Proposed Federal Legislation Would Reduce Financial Aid to Low-Income PCC Students

October 20, 2011

Tucson, AZ – The top academic officer of Pima Community College is urging everyone who cares about education to oppose a congressional plan that would dramatically limit the ability of low-income students to obtain financial aid.  

Dr. Suzanne Miles, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and President of the Community Campus, told the PCC Board of Governors that hundreds of students would be impacted by proposed federal legislation limiting access to Pell Grants.

“Pell Grants are a pathway to a better life for hundreds of Pima Community College students,” Dr. Miles said. “They open the door for a better-educated workforce and economic recovery.”

Under the proposal, which was unveiled recently by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees education spending, college students who lack a high school diploma or GED, and students who attend college less than half time would be ineligible for Pell Grants.

Community colleges like PCC have the highest proportion of Pell Grant recipients. In 2010, PCC awarded Pell Grants to 669 students who lacked a diploma or GED, and to 706 students attending PCC less than half time, Dr. Miles said.

Nationally, more than 500,000 students would lose their grants, according to an analysis by the American Association of Community Colleges.

Dr. Miles urged Arizonans to contact their representative in the U.S. House to register their opposition to the legislation.

Dr. Miles made her remarks while presenting the Chancellor’s Report on behalf of Dr. Roy Flores, who is recovering from quadruple-bypass heart surgery performed Oct. 14. Dr. Flores is recuperating at his home.

The next scheduled meeting of the PCC Board of Governors is Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Community Board Room, C-105, of the PCC District Office, 4905C E. Broadway Blvd.

CONTACT:
C.J. Karamargin
Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations
(520) 206-4850