The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia recommended an additional $66 million be allocated for student financial aid in the 2016-18 state budget last week.
The council, which is the state body coordinating higher education, recommended an additional $470,000 be allocated to the University.
For undergraduate financial aid, $24 million was recommended for the 2016-17 academic year and $32 million for the following year. For graduate students, an additional $4 million and then $6 million is requested in need-based financial aid at Virginia institutions for the two academic years.
With recommendations formally made, the state government must now decide whether or not to comply, said Lee Andes, assistant director of financial aid for the council.
“The Governor’s office and legislators can either accept council recommendations or adopt their own,” Andes said.
The State Council of Higher Education provides funding recommendations specific to the University, and worked this year with the financial aid office to discuss future spending.
“I did in fact consult with the U.Va. financial aid office this year, but that is not typical,” Andes said. “We are recommending an increase of $470,000 in the state allocation of financial aid to U.Va.”
The 2016 legislative session, which will take place in January, sets the budget for the next two years, so the group must provide two years of funding recommendations for all higher education institutions in Virginia, Andes said.
“Now that the council has made its official recommendations, we communicate those to the Governor’s office, who then considers them in the formation of the introductory budget, due out in December,” Andes said.
The decision-making process will continue until the spring of 2016, when the final budget is approved. The impact of increased financial aid will vary depending on the institution and factors like actual dollars appropriated and the award policy of each school.
Increases in financial aid spending are needed to keep up with the rising cost of college education, Council Director Peter Blake said. Virginia has struggled in recent years to meet the demonstrated need for financial aid.
“As costs get higher, parents’ and families’ financial situations — particularly after the Great Recession — decline, so there’s a greater need for financial aid,” Blake said. “We haven’t been able to keep up at the state level with the amount [of aid] we think is necessary to maintain affordable access.”
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