Advocacy focuses on preserving state grant funds
Thousands of Minnesota college students could benefit from a welcome influx of $15 million into the State Grant program, which provides need-based aid. That would be an increase of about 10 percent over current state spending; Minnesota could finally reverse the recent trend of seeing the value of these critical awards shrinking.
To make this new State Grant investment a reality will not require new state spending. Given recent action by Congress, changes in federal student aid will trigger this increase in the State Grant program — but only if current state support remains stable.
“This is an unusual opportunity and we hope the Legislature will follow the lead of Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the precedent of his predecessors,” said David Laird, president of the Minnesota Private College Council.
Last year, for the first time in over six years, Congress increased the maximum award level for the federal Pell Grant from $4,310 to $4,714. This investment is projected to increase the resources available for Minnesota’s neediest college students by 10 percent over current spending.
Students meet with Sen. Dick Day during Day at the Capitol event to advocate for need-based aid
In addition, because of connections between the Pell and the State Grant programs, the federal changes trigger the $15 million of new potential State Grant funding. So 80,000 Minnesota college students who receive State Grant would benefit. Depending on how the state’s policymakers choose to reinvest the $15 million, more students from middle-class families could qualify for state aid and the size of awards for current recipients could increase. Both of these changes would decrease the amount students borrow to attend college.
An increase in the state’s need-based aid funding, however, is not guaranteed. The state is currently facing a $935 million budget deficit, and since the state is required to have a balanced budget it must eliminate the deficit by June 2009. This will require Pawlenty and the Legislature to find ways to cut spending — and the State Grant program is always a potential target.
In his budget balancing proposal, the governor protected the State Grant program. Given the State Grant program’s ability to help keep higher education affordable by targeting aid to those with the greatest need, the governor came forward in support of expanding the State Grant Program in order to take advantage of the Pell increases. (Pawlenty did call for a 3.85 percent decrease in spending for both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, or about $53 million across the two systems.) The Legislature is now considering proposals to balance the budget, but leadership from both the House and Senate have indicated a desire to minimize cuts to higher education.
The State Grant program helps students at public and private institutions; 21 percent attend the 17 nonprofit colleges that are part of the Minnesota Private College Council. Three-quarters of the recipients are from families with incomes below $40,000. For more on the State Grant program and its benefits for the state, view our fact sheet 
PDF (361 KB).