Lawmakers must retain need grants for Washington college students

CURRENTLY, Washington state is facing an ominous budget deficit. Gov. Chris Gregoire and our legislative representatives are working to formulate a budget to combat this looming deficit and a proposal to make substantial cuts to higher education is on the table.

This proposal will slash in half the funds allocated to State Need Grant programs at the University of Washington and other state institutions that provide financial aid and tuition for low-income, underrepresented and first-generation students. If funding is cut as proposed, these students will lose the access and opportunity to receive a college education.

At UW, the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity's Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) provides academic and financial support for students who generally have socio-economic hurdles to overcome, come from underrepresented backgrounds (including African-American, Native American/Alaska Native, Latino and Pacific Islander populations) and may be the first in their families to attend college.

In most cases, it is this financial aid and academic support that makes it possible for these students to be successful in the classroom and to graduate. The Husky Promise is a program that provides a guarantee to full-time, enrolled UW students who are eligible for federal (Pell) and state Need Grants that the UW will cover any remaining tuition unmet by the federal and state grants.

UW has a very strong track record of graduating student groups including those supported by the EOP, but this proposed budget cut puts all that success at risk. We've made such great strides, and a substantial cut to State Need Grants represent the greatest threat to this progress since the program's inception — even more so than Initiative 200 (the 1998 anti-affirmative-action initiative) ever did.

Between 1999 and 2003, the six-year graduation rate of underrepresented minority students increased from 64 percent to 75 percent (a gain of 11 percentage points), compared with an overall UW graduation rate of 81 percent in the final year of that period (2003).

But that is not to say that all college students won't be affected by a lack of state funding. At the core of the University of Washington's mission statement and its values is a commitment to diversity and providing a public good.

Therefore, the equation is simple: Less funding assistance for tuition equates to less access and less diversity on the UW campus. And if these proposed cuts are put in place, students at the UW and colleges and universities across the state will not be able to reach their potential — not because their academic qualifications aren't good enough, but because they cannot afford it.

I urge citizens to reach out to state lawmakers. Let them know how it will affect the lives of many students who qualify academically for a college education but cannot afford it financially. Our future lies in the hands of those we're educating to make a difference. You can't put a price on that.

Are we going to go back on our word to families of future students? Help us keep the Husky Promise by asking your legislator to maintain financial aid funds at the 2008-09 level.