Tag: budget

Can Maintenance of Effort Programs Fund Public Higher Education?

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities released a policy paper this week calling for the federal government to enact (and fund) a program designed to encourage states to increase their support for public higher education. The AASCU brief rightly notes that per-student funding for public higher education has fallen over the past three decades (the magnitude of which is overstated somewhat due to their choice in inflation adjustments), and they propose a potential solution in the form of a maintenance of effort provision.

AASCU’s proposal would give colleges a partial match of their higher education appropriations, as long as per-FTE funding to institutions is higher than 50% of the value of the maximum Pell Grant and did not decline from the previous year’s value. The value of the matching funds would go up as state appropriations to institutions increased. They estimate that their hypothesized program would cost something in the neighborhood of $10-$15 billion per year, which could be paid for by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in current financial aid systems (particularly among for-profits) and by implementing some sort of risk-sharing for student loans—which I’ve written on recently.

However, I view the plan as having a fatal flaw. By only including state appropriations to institutions in the calculation—and not requiring that the matching funds be spent on higher education—states can game the system to get additional money from the federal government. States could reduce funding to their financial aid programs and direct those funds toward institutional appropriations in order to get federal dollars, which could be used for K-12 education, healthcare, or tax cuts.

If states followed the incentive to eliminate all grant aid and fund institutions instead, tuition would likely decrease (something that AASCU institutions would appreciate). The most recent NASSGAP survey of state aid programs found that states spend $9.4 billion per year on grant aid, two-thirds of which is allocated based on financial need. Putting this money into state appropriations would cost the federal government several billion dollars, with no guarantees of any additional funding for students or institutions.

I have a hard time seeing Congress approving this maintenance of effort plan, regardless of the merits. Lobbyists for the private nonprofit and for-profit sectors are likely to strongly oppose this measure, as are lobbying groups for K-12 education, healthcare, and corrections spending (behind the scenes) since higher education is often cut at the expense of higher ed. In addition, this is likely to be a nonstarter in the House due to its placing restrictions on state priorities.

I’m glad to see this proposal from AASCU, but I don’t see it becoming law anytime soon. I would suggest that they follow up with some more details on their proposed risk-sharing program, as well as how elements of this plan could be incorporated into the Obama Administration’s proposed college ratings.

Something Old, Something New: The FY 2014 Obama Budget

Even though I know that it has no chance of being passed in anything resembling its current form, I am excited to get my hands on President Obama’s long-delayed budget for Fiscal Year 2014 (short version, long version, six-page summary of the education portion). The funding request for the Department of Education is for $71.2 billion in discretionary spending, 4.6% higher than this year’s (pre-sequester) budget; ED is unlikely to see an increase of greater than inflation this year given the current political climate.

I tweeted my way (follow me!) through some of the key points relating to higher education yesterday, and am now back with a more detailed summary of the budget. (I also recommend Libby Nelson’s excellent summary in today’s Inside Higher Ed.)This year’s theme is “something old, something new,” as many of the proposals are recycled from last year—but with one key difference that will affect millions of students.

First of all, not much changes with respect to the Pell Grant. The President proposes a $140 increase in the maximum Pell Grant to $5,785, while the program is on more solid financial footing for the next few years. He is again trying to get a higher education version of Race to the Top passed this year, which will look similar to the plan from last year. Again, there is a strong focus in the STEM fields and for program evaluation (the latter of which is welcome from my perspective). The biggest program boost I could find was to FIPSE (the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education), going from under $2.4 million to $260 million. Although it is unlikely to be adopted, it does show a commitment to demonstration projects in K-12 and higher education.

The most controversial part of the President’s budget is the proposed shift to market-based interest rates. A day after Republican Senators Coburn, Burr, and Alexander introduced a bill to tie all interest rates to the ten-year Treasury rate (currently 1.8%) plus three percentage points, the President’s budget also proposed tying interest rates to the same measure. His plan is more nuanced, with different loans having different premiums over the Treasury rate (see p. 344-350):

Subsidized Stafford: Treasury plus 0.93% (about 2.75% currently)

Unsubsidized Stafford and Perkins: Treasury plus 2.93% (about 4.75%)

PLUS: Treasury plus 3.93% (about 5.75%)

GOP plan: All loans are Treasury plus 3% (about 4.8%)

These rates are far lower than the current rates (3.4% for subsidized Stafford, 6.8% for unsubsidized Stafford, and over 8% for graduate unsubsidized loans), but do shift risk onto students as the rate for new loans would change each year. There would also be no interest rate cap, which is lamented by many advocates. (Income-based repayment provides another alternative, however.)

If either of these plans is adopted, the interest rate cliff would be eliminated as students would no longer have to wait on Congress to know their rates. However, students are likely to see rates rise as Treasury yields return toward their historical norm. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 10-year Treasury notes will yield 5.2% by 2018, which would put unsubsidized loans just over 8%. (This is still lower than the recent rate for unsubsidized graduate loans, with which I am quite familiar.) If rates go higher than that, I expect Congress to enact an interest rate cap in several years.

The federal budget process does not move quickly, especially with a divided Congress. While I do not expect large increases in the Department of Education’s budget, I am optimistic that a market-based solution to interest rates will be adopted in order to provide more certainty in the short run and to bring graduate loan rates closer to what the private market would otherwise offer.

The Benefits of Biennial Budgets

The federal government had a substantial problem with its budgeting process over the past several years, with funding being provided by a series of continuing resolutions outside the annual process for more than three years. With bipartisan frustration over this process growing, a group of centrist Senators, led by Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), have proposed a switch from annual to biennial budgets. This proposal was introduced in the past Congress and was not seriously discussed, but is likely to be considered this time around with the interest of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

Biennial budgets are not uncommon at the state level. A 2011 report from the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that 19 states have biennial budgets, including Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. Only four of these states have legislatures that only meet every two years, meaning that 15 states have actively chosen the biennial path.

Biennial budgeting allows for more time for debate and discussion of tricky matters, but the budgets often have to be adjusted because of the balanced budget requirements. (Budget repair bills are well-known here in Wisconsin.) The lack of such a requirement at the federal level makes biennial budgeting even more feasible. While I am a staunch supporter of a balanced budget, I recognize that a small error in economic growth or demographic assumptions can result in a slightly unbalanced budget over a two-year period. As long as the assumptions are reasonable, I’m fine with a small error which can be addressed in the future.

Requiring a budget every two years instead of one can help provide more stability to federal education funding, particularly regarding policies and levels of student financial aid and education research. This stability has the potential to have positive impacts which are independent of the actual funding levels. For example, if the exact dollar amount for the maximum Pell Grant is known, a push should be made to communicate that level to students who are likely to qualify upon entering college. Providing earlier information of financial aid could induce the marginal student to enroll in college and perhaps even take an additional high school course which would lower the likelihood of remediation. This push toward earlier notification of financial aid is consistent with other parts of my research agenda, and would have the added benefit (in my view) of allowing Pell Grant funding to be flexible as needed in the future.

A biennial budget process could also have the benefit of making student loan interest rates more predictable. Under current law, undergraduate subsidized Stafford interest rates are currently set to double (from 3.4% to 6.8%) on July 1. (This is a budgetary matter because the interest rate does determine the level of profit or loss for the federal government.) While I am a strong supporter of plans to tie student loan interest rates to market conditions—such as the rate paid on Treasury bills plus 3%—biennial budgeting would at least allow interest rates to not face a cliff every single year.

Biennial budgeting has the potential to result in more stability in education funding, as well as result in budgets which are well-discussed and passed under regular order. For those reasons, I am supportive of moving from annual to biennial budgets. I would love to hear your thoughts on this proposal in the comments!