At TCNJ, future urban educators feel sequester’s effects

Sequestration—the automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect in March as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011—is already digging into the pockets of some TCNJ students, but its effects could become more widespread on campus if Congress doesn’t reach a budget compromise.

Words by TCNJ's editorial staff

Sequestration—the automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect in March as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011—is already digging into the pockets of some TCNJ students, but its effects could become more widespread on campus if Congress doesn’t reach a budget compromise.

Hardest hit at TCNJ were 19 students who receive Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants. Funding for the  program, which supports students who agree to teach in high-needs districts after graduation, was reduced by six percent this year as a result of sequestration. That translated into an average reduction of $240 in aid for TCNJ’s recipients.

There were also slight increases to the origination fees paid on Direct Loans (.051 percent) and Direct PLUS Loans (.204 percent) disbursed on or after March 1, 2013. Fifty percent of TCNJ students receive these loans, said Wil Casaine, TCNJ’s director of financial aid. He noted that while the fee increases are minimal, they could add up to something more significant over the lifetime of the loan for some students.

“It’s more money the government is taking to process the loans, so ultimately it’s less money students are receiving,” Casaine said.

“The good news for TCNJ was that our big programs weren’t affected,” Casaine added, referring to Pell Grants and the Federal Work Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs.

Congress exempted Pell Grants, which support low-income students, from cuts this year. Eighteen percent of TCNJ’s students receive the aid, Casaine said.

The U.S. Department of Education reduced funding for FWS and FSEOG by $89.5 million because of the sequester. However, while many schools had their FWS and FSG allocations reduced as a result of this, TCNJ still received full funding, Casaine said. He was unsure why but said it could be due to the relatively small allocation ($368,000) TCNJ receives compared with the larger schools that received cuts.

Ongoing, federally funded faculty–student research projects at TCNJ also were not affected this year, Angela Sgroi, director of grants operations, said. “The agencies I spoke with seemed to take the same approach—to first protect those projects that were already funded, and next, those that were promised funding,” she said.

Sgroi did say that sequester-related cuts to and restructuring of several federal grant programs on which TCNJ faculty have relied in the past for funding could yet have an effect on faculty research projects next fiscal year.

Casaine offered a similar note of caution, explaining that, at this point, Congress has not exempted Pell Grants from cuts next year, and TCNJ’s FWS and FSEOG allocations could be affected.

“We were fortunate,” Casaine said, then added, “But the big question is, will the sequester impact the 2014–15 academic year?”