A new commercial shows a college student packing up his belongings and shoving them into suitcases and bags, which is a common sight for many students each May as the school year ends. Something is wrong with the student though. His lack of expression in the commercial makes it obvious. He actually is packing his room to leave college and never return again to finish his degree.
The television ad, which began airing in March, tells New York State lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo the projected $80 million dollars in cuts to higher education are unacceptable.
Kate Dillon Hogan, associate vice president for enrollment, said despite all of these cuts federal and statewide, St. Bonaventure will not see cuts as severe as other state public institutions, such as SUNY schools.
“I think we will adjust to the cuts well because we remain committed to keeping the university accessible, affordable and making students and families feel an education here at St. Bonaventure will benefit them over an entire lifetime,” Hogan said.
She said despite St. Bonaventure receiving some funding from the state and federal governments each year, it is not as much as the normal public institution. Hogan said the initial state budget passed on March 27 will not have much impact on St. Bonaventure financially next year.
“The funding planned to be cut to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) has been restored to its full amount, after a slight cut this year,” she said.
Hogan said the TAP grant is the most popular state grant St. Bonaventure students receive, and students who qualify for the TAP can receive up to $5,000 each school year.
Another common state program, the Higher Educational Opportunity Program (HEOP), was not cut from next year’s budget either.
Margaret Bryner, director of the HEOP program, said, “We are supposed to have level funding this upcoming school year. The university has supported us with 24 new students in the program for next year, which is the same amount of new students this year.”
She said the HEOP Program was cut half way through this budget year by 1.1 percent.
“The cut might sound insignificant, but it’s not. We can still manage with what we have, but we had to cut back on programming and workshops for our students,” Bryner said.
Hogan also pointed St. Bonaventure will not likely have to lay off any professors, faculty, or staff next year because Bonaventure does not receive state funding to pay for university employees, unlike many public institutions.
“Anyone who goes to a SUNY school can anticipate significant cuts to the number of professors at each school. This will lead to larger class sizes and the amount of classes each school offers will be decreased, ultimately taking the normal college student longer to graduate,” she said.
Cuts are also being made at the federal level, which affect schools nationwide.
According to an online article published by The Chronicle, President Obama approved a bill cutting $845 of the maximum amount of money any student could receive from a Pell Grant. The bill also states a student could not receive more than one Pell Grant per academic school year.
Hogan said although this is the primary way St. Bonaventure students receive aid from the federal government, most students will not be affected drastically by this cut.
She also added most students at St. Bonaventure do not take summer classes. Therefore, the part of the bill which allows for only one Pell Grant to be given to a student each year will not affect most students.
Hogan said she is also not aware of any federal cuts to the Direct Loan or Perkins Loan Program. There have also not been any cuts to the federal work study program, she said.
Despite the good news with many state and federal programs continuing next year, students at St. Bonaventure are still concerned about how they are going to pay for college.
Julie Smithson, sophomore biology major, said her aid was cut last year because of the budget and is worried it might somehow be cut again this year.
“The cut my TAP funding by almost $500 this year, and I am worried they are going to cut it even more next year. I have even written to my state representative George Maziarz to share my concerns.”
Molly Inglut, a sophomore J/MC major, agrees with Smithson. She said without additional aid each year it’s hard to make up the difference to pay for school.
“Some people really do not have the means to afford school and financial aid is all they have. I know I can barely afford to come here.”
Hogan said if any student is worried about paying for school next year, they should contact the Financial Aid Office before the end of the semester.
Even though Inglut has visited the financial aid office, she is still worried about what exactly will happen.
“I don’t understand why they would want to cut aid to any college student. We are the future leaders of this country.”
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