SMU may need to reconsider how many students will come to campus on federal and state-funded scholarships next year, according to President R. Gerald Turner.
The SMU Board of Trustees met last week, primarily discussing proposed reductions in need-based financial aid in the state and federal budget cuts. The federal government has recommended lowering Pell grants, which are federal grants for students of high need, by 20 percent.
SMU receives about $4 million for Pell grants, which supported 940 of our students this year. With the federal budget proposal under H.R. 1, this would be a reduction close to $800,000.
“I was asking them, as they know our congressman and senators, to mention our concern,” Turner said. “Because most people don’t know that we really have a lot of diversity on this campus and that these are students whose total family income is less than $40,000.”
Turner believes the discussion on budget was more important this time than other times.
“Sometimes it’s easy just to hear, ‘well, there are going to be budget cuts,’ but when it comes down to what it means, you know, right here that it means a million in need-based support and federal if that goes through.”
A state proposal may impose a 40 percent cut on the Texas Tuition Equalization Grants (TEG), a need-based grant for Texas students. SMU receives about $6 million from the TEG for nearly 1,500 students.
“What we did was give out all of this information and for every trustee that was a Texas resident, ‘here’s your legislator, here’s your senator, would you write or call them?'” Turner said.
Turner mentioned that a group of students is going to Austin on Wednesday to see the legislators and speak with them on the issue. The majority of these six students are on a grant.
“There are legislators who came to SMU on a TEG,” Turner said.
Dr. Lori White, vice president of student affairs, presented the results of Greek recruitment to the Board along with programs available for students who didn’t end up joining an organization.
“There are certain things on campus that can take the place of any of those organizations,” Turner said, listing time-consuming activities such as theatre, engineering groups or a job. “What we try to do is say, ‘here, if that doesn’t work, here are other things to check on.'”
White also reported to the Board that the number of alcohol and drug violations went down from the fall of 2009 to the fall of 2010.
A main presentation is given to each of the Board of Trustees meetings. This February’s meeting welcomed Dean James Quick, associate vice president for research, who said that sponsor research has improved over the last 10 years.
Turner mentioned that the state legislature will make its decisions on proposed cutbacks by early June, but that Congress should make its decisions March 4, which is another extension from the previous date of Sept. 30, 2010.
They then have to pass a continuing resolution to keep the budget spending the way it is currently budgeted or pass the proposals for budget cutbacks.
“It could be done March 4, but I’ll bet they’ll extend again and it will be April 1 or so before we know,” Turner said. “And the Pell grants—we’re recruiting people for next year and now, you know, and we’ve got continuing students on Pell. So what you normally do when there’s a cutback, is you maintain the same level of support for your continuing, but you just have less support for your incoming.”
The unknown future for these budgets is why Turner urged the trustees to take action as soon as possible.
“The longer they wait to let us know, the more difficult it is, because you have to scramble to put some things together, like financial aid packages for high-need students,” Turner said.
