The New England Board of Higher Education was awarded a $404,400 grant from Lumina Foundation to help the New England states redesign and align their student financial aid programs.
The purpose of the grant is to provide technical assistance and support services to New England states redesigning their state merit- and need-based financial aid policies and programs over the next two years.
They will conduct research on current and proposed state, federal and institutional financial aid policies and programs with a New England regional perspective;
Host regional convenings on student financial aid redesign, which will be selected this spring.
Average in-state tuition and mandatory fees at New England public four-year institutions rose by $2,617 or 36% between 2007 and 2012, according to a study conducted by NEBHE. At public two-year institutions, the increase averaged $942 or 27%.
Out-of-state tuition and mandatory fees at New England public institutions increased even more than in-state rates, rising $4,228 or 26% on average at public four-year institutions and $1,639 or 19% at two-year institutions.
This project comes at a critical time for higher education.
Students face rising tuition rates at institutions that may be hard-pressed for funding-especially public institutions, which may only now be seeing modest rebounds in state funding after years of declines in state appropriations.
For many families, stagnant or falling incomes compound the situation.
Meanwhile, the 2012 median household income for New England families still hadn’t reached 2008 pre-recession levels. Taking into consideration inflation-adjusted dollars, median family income actually dropped in all New England states from 2000 to 2012, according to the U.S Census. The decline in median income means many families must spend an increasingly greater share of their household income on higher tuition bills.
New England state grant aid programs have not kept up with increases in tuition and fee rates, with some New England states cutting grant aid funding even in the face of higher tuition and fees.