$16,028.That is the average cost-per-year for full-time dependent students to attend school according to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. For independent students, the cost rises to $17,222 per year.It’s a load too heavy to bear for most students and even most parents, so private and public scholarships and loans are available to shift the brunt of the burden elsewhere.And the University awarded 13,000 undergraduate students with some sort of financial aid package in the 2006-2007 school year — that’s more than half of the total undergraduate enrollment. Unfortunately, the economy is about to change that.When businesses and governments run out of expendable cash, so do the organizations and programs that benefit from them. Scholarships fall under that.Caldwell Fellows Program Director Janice Odom said scholarship finances change just like any other financial organization’s funds.”It’s the natural impact of the economy,” she said. “When the economy’s really good, there’s more money. Next year will be tough.”Although some scholarships are supported yearly by private donors, most University scholarships, including the Caldwell Fellows program, are funded by financial endowments. An endowment allows donors to give a set amount of money to an institution to be invested in some way by that institution. According to Jill Tasaico, senior director of the Foundations Accounting and Investments office, endowment money is invested in domestic equities, private real estate and energy and natural resources, among other things.The principal amount remains invested, but the interest or earnings generated go toward the scholarship, professorship or fellowship indicated by the donor.The difference between endowments and scholarships paid in full each year is similar to the difference between placing money in an interest-generating savings account or using it all to purchase something. When the money is spent, it’s gone, but if it’s put away in a savings account, it will generate interest for years to come — effectively stretching the time the money can be used.The upsides to endowments lie in the fact that they respond to the economy. In good economic times, the investments generate more revenue. The downside is exactly the same. When the economy is down, investments stop performing.According to Julie Rice Mallette, director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, this is exactly the problem for the University.”It’s too early to give a definitive answer, [but] we can anticipate a 30 percent decline on the endowed scholarship report next year,” she said, meaning investments will be reduced by nearly a third.Rice Mallette said she isn’t sure yet how much the scholarships themselves will be affected, but that a decline in available scholarship money is a definite.In a situation like this, Rice Mallette said the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid must prioritize the scholarships and give them out based on that.”We’re looking at what [the 30 percent decline] will do to our ability to renew scholarships,” she said. “Our top priority [is to] renew existing scholarships.” Once renewable scholarships are dealt with, though, Rice Mallette said there will be less money with which to award scholarships for incoming students.Rice Mallette and Odom both said the coming academic year will be hard on scholarships, but Rice Mallette said, “the two years following that could be worse.”Students who are in school already and aren’t looking for new scholarship money may not feel much of an effect, but incoming freshmen, transfers and anyone who applies for new scholarships probably will. Caldwell Fellows will feel a $1,000 crunch next year, but Odom said the reduction in available money is flexible.”[Fellows] decided where it comes from,” she said. So students who cannot afford to lose any tuition money can instead deduct the $1,000 from the money set aside for trips or other extra learning opportunities.In addition to the scholarship reduction, the Caldwell Fellows program will only be taking in 20 new students for 2009, instead of the usual 25 to 29.Rice Mallette said she does not expect the reduction in scholarship availability to affect the number of students who enroll in the University each year. The students most likely to forgo enrollment because of scholarship money are those who qualify for need-based aid, and Rice Mallette does not anticipate an overall change in the availability of need-based aid.”Certainly there are endowments for need-based [scholarships] that could be impacted,” she said. “We’re hoping [state and federal grant] sources offset the endowments.”Even as scholarship pickings get slim, Rice Mallette said federal loan programs have not had any problems lending. In fact, the federal government increased the amount of money students could borrow through the Stafford loan program by $2,000 in July, 2008. “There are more loan funds available to students. There is talk in the senate and house about increasing Stafford loans by $2,000 again,” Rice Mallette said. The extra cash for education is currently caught up in the stimulus package debate, though. “The question is whether money should be put into federal programs for education or to add more jobs,” Rice Mallette said. “It’s really anyone’s guess right now.”While University endowments dwindle and loan money is tied up in legislation, Odom said the Caldwell Fellows program will “press on,” relying on Caldwell alumni to step up to the plate.”I think we’ll probably see an upswing of alumni giving. I think the word is getting out that we’re looking at a lean year,” she said. “Knowing the nature of this program, people will do what they can do to keep it going.”Despite the dismal news, students and scholarship programs will be OK, according to Odom.”What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”