Evans to students: fight to keep grants
Jordan Lanham
Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: News
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An organization fighting the proposal here in Missouri and similar ones across the country, The Keep Me In College Coalition, estimates that "tens of thousands" of students across the Show-Me State could be affected
"Funding of public higher education in our state is a problem the Legislature need to address, but this budget problem should not be solved on the back of Missouri's neediest students," the local chapter of the organization says on its Web site, referring to the Access Missouri grant.
Legislation on the matter has not been introduced, "though there has been discussion among legislators and the governor's office about changing how funds are allocated between students at public and private institutions," said Kathryn Love, public information officer for the Missouri Department of Higher Education.
Access Missouri, a grant established in 2006, is designed to give Missouri students more choice in the colleges or universities they attend. Some students at private universities and colleges have been eligible for more aid under the program than students attending state institutions.
Gov. Jay Nixon recently proposed that the Legislature approve setting the maximum amount at $2,850 for all eligible students. Now, Access Missouri offers a maximum of $4,600 to students attending private universities and colleges. Their counterparts attending state schools can receive up to $2,150 a year.
Some Lindenwood students who receive the grant worry that any reduction could disrupt their futures, either by forcing them to attend college elsewhere, to take out additional loans or to leave school altogether.
"If they cut the grant, I am going to have to pay a lot of money or I might have to change schools," freshman Alizeh Jumani said. "Or I might have to go to the community college, and they might not provide my major, then I'd have to change my major as well."
The concern has prompted private college and university presidents, including Lindenwood's Dr. James D. Evans, to band together to fight the potential cut.
Evans is scheduled to meet with other private, public and Independent Colleges and Universities of Missouri (ICUM) presidents Thursday at the St. Louis Community College in Wildwood, Mo., to discuss Access Missouri funding.
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