Program aims to ease financial load of some students
Criteria for grant includes yearly adjusted gross income between $60K and $100K
The Texas A&M University System announced the launch of an initiative meant to help students facing significant hardships stay in school and graduate on time without extra debt.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp announced the Regents’ Grant initiative on Wednesday as part of his testimony before the state’s Joint Interim Committee on Higher Education Formula Funding.
In their work with the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas, which focuses on recovery from Hurricane Harvey, the university system leaders found a gap in financial aid. Students whose families’ income is too high for federal Pell Grants but too low to handle unexpected expenses such as hurricane damage are particularly vulnerable, according to a press release from Texas A&M University-Texarkana.
“We do not want our hardworking students to be forced to take out extra loans or lose valuable time toward their degree because of unanticipated issues with things like medical expenses, job loss or natural disasters,” Sharp said. “One of the core functions of our universities is to get students to graduation with a degree that allows them to be highly productive members of society.”
The initiative will eliminate some of the pitfalls that threaten students’ progress, he said.
Pending approval from the A&M System Board of Regents, the grants will provide these students with one-time grant funding to help them overcome financial hardships. Students must meet certain criteria, including an adjusted gross household income between $60,000 and $100,000 per year. The initiative will be funded with $3 million per year from the Available University Fund for the next 10 years.
Chancellor Sharp told the committee members that this initiative will prevent students facing hardship from taking out additional loans. He anticipates it will increase graduation and retention rates in the university system, the press release states.