Under the ominous shadows of a debt crisis and election year, the Student Aid Alliance, comprising 75 higher education organizations, has begun a petition to protect federal financial aid from cuts that would affect universities across the country.
As of Thursday, the alliance’s petition to guard federal aid for students from Congress’ budget super committee has surpassed 80,000 signatures.
The signatures are coming from students, college presidents, administrators and faculty members nationwide, said Tony Pals, director of communications for one of the alliance’s parent organizations, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
“All of this is focused as the super committee is considering cuts to the federal budget, including possible cuts to Pell Grants,” Pals said. “At this point, given the current political climate on Capitol Hill, it’s about protecting current funding.”
Pals cited more than $30 billion in federal aid cuts made this year as reason for concern, saying that the current petition process is being undertaken “with a great sense of urgency.” The cuts have come from a number of programs, such as the elimination of year-round Pell Grants and various debt repayment incentives.
According to Amy Marix, associate director in the University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Student Aid, almost $21 million was supplied to University students in the form of Pell Grants during fiscal year 2010-11, with another $90 million from the federal Stafford Loan Program.
During fiscal year 2009-10, more than $79 million of federal financial assistance was allotted to more than 9,000 students, according to the Office of Budget and Planning.
“There’s no question that further cuts to federal student aid, especially Pell Grants, will make it more difficult for students to afford higher education,” Pals said.
Marix mirrored his sentiment, saying that the University’s recruiting process would likely be hindered because such cuts would render the University less accessible.
“We have not had any formal discussions as to the University’s response [to possible cuts],” she said, adding that there is more discussion with the election coming up.
The concerns of Pals and the 80,000 names on the alliance’s petition arrive as the national amount of student debt increases to record levels, having already surpassed the national credit-card debt.
According to a report recently released by the Project on Student Debt, the average amount of debt carried by a 2010 Louisiana college graduate sits at about $25,000.
Approximately 50 percent of Louisiana graduates enter the work force with college debt, the report states.
The project’s website lists the average debt of 2010 graduates from the University as more than $19,000, with about 12 percent of that average consisting of nonfederal debt.
The statistics report the proportion of 2010 graduates with debt leaving the University as 41 percent, with 17 percent of the graduates having received Pell Grants.
Pals said cuts will lead to more students taking out loans, which would contribute to the mounting national student debt levels.
The debt super committee in Congress is on a Nov. 23 deadline to produce a plan, which may or may not pose cuts to federal assistance to students.
“We’ve already exceeded our initial expectations,” Pals said of the petition initiative. “Where we go beyond that will depend largely on the super committee’s recommendations.”
 
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Contact Clayton Crockett at [email protected]