Institutional Assistance Grant (IAGs) Restoration

Institutional Assistance Grants (IAGS) were created by ACT 174 of 1975.  Private colleges and universities that don’t receive direct non-preferred appropriations split the IAG appropriation ($42.0 million in 2007-08) based upon the number of PHEAA grant recipients they enroll.  Thus, the IAGs encourage Pennsylvania private higher education institutions to enroll Pennsylvania low and moderate income students and help to ameliorate the institutional financial aid costs of enrolling those students.  Those private colleges and universities which serve larger numbers of these lower-income students receive the greatest benefit from the program.  These grants were intended to help independent institutions:

• Maintain their financial stability and quality
• Moderate tuition increases and
• Promote choice and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.

Due to cuts and no or modest funding increases in recent years as well as increases in the number of low-income Pennsylvania students served by private colleges, IAG per capita grants have been stuck around $1,000 since 1998 and desperately need to be increased due to the loss of purchasing power over time. 

 

While maintaining the institutional funding for public universities and community colleges, the 2009-10 budget cut the IAGs by $11.7 million or 28%.  This reduced the per capita grant to $776 per student.  If other institutions funding is eliminated as proposed by the Governor and those schools apply for the IAG funding for which they would be eligible under the program guidelines then more than 2,000 students would be added and the funding would be even less for each eligible school. 

 

In the 2010-11 budget we are requesting a full restoration of this funding.

 

To read more about IAGs and find out how you can help AICUP, please click here.

AICUP Part of PA Group Awarded Federal Grant To Develop Broadband Network

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an award of $99.6 million from federal stimulus funds to support the development of the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN). PennREN is a proposed statewide broadband network that is expected to provide access and services to more than 5 million Pennsylvanians in more than 2 million households and 200,000 businesses.  Initially, it will include 13 primary network facilities and approximately 50 secondary locations. The network will provide the capability to connect colleges and universities, public institutions, regional networks and last mile providers across the Commonwealth.  AICUP joined several other statewide organizations and larger public and private universities as founding members of the non-profit organization that applied for this substantial federal grant. 

 

To read the full press release, click here.