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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1989)
*m Y & JL-^ CH JL A V I WEATHER: Thursday. m.M cond.uons ,NDEX S|k 1 m F B I w,th highs 50 to 55 with NW winds at 10-15 M 0in#K.} ? * X ~ H ^ _ _ fcw _ Ija ^ mph. Thursday night, skies mostly clear with •• •• 1 df\, 1 jf 18^ har^if-Mw&s?Kg: . > l^CL/I £] WK £j I | «-».»—= «- s i.. - . — . . __ January 19, 1989 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 88 No. 82 More ‘gift’ aid may help part-time students By l et Rood Senior Editor President Ronald Reagan may not have pleased every one when he released his 1990 fiscal budget last Monday, but he may leave a few college students with something to smile about. Included in Reagan’s 1990 budget request is an increase of about S849 million in post-secondary student aid for the Department of Education. Pell Grants, the largest and most need-targeted federal student aid program, would - if approved by Congress in the fall - be increased about $256.1 million, according to the Department of Education budget report released last week in Washing ton, D.C. Although student aid was in creased, the department proposed to keep its overall spending at its 1989 level, according to the report. l>auro Cavazos, President-elect George Bush’s newly appointed sec retary of education, said Monday at a budget briefing that funds were re allocated within the education budget to extend aid to thousands of “disad vantaged" citizens. “Over 85 percent - or about SI 8.7 billion -- of our S21.9 billion request i-----: is allocated toward programs serving the disadvantaged, the handicapped and needy post-secondar> students.” Cavazos said. While re-established priorities to accommodate the needy without budget cuts sound good, questions remain as to whether Congress w ill approve the request as is, or if ap proved, whether they will help col lege students who truly are needy. John Beacon, interim director of the Office of Scholarships and Finan cial Aid, said that unless the federal government changes some of its regulations, many students may not benefit from the increased Pell Gram aid. “It’s fine if they add appropria tions,” Beacon said, ‘ ‘but if the regu lations don’t make it any easier for a student to qualify (for financial aid), it won’t help.” Another possible problem for full time students is a provision in the Pell Grant funding requests which in cludes “gift aid,” such as Pell Grants, for the first lime to part-time post-secondary students. Cavazos said he is “pleased” that nearly 135,000 part-time students -- many of them at community colleges — will be able to receive aid for the first time in 1989 and 1990. Cava/os said al ihe briefing lhai extending aid to part-lime students was a goal of his when he first came to office, but failed to tell reporters why. Beacon said many students choose to go to school pan-lime because they work full-time. “If that’s the case,” he said, “I wonder how much need they’re going to have. “By-and-large, most of them (part-time students) arc working. That work probably won’t let them qualify.” If the need is focused on part-time “non-tradilional” students it could help the students, Beacon said. Beacon said another problem with the current budget is that it docs not do anything to resolve a recent trend toward reducing “gift money” and increasing the number of student loans being given. According to Beacon’s most re cent statistics from a book entitled “Attitudes of Americans Toward Borrowing to Finance Educational Expenses/’ about 75.9 percent of the federal student aid allocated in 1975 and 1976 to post-secondary institu tions — about $6,494 biilion — was gift aid. Loans constituted only about SI,172 billion, or 20.7 percent. However, in 1987 and 1988 “gill Federal Student Financial Aid by Type _ -19881 Aid by Type in Millions (iift Aid Loans Gilt Aidi-I 75-76 S8.561 S6494 SI 772 Loans 87-88 ^>18,442 S54I5 SI2.V>2^ Lmployrr.cmCZZJ Source Thomas G .Unrlrm\nn Afll'Htif ) itl i\rr‘it;'H lowird Bur ratws lo Fitmu.cL<Jw.<itti"Ml Lwtnui John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan aid” made up only 29.4 percent of the total aid and loans had skyrocketed to 69 percent or S5.415 billion. The federal government does pro pose to clean up at least two problems that have plagued the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s financial aid of fice in recent years. Linus Wright, undersecretary of the Department of Education, said Monday the department wants to reduce the amount of information -, necessary to process an aid package and create a national data bank to make information more accessible. Wright said the changes arc being proposed because of complaints from financial aid offices all over the coun try* Beacon said many jnrople did “raise a loud voice” because they thought financial aid processing is See TUITION on 19 Griesen: Fees will likely rise for next year 8y Ryan Sleeves Staff Reporter _ Student fees at the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln proba bly will rise next year, said James Griesen, vice chancellor for student affairs. At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Association of Students of the See ASUN on 19 Abel pool closing will be discussed By David («. Young Staff Reporter The possibility of closing Abel Hall’s swimming pool will be among the topics dis cussed today at the Residence Hall Association meeting, said Larry Koubsky, RHA president. Koubsky said the proposal came out of a recently completed study b\ the RHA Residential Enhancement Committee and the Housing Depart mcni regarding housing rates. The suggestion was made as part of an effort to save money, he said. “There arc three other pods on campus that students arc already paying for in fees,’’ Koubsky said. :‘(Closing the pool) would save $6 per resident per year.’’ The proposal had been made in previous years, only to be rejected because of student opposition, he said. i expect a tot 01 people ironi 'Abel*Sandoz to be very upset about it, even though it is a $6 reduction," Koubsky said. Part of this opposition comes from swimmers involved in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Pro gram. he said. Having a pool located in a residence hall serves as a draw for swimmers to come to the university, Koubsky said. "The pool is a very useful ineen live U) bring in students to our confer ence," he said. "If the pool were closed, we would probably lose that revenue." The meeting w ill be held today at 6:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union. NU’s endowment fund value grows slightly By Brandon Loomis Senior Reporter ___ Although the University of Nebraska’s endowment fund grew in value by only 1 percent last year after years of double-digit growth, the N U Founda tion treasurer said that jolt won’t al fccl scholarships. Dan Morin said the 1 percent lig ure is down from an 11.1 percent increase in 1987 and a 70.8 percent increase in 1986. The sluggish growth during fiscal year 1988 follows a national trend after the October 1987 stock market plunge. “It’s entirely because of the stock market crash," Morin said. The depreciation in the price of stocks, which makes up about .SO percent of NU’s endowment fund, makes the fund’s value less than it could be, Morin said. But that can be misleading, he said, because stock prices don’t affect slock dividends, which make up the income the fund depends on to finance scholarships. 4 ‘The losses are on paper until you sell the stocks," Morin said. "And when you’re running an endowment fund, there’s no real pressure to sell." Even with the minimal apprecia tion last year, Nebraska fared belter than most. A study conducted by the National Association of College and Univcr siiy Business Officers pul the na tional average growth in value of college endowments in 1988 at only two-tenths of 1 percent, according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The study measured total return rates, including interest, divi dends and the market value of invest ments. The study indicated that many colleges and universities are moving away from slocks, and are diversify - ing their investments to avoid pos sible future market crashes - but not at NU. In fact, NU probably will increase its slock investments, in hopes of collecting more dividends for scholarships, Morin said. In the long haul, he said, sloc ks are the best investment, because the uni versity can afford to ride out the market, collecting dividends at the same time. Besides, Morin said, the univer sity invests only in prosperous, big name companies, like IBM. “It’s not like we’re worried that those companies will go out of busi ness and we’ll lose the dividends,” he said. While stocks may have been down last year, Morin said, the endowment still is in good shape because eontri butions were up. Gifts to the fund were at S2I.8 million last year, up from $19.9 mil lion in 1987 and $11.5 million in 1984, he said.