AAUW of New Jersey played an active role in support of the College Cost Reduction Act, which was passed by the House and Senate in July. Read the remarks, below, from AAUW of New Jersey state president Ginny Lyttle at a press conference with Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) celebrating passage of the bill.
AAUW Celebrates Passage of Year-Round Pell Grants
Statement by Ginny Lyttle, AAUW of New Jersey State President
July 30, 2007
I am Ginny Lyttle, the American Association of University Women New Jersey State President. Founded in 1881, AAUW has a long and proud 125-year history as an advocate for education and equity for women and girls, releasing its first report on women and education in 1885. Today, AAUW continues its mission through education, research, and advocacy.
On behalf of the more than 100,000 bipartisan members of AAUW, we would like to thank Rep. Holt for his leadership in introducing the Part-ime Student Assistance Act, and then working tirelessly to include many of the bill’s provisions in the College Cost Reduction Act, in order to help all students realize the dream of a college education.
With the College Cost Reduction Act and Higher Education Act reauthorization bills this year, AAUW believes the most important goal should be updating legislation to reflect the needs of the current college population. Year-round Pell grants are a critical start to accomplishing this goal.
Nontraditional students — students who are part-time, working, older, or parenting — face unique challenges as they seek to finance a college education. Nearly 73 percent of undergraduates are considered “nontraditional.” In light of a large number of nontraditional students — the majority of whom are women — legislation must create programs that help these students enter college, stay in college, and earn a degree.
AAUW is pleased that the College Cost Reduction Act allows students to qualify for Pell grants based on a year-round enrollment schedule. Many nontraditional female students attend classes during the summers, and federal Pell grants should be available to all students willing to make a commitment to higher education, even if they have to chip away at that dream one class at a time. Students who choose to attend school year-round in order to earn a degree in a timely manner should have access to the funding and grants they need to complete their schooling on a schedule that works for them.
Some of the many provisions in Rep. Holt’s Part-time Student Assistance Act are long-time AAUW priorities such as year-round Pell grants, Pell grants for part-time students, eliminating the Earned Income Tax credit from counting against students when calculating their financial aid packages, and raising the income protection allowance — which is the amount of money students can earn before it counts against their financial aid package.
AAUW members were successful in lobbying members of Congress to cosponsor the Part-time Student Assistance Act, which helped create momentum for provisions from this bill to be added to the College Cost Reduction Act which passed the House on July 11 of this year.
AAUW looks forward to continuing to work with Rep. Holt’s office to move remaining provisions of the Part-time Student Assistance Act in the Higher Education Act reauthorization bill. Specifically, I would like to thank the Congressman for including provisions to expand the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program, which provides on-campus childcare. Many single mothers would return to college if they had access to child care. This program currently exists under the Higher Education Act; however, it needs to be updated and improved to provide child care to more children. The minimum grant to an institution needs to be more substantial and income eligibility needs to be updated. The Part-time Student Assistance Act authorizes additional funding for the program and increases the grant awards that schools would receive. AAUW will continue to work with Rep. Holt to include these provisions in the Higher Education Act reauthorization.
As the AAUW New Jersey State President, I want to thank Rep. Holt for working so hard to improve students’ chances of going to college and being able to afford higher education. We are especially thankful for his leadership in recognizing that part-time students deserve access to the same kind of assistance as their full-time counterparts. In the end, a college education is a precious thing, no matter what timeline is followed to acquire it.
Read AAUW Higher Education position paper and recommendations.
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Because Equity Is Still an Issue ™
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