Like many of the Republican’s executive orders issued since January, President Trump’s attempt to close the DOE and decentralize public education in the United States is locked up in legal limbo.
For Berkshire County’s two public colleges, it’s unclear whether vital funding streams from the federal government will continue.
“We're encouraged that it seems like federal financial aid is going to continue, which I think is really important for our students and for people who are looking to go to higher education in general," said Adam Klepetar, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Pittsfield-based Berkshire Community College. "But we do rely on a number of federal grants that support students, and we keep continue to pay attention to see what's going to happen with those federal grants. I think most notably is the TRIO grant that is designed to serve first generation students and students with disabilities, and we have the oldest one in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and hope to continue to be able to use that program to serve students.”
Following the recent passage of legislation that made community college tuition free in Massachusetts, BCC has seen a surge of incoming students. With its commitment to not just providing an education but also wraparound services, any cuts to federal funding would present a challenge.
“We are lucky to be in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that has been providing over $18 million to the 15 community colleges for the SUCCESS Program, which is to serve traditionally underserved students, and we've been able to use 100% of those resources to hire staff at BCC," Klepetar told WAMC. "So, we will continue to serve students, but we are in a point where we this spring, have 28% more students than we had last spring.”
Dr. Jamie Birge is the president of North Adams’ Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Like BCC, MCLA is nervously eyeing key funding sources.
“Certainly, Title IV funding, federal financial aid, because we do have students that rely on that, and so we wonder about those," Birge told WAMC. "As you know from previous reporting, we’re a fairly significant Pell eligible institution. About 45% of our students receive Federal Pell grants. And so, we worry a little bit about that. But they also receive subsidized loans from the US Department of Education, and those two things make up the largest pocket of federal aid that our students get. So, we worry about that.”
Birge takes some solace knowing that those aid programs were congressionally authorized.
“If we were rational about this, we would think that it would take Congress to remove authorization to make those awards through the Department of Education and to eliminate the awards," he explained. "So, I think there is some consolation that Congress, I think, has always been supportive of providing means for students to get an education. And so, we're hoping that that will hold.”
While Birge expects federal aid to continue, he says MCLA is preparing for worst case scenarios.
“We've just received our 10-year accreditation last year, which we complied with all the nine standards," he told WAMC. "So, we came through that with flying colors. We feel pretty good about the protections that are in place for federal student aid, and if for some reason that were to fall, I think there are a variety of strategies that we have between appealing to the state for support, appealing to our own institution to increase our institutional aid, and possibly asking students to contribute more. So, there will be a little bit of pain for a number of different people if that were to be the case.”
Back at BCC, Klepetar maintains that the value of a free public college degree far outweighs concerns around federal funding cuts for now.
“I hope that listeners know that they that that's something they probably shouldn't be worried about," he said. "But I think there's a blitz of information, I think that there's an enormous amount of uncertainty, and I do think that it's likely that there are families who are really wondering what the right move for them in the next academic year is, and maybe wait it out and wait till the dust settles and then make a decision. I would urge people, if college was your next move, to continue to move on that path at this point. We are confident that there's going to be federal financial aid and that there will be funding for the types of programs that serve students, but I also would understand as a family that people are going to make tough decisions about what they're going to do in the next year.”
