FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2009

HECB to hear report on financial aid programs at January meeting  

     OLYMPIA— Nearly 83,000 Washington college students received state-sponsored financial aid totaling about $216 million during the 2007-08 academic year, an annual report
on financial aid by the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) indicates.

     The Board will consider the report at its monthly meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, January 23, 2009, at the State Investment Board in Olympia.  Among its many responsibilities, HECB administers state and federal financial aid, which is distributed primarily through the State Need Grant program, the State Work Study Program, and other grant, scholarship, and conditional loan programs.

     The amount of aid provided for needy Washington students increased from $199 million, and was distributed to about 76,000 students in 2006-07. 

     When federal programs not administered by the HECB and other sources of financial aid are counted, nearly 135,000 Washington students received about $1.62 billion in assistance during the 2007-08 academic year, according to the report. About 61 percent of all student financial aid in the state comes from federal sources.

     “We are coming off a year when we have some of the highest service levels, the greatest number of students served, and the lowest numbers of un-served students that we have ever had,” said John Klacik, the HECB’s Director of Student Financial Assistance.  “The issue is, of course, trying to keep pace with the increasing demand and the potential for increased costs, especially tuition.”

     As the state’s unemployment rate has grown, demand for seats in college classrooms has also risen as people seek to upgrade job skills or start new careers. The state’s dire budget forecast has also raised the specter of potential tuition increases as one way to avoid major cuts in college programs. However, such increases could hamper the state’s policy goal of broadening access to higher education, especially among low-income families and minorities.   

     In November, the HECB passed a resolution urging lawmakers to provide continued State Need Grant funding at a level sufficient to offset any tuition increases. The State Need Grant program is the state’s largest, providing assistance to low-income undergraduates whose current income is 70 percent or less of median family income (income of $52,500 or less for a family of four). Nearly 70,100 students received Need Grants totaling $182 million in 2007-08.

     At its Jan. 23 meeting, the HECB also will hear a report that will be submitted to the Legislature on efforts to expand the number of students who transfer from two-year institutions to baccalaureate-degree institutions.

     The 2008 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education includes a goal of increasing the  number of baccalaureate degrees awarded by 13,800 annually, so that state citizens are in a better position to compete for jobs that require a bachelor’s degree or higher.  A key strategy for increasing bachelor’s degree output is to increase the numbers of students who transfer successfully from the community and technical colleges to the four-year institutions.     

Briefing materials for the meeting are available at:
              www.hecb.wa.gov/boardmtgs/index.asp

     Who:       Higher Education Coordinating Board

     What:      January regular meeting

     Where:   State Investment Board Room,

                     2700 Evergreen Parkway NW

                     Olympia

     When:     Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For more information: Gary Larson

360-753-7817 or garyl@hecb.wa.gov