Work study and scholarships may be cut next year due to budget losses

The State Legislature may decide to cut certain state financial aid programs, like the Washington State Need Grant (SNG) and work study, to support budget revisions forced by the tough economy.

“Unfortunately, in the discretionary part of the state budget, higher education is kind of the last consideration. So they find it easiest to cut higher education over something like welfare or health care or K-12 education,” said Bruce DeFrates, director of Financial Aid and Scholarships. “The fact that the government chose such substantial decreases in financial aid tells me that this state is suffering pretty greatly.”

Predicted financial aid cuts will have the greatest impact on the state’s work study program, but the cuts are also expected to negatively affect the SNG. The work study program expects to lose at least $210,000 next year, DeFrates said.

No financial aid cuts are expected at the federal level, he said. The federal government will fund whatever is needed for all eligible students to receive financial aid.

This year, approximately 8,300 Eastern students received federal, state or institutional financial aid. Total funds processed through the Financial Aid Office this year equaled about $95 million.

DeFrates said that he expects that total to grow to more than $100 million in the coming years.

Federal financial aid is the biggest source of funding for the university, providing approximately $25 million per year in grants and about $55 million per year in loans, with a small amount of funding for work study.

State financial aid goes toward most of the SNG, with close to $11.5 million per year, and state work study, with around $1 million.

Institutional financial aid comes from tuition waivers totaling approximately $7.5 million and scholarships totaling about $700,000. Athletic scholarships at the university equal about $1.5 million.

More than half of the students at Eastern receive need-based federal financial aid to attend school. The university has received an increase in financial aid applications due to state and national economic troubles.

“Students are looking for financial aid to cover the cost of tuition increases that have gone up 14 percent for the last two years for undergraduate residents,” DeFrates said. “People are worrying about being able to pay for that, and of course, they are applying for financial aid to see what they can get to help out.”

Almost a third of all Eastern undergraduate students receive financial aid grants. About 3,000 students at the university receive federal Pell grants. Another 2,800 Eastern students receive grants from the SNG.

Grants are strictly based on need and undergraduate status. For the SNG, eligible students must be residents of Washington state.

Nearly 1,500 Eastern students receive scholarships that are based on financial need, academic merit and major.

“People are struggling with the economy, and we are getting a pretty good influx of applications both for scholarships and for other types of aid,” DeFrates said.

The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office is designated by the government to work as the clearing house for all financial aid at Eastern.

All aid, whether from federal, state, institutional or external sources, must be coordinated into one package by the university Financial Aid and Scholarship Office.

“Time will tell if things rebound,” said DeFrates. “If the economy recovers, then the programs will likely be restored.”