Students nationwide might see changes to the higher education system in the next few years, which could lead to loss of grants and federal student aid.
With a new Republican majority in U.S. Congress, the Department of Education’s budget could get slashed and some of its power transferred to states.
The higher education subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives is examining college regulation under the new leadership of U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
“The subcommittee will ask tough questions, with the expectation that taxpayer money be spent wisely in all areas: student loans, Pell grants, career and technical education programs and the whole gamut of federal higher education spending,” Foxx said in a statement.
The Republican-led initiative to reduce the federal budget has raised concerns about the fate of Pell grants, which are scholarships for low-income students.
About 27,000 students from the Triangle area received Pell grants last academic year, a number that translates into almost one in five UNC students receiving the grant, said Andrew High, spokesperson for U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., in an e-mail.
But Steve Brooks, executive director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, said he does not think Pell grants will be eliminated from the budget. “The question is whether or not funding will be increased,” he said.
This is an issue that Foxx’s committee will examine during the new session along with some proposed changes for for-profit institutions, Brooks said.
The department is considering new rules, he said, including the gainful employment rule, which would cut off federal student aid to programs where graduates have high student-loan debt in relation to income.
