State may receive more funding with Obama’s new plan

President Barack Obama rolled out a new plan Friday designed to reward universities with low tuition costs by granting them more federal funds, something several officials said bodes well for this university.

The plan, which Obama first mentioned in his State of the Union address Jan. 24 and expounded upon at a speech at the University of Michigan, offers money to affordable universities for need-based programs, while universities with higher tuition risk having their federal funding reduced. According to Brit Kirwan, the chancellor of the University System of Maryland, the state could get money if Obama's plan becomes a law.

Though the state legislature and the Board of Regents — the university system's 17-member governing board — have passed 3 percent tuition increases for in-state undergraduates the past two years, they came on the heels of a four-year tuition freeze. Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed another 3 percent tuition hike for this year, which the state legislature and the Board of Regents will vote on in the coming months.

With several states drastically increasing their tuition fees — California State University students have faced a 29 percent hike in the past year and a half, while another 10 percent raise looms overhead, according to TopEd.org — Kirwan said this state has remained relatively affordable.

"Maryland is, in many ways, a good example for the rest of the nation," he said.

Because the state's higher education is relatively affordable, Kirwan said, it is set up to receive federal incentives under Obama's proposal — incentives this university sorely needs, said Sarah Bauder, the university's director of financial aid. After all, she added, the university's funds for work-study have all but dried up.

"It's absolutely needed, 100 percent," she said. "I don't have enough right now."

If Congress approves the proposal, money would be put toward three need-based programs: Perkins loans, which do not have to start being paid back until nine months after graduation and are limited to $5,500 per year for undergraduate students; work-study, in which students work various on-campus jobs to receive an income; and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, a grant of $100 to $4,000 per year. Many universities receive a stipend from the federal government to dole out these forms of campus-based aid to students.

An influx of money for these programs would help students such as Justin Looney, who pays his tuition with the help of Pell grants, Perkins loans and a work-study program. The senior English major had no funds set aside for college before he got into this university. In terms of need-based financial aid, he said he receives all the loans and grants he qualifies for.

"It's the difference between me being able to go to college and get a degree," he said, "and not."

These programs do not only allow bright students in economic trouble to come to the university, though. According to Bauder, they are also excellent for increasing graduation and retention rates.

There is a degree of skepticism, though. Kirwan is worried higher education in states such as California could be buried if Obama's plan passes and federal funding to the state is cut further. Bauder is concerned about the specifics of the plan, which aren't yet out in the open.

"Until they do the deep dive and explain exactly what they're talking about, I can only assume or make guestimations about what would happen," she said.

For the past five years, state Senator Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George's) has been fighting to keep tuition in this state affordable for good. To continue this tradition, Rosapepe is once again introducing a bill to the state legislature that would place a permanent cap on tuition.

"The four-year tuition freeze and current 3 percent cap on tuition hikes are models for the country," he stated in a press release. "But Maryland can do more."

jwolper@umdbk.com