Policymakers stepped up and made a difference for college students last legislative session with financial aid. And we’re starting to see the results at public and private colleges around the state. More than 90,000 students from low- and middle-income families who receive a State Grant are benefiting from a 16% increase in the program’s funding. The changes include an important increase in the amount of tuition that is recognized in calculating awards through the State Grant program.
This wouldn’t have happened without the encouragement of college students and the parents and alumni who join them in supporting financial aid. Legislators and the governor heard from us hundreds of times, with e-mails coming from supporters and students coming in to meet with them. As for the results, read the details on the good news for financial aid that ran in our last newsletter.
This fall students are definitely thankful. At Bethany Lutheran College, for example, more than a dozen students wrote notes to legislators last week for making this investment in financial aid — and our state’s future.