August 25, 2010

As Students Head Back to School, Tierney Provides Update on Steps Taken to Make College More Affordable

 

Salem, MA- Working to address the spiraling cost of college tuition, John continues to fight for policies which make a quality, affordable higher education a reality for all students.  As back-to-school season begins, below are some of the ways which student aid reform is helping families and students.

Reforming Student Aid:

  • John played a key role in the passage of Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), landmark legislation which will make college dramatically more affordable in an effort to produce the largest number of college graduates in 2020.
  • Since Democrats have been in the Majority in the House of Representatives, the maximum Pell Grant award has increased 37%. SAFRA increases the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017.
  • The Democratic-led Congress has enacted changes that redirect $61 Billion away from special interest student lenders into direct loans helping increase the Pell Grant scholarship amounts closer to their original portion of tuition and costs, create "income Based Repayment" easing the loan repayment burden, and reducing some loan interest rates by half...and $10 Billion was used to pay down some of the Bush debt!
  • John led the fight in Congress to include a provision that requires states to maintain state funding levels for public higher education by preventing states from cutting higher education funding and backfilling those cuts with federal funding. The so-called “State Maintenance of Effort” provision was included in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA).
  • John strongly supported including a new Community College and Career Training Grant Program in the Recovery Act. This program will provide $500 million per year for the next 4 years to invest in our community colleges, so that courses can be developed in partnership with industry, labor and others that will provide students and unemployed workers seeking new work with the right skills and education making them qualified for jobs that actually exist, pay well, and have benefits.
  • Students who commit to teaching in a high-need subject area or school upon graduation can now qualify to receive up to $4000 in up-front tuition assistance.

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