from the budget. The fear is that it will come from the education sector.

Programs that may get the ax, or at least a trim, are the federal Pell Grant, interest subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates, the Federal Work Study program and the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant.

"They could go down significantly," White said. At Gonzaga, 929 students receive the federal Pell Grant, and an additional 438 receive the SEOG grant. If the federal cuts go through, these students would have to scramble.

"They would have to find outside scholarships," White said. "Some students may squeak by if they are nearing the end of their program (but) the alternatives aren't great."  

Adding to the uncertainty of students like Shaffer is that no one knows when the federal government will make the cuts. If a decision isn't reached before March, nothing will happen this year, as it is a campaign year.

White said that Gonzaga will do everything that it can to make up the difference in lost funding. However, fundraising can only go so far and many students' continued education at Gonzaga would be in jeopardy.

"I probably will not be attending Gonzaga, nor community college," Schaffer said, if the federal programs are cut. "If it goes through and I can't afford college then I will work and save up money to someday continue my higher education."

White said that the most important thing that anyone can do is make oneself heard.

"Finish your finals, write your delegates, party and go home," White said.

For information and to sign the petition, see studentaidalliance.org