Dive Summary:
- In a year where Congressional budget cuts have already ended graduate financial aid programs like the Javits Fellowship and graduate student loan subsidies, the Education Department is looking at cutting $10 million from the $46.2 million McNair Scholars program in favor of additional grants for the Upward Bound high school math and science programs.
- The McNair Scholars program--which is present on over 200 campuses nationwide and helps prepare minority undergraduate students for graduate school--is part of the federal TRIO programs, which just received budget increases from Congress but ultimately fall under the jurisdiction of the Education Department when it comes to how that money is spent.
- The Council for Opportunity in Education estimates that the cut will cost one-third of the McNair programs their grants and other advocates worry about a pattern of decreasing graduate student support, but the Education Department says that the need for more students studying science, technology, engineering or math in college justifies the change.
From the article:
It's been a rough year for federal financial aid for graduate students: Congressional budget cuts have ended the Javits Fellowship, a grant program for needy students, beginning this fall, as well as cutting off federal subsidies for graduate student loans. Now the Education Department has added another cut: the McNair Scholars program, a federal TRIO program intended to help undergraduates prepare to pursue a Ph.D., will lose $10 million of its budget starting this fall, despite protests from colleges and some members of Congress. ...