FY 1998 Budget Summary

• E. POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION (... cont.)
  • Higher Education Programs Overview
  • Title III: Aid for Institutional Development
  • Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education
  • Minority Teacher Recruitment
  • Minority Science Improvement
  • International Education and Foreign Language Studies
  • Institute for International Public Policy
  • Urban Community Service
  • Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Fine Arts Center
  • Public Service Recognition Programs
  • Federal TRIO Programs
  • Advanced Placement Fees
  • National Early Intervention Scholarships and Partnerships
  • Scholarships and Fellowships
    • Byrd Honors Scholarships
    • Presidential Honors Scholarships
    • George Bush Fellowships
    • Javits Fellowships
    • Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need
  • Howard University
  • Academic Facilities
  • Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program

E. POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION (... cont.)

Higher Education Programs Overview

The 1998 President’s Budget for higher education programs contributes directly to the Department of Education’s mission of ensuring equal access to education and promoting educational excellence throughout the Nation. The Department is requesting an increase for the TRIO programs to fund outreach and support services for disadvantaged students, as well as first-time funding of the Advanced Placement Fee program, which would supplement State efforts to pay for the advanced placement test fees of low-income students. Funding increases also are proposed for the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, and Minority Teacher Recruitment programs.

Student achievement and educational excellence would be encouraged through several programs. The proposed Presidential Honors Scholarship program would reward outstanding high school graduates with $1,000 scholarships for their first year of postsecondary education. Funding for the Byrd Honors Scholarship program would be increased to provide the full $1,500 scholarship authorized by law. Continued support is sought for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, which makes awards for small, institutional projects aimed at improving the overall quality of postsecondary education.

The Higher Education Programs also help develop a skilled workforce and provide support in areas of critical national need. The Department is proposing a small increase in the International Education and Foreign Language Studies programs, and continued funding of the Minority Science Improvement and the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need programs.

Title III: Aid for Institutional Development

The 1998 request for Title III supports the Administration’s commitment to high quality education for the Nation’s disadvantaged and minority students. Almost 67 percent of the Title III funding—$134.6 million, a $6 million increase over 1997—would support operations, academic improvements, and endowments for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). These institutions have played an important role in providing postsecondary education for low-income and minority students. Another important group of institutions with high minority enrollments—the Hispanic-serving Institutions—would receive an 11-percent increase in support to $12 million.

Other institutions with limited financial resources enrolling a high percentage of students receiving need-based aid would continue to be funded under Title III, Part A. This program helps improve the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of these institutions.

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education

The 1998 request for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) would provide continued support for innovative projects that enhance postsecondary education quality and cost effectiveness. The request would fund 206 new and continuing awards under the Comprehensive program, which would support projects in areas of postsecondary education access, retention and completion, workforce preparation, curricula reform, faculty development, and cost containment. The request also would support programs in areas of national need, including exchange programs with the European Community and the NAFTA countries, dissemination of FIPSE project results, and restructuring American higher education.

Minority Teacher Recruitment

The Minority Teacher Recruitment program makes grants to institutions to support programs to encourage minority students to enter the teaching profession. The 1998 request would provide a $1.5 million, or 69 percent, increase for this program in recognition of the importance of promoting a more racially and ethnically diverse teaching profession. Approximately 3,000 pre-collegiate students would be served under the program’s Partnership Grants, and about 250 college students would be assisted under the Teacher Placement Grants.

Nationally, the proportion of school-age, minority youngsters grew from 13 percent to over 30 percent over the past three decades. However, it is projected that by the year 2000, only 5 percent of the Nation’s teachers will be minorities.

Minority Science Improvement

The Minority Science Improvement program provides financial assistance to improve science and engineering programs at postsecondary institutions with predominantly minority enrollments. It is designed to enhance the capacity of such institutions to develop and maintain quality science education programs, and to help increase the representation ofminorities in science and engineering careers. The 1998 request would support over 1,500 students.

International Education and Foreign Language Studies

The request would provide continued support for International Education and Foreign Language Studies (IEFLS) Domestic and Overseas programs designed to strengthen the American education system in the area of foreign languages and international studies. These programs support comprehensive language and area study centers within the United States, research and curriculum development, and opportunities for American scholars to study abroad. IEFLS not only promotes general understanding of the peoples of other countries, but also serves important economic, diplomatic, defense, and other security interests of the United States. The budget would fund approximately 558 projects.

Institute for International Public Policy

The 1998 request for the Institute for International Public Policy would continue to support access to graduate education in international studies for minority and disadvantaged students, as well as to encourage underrepresented minorities to enter the Foreign Service of the United States and serve in private international voluntary organizations.

Urban Community Service

This program helps institutions of higher education serve as a resource for urban communities attempting to solve urban problems. The program is proposed for elimination to provide savings as part of the President's efforts to reinvent government. Efforts to solve the social and economic problems of urban areas are more appropriately addressed under other Department programs as well as programs and budgets of other Federal and State agencies.

Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Fine Arts Center

No additional funds are requested for the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Fine Arts Center in 1998. Over the past several years, a total of $15.3 million in Federal construction grants has been provided noncompetitively to Bethune-Cookman College for this project, initially authorized at $6.2 million in 1986, with a second authorization of $15.7 million in 1992. Additional construction financing is available through programs such as the HBCU Capital Financing program, as well as private sources.

Public Service Recognition Programs

These three programs were authorized by the Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Relations Provisions Act of 1996. Funding for the Muskie Foundation is to be used for awarding stewardships, supporting the Muskie archives, and supporting the Edmund S. Muskie Institute of Public Affairs. Support for the Coolidge Memorial Foundation is to be used to increase the Foundation’s endowment and to conduct educational, archival or preservation activities. Funds for the Pell Institute are to assist in the establishment and operation of the Institute, located at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, including the purchase and renovation of facilities to house the Institute.

No additional funds are requested for any of the three programs in 1998. The 1997 appropriation provided the full funding stipulated by the authorizing statutes for all three programs.

Federal TRIO Programs

The TRIO programs fund postsecondary education outreach and student support services that encourage individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter and complete college. These services complement the Department's student financial aid programs by helping to ensure postsecondary education access for disadvantaged students and by providing them with the support they need to successfully complete postsecondary programs. 0ver 724,856 students will benefit from these programs under the 1998 request.

New awards will be made in both the Talent Search program and Educational Opportunity Centers, while continuation awards will be made in the remaining TRIO programs. Student Support Services, which has been shown to have a positive effect on grade point average and retention, would provide remediation and support services to an estimated 179,478 disadvantaged undergraduate students. Talent Search would identify and encourage an estimated 324,445 students from disadvantaged backgrounds to graduate from high school and enroll in college. Educational Opportunity Centers would provide assistance and information to an estimated 166,640 adults seeking to pursue a program of postsecondary education. Upward Bound, which has been shown to improve the academic preparation of participants while in high school, would provide intensive academic support services to an estimated 48,412 disadvantaged high school students to generate the skills and motivation needed to pursue a program of education beyond high school. The McNair program would support academic and other activities to help prepare an estimated 2,481 disadvantaged undergraduates who want to pursue graduate or doctoral study.

Advanced Placement Fees

This newly funded authority would supplement State efforts to pay for the Advanced Placement test fees of low-income students. Subsidizing these fees would provide additional encouragement to such students to take Advanced Placement tests and obtain college credit for high school courses, thus reducing the time and cost required to complete a postsecondary degree. The program would complement the Department’s student aid programs and help to improve both academic excellence and access in higher education. It also would encourage States and secondary schools to offer more advanced placement courses and to raise academic standards. The 1998 request would help pay test fees of more than 136,000 low-income students.

National Early Intervention Scholarships and Partnerships

The Department requests no funding for the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership program. Although this program could help forge new Federal-State partnerships aimed at encouraging disadvantaged youth to pursue postsecondary education, it would require a much greater Federal investment to have a national impact.

Scholarships and Fellowships

Byrd Honors Scholarships. The $39.3 million request, an increase of $10.2 million, would fund a new cohort of first-year students in 1998 and continue support for the 1995, 1996, and 1997 cohorts of students in their fourth, third, and second years of study, respectively. In addition, all awards would be raised to the $1,500 authorized level, up from $1,100 in 1997. Over 26,000 students would be served, including 6,500 new scholars.

Presidential Honors Scholarships. This new legislative initiative would motivate high academic achievement in every high school in the Nation—and among students from a wide range of backgrounds—by providing $1,000 scholarships to the top 5 percent of graduating high school students for use in their first year of postsecondary study. An estimated 132,000 students would receive awards in 1998.

George Bush Fellowships. This program assists in the establishment of the George Bush Fellowship Program, located at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service of the Texas A & M University. No additional funds are requested for this program, which in 1997 received the full funding stipulated by the authorizing statute.

Javits Fellowships. Funding is not requested for new fellows under this categorical program. Continuing Javits fellows would be funded under the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program, and the arts, humanities, and social sciences will be given full consideration under the designation of critical-need disciplines for new GAANN awards.

Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need. The Department requests $30 million for the GAANN program, which rewards excellence and encourages continued learning by supporting fellowships to outstanding students. Participating graduate schools must seek out students from underrepresented groups. Because the program supports study in the mathematics, science, and computer disciplines, it makes an important contribution toward national economic competitiveness. The 1998 request would support an estimated 1,600 GAANN fellows, while also funding 130 continuing Javits fellows.

Howard University

The 1998 request would maintain support for Howard’s academic operations, endowment, and the Hospital, while giving the University broad flexibility to allocate funds to best meet its needs. The request reflects the Administration's support for maintaining and improving the quality and financial strength of an institution that provides a major avenue of postsecondary access and opportunity for African Americans.

Academic Facilities

The academic facilities programs were created to provide financial assistance to institutions of higher education for the construction, reconstruction, or renovation of academic facilities. The Administration believes the Federal Government should not bear responsibility for maintaining the physical plant of institutions of higher education. In general, responsibility for this type of fundamental institutional support lies with colleges and universities themselves, State and local governments, and private sector beneficiaries of higher education services. Funds are requested in 1998 solely to manage and service the existing portfolios of facilities loans and grants that were made in prior years.

Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program

The Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Capital Financing Program promotes diversity and equal opportunity in American higher education by providing a Federal guarantee for bond financing for the repair and construction of facilities at HBCUs. By statute, the total amount of loan principal guaranteed plus accrued unpaid interest may not exceed $375 million. Of the $375 million, no more than $250 million is to be used for loans to public HBCUs and no more than $125 million is to be used for loans to private HBCUs. Since the subsidy costs of the program are estimated to be zero, the 1998 request includes only $104,000 to cover the Federal administrative costs of the program and to maintain the HBCU Capital Financing Advisory Board, which is appointed by the Secretary and advises the Secretary on the most effective means of implementing a construction financing program to address the needs of the Nation’s HBCUs.

Direct any questions to Martha Jacobs, Budget Service