IUSA members lobby Congress about work study, Pell Grants

Four IU Student Association members voiced the concerns of penny-pinching college students nationwide during their annual trip to Washington March 24-28. \nThis lobbying team brought higher education issues to the attention of the Indiana Congressional delegation, telling representatives and senators that students are paying attention to their actions. \nFirst on the group's agenda was an increase in funding for the federal Work Study program and Pell Grants and the elimination of the origination fee on direct loans.\n"Our main goal was to make the office aware that we keep aware of the offices of higher education," said IUSA Legislative Relations Director Lydia Roll, a senior. \nThe members proposed a $39 million increase in the federal Work Study program, in which a student's employer pays one-third of the student's tuition, while the federal government pays the other two-thirds. This program differs from other federally funded programs because it is not a grant or loan, Roll said. IUSA also proposed an increase in funding for Pell Grants, issued to needy students based on FAFSA reports, Roll said.\nTo be eligible for Pell Grants, undergraduate students must have an estimated family contribution of $3,500 or less, according to the IU Student Financial Assistance Web site. The maximum amount given to recipients is $5,510, and the government guarantees enough funds to provide a Pell Grant to every eligible student, according to the site.\nA 3 percent to 7 percent origination fee -- money the student is required to pay on a loan yet never receives -- is in place for direct loans from many universities. Originally, this fee was used to set up the loan program and pay for other expenses, Roll said. But IUSA proposed this fee be abolished because many loan departments are well established.\nAs the 2003 budget reviews approach, IUSA is eager to discuss these issues with the Indiana Congressional delegation, said IUSA Services Department Director Mark Krol, a senior. \n"We like to keep reminding legislators that the costs of higher education and financial aid are topics that directly effect students," said IUSA Vice President for Administration M. Scott Witoszynski, a senior. "We want to create a rapport to deal with any issues that may come up this year that aren't financial aid related."\nEncouraged by the responsiveness of legal correspondents for Rep. Mark Souder, Sen. Evan Bayh and Sen. Richard Lugar, and by interaction with Rep. John Hostettler, IUSA members said they left with a sense that their voices, and those of IU students, had been heard. \n"A great number of students on the IU campus get financial aid in some way or another," Roll said. "It is going to affect you"