The federal stimulus package could mean changes in student financial aid and tuition at universities across the country, including Miami University.
As the House of Representatives and the Senate work for compromise on the stimulus bill, state officials are waiting to learn the impact on their budgets.
The House version includes $79 billion in aid for state and local governments-$40 billion more than the Senate version, according to press releases from the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations.
The compromise could mean a cut of $25 billion in aid to the state fiscal stabilization fund, geared mostly to education.
In the budget he delivered this month, Strickland estimated that Ohio would receive $3.4 billion from the federal government for general expenses over the next two years.
The Senate version would lower that amount to $2.5 billion or less.
"The governor and Ohio Chancellor of Education Eric Fingerhut are working to reconcile the gap between the House version of the stimulus bill and the amount of funding to be determined in the compromise package," said Robert Evans, communications officer for the University System of Ohio's Board of Regents.
One proposal limits the planned statewide tuition freeze. In his State of the State address earlier this year, Strickland reiterated his commitment by extending the tuition freeze at universities to the 2009-10 academic year and capping tuition increases at 3.5 percent in 2011.
"It has been suggested that we may have to limit the tuition freeze to university branches and community colleges, pulling out main campuses," Evans said. Both versions of the bill, however, put billions of dollars into federal student aid.
"The Senate version is smaller as far as education goes," Chuck Knepfle, director of the office of student financial assistance at Miami, said. "They're relatively comparable in dollars, but the House bill puts more into education."
According to a press release by the House Committee on Education and Labor, the House version of the bill sets aside more money for Pell Grants-federal dollars given to the neediest students-upping the maximum amount given by $500, setting the highest individual award at $5,350 for the 2009-10 school year.
The Senate version increases these grants compared to 2008-09 levels, but by about half as much.
The House version also increases limits by $2,000 on Stafford Loans-student loans available to those who meet requirements and fill out the FAFSA-and puts $490 million into college work study programs.
It also gives out $3.5 billion nationally for the higher education infrastructure fund, paying for college building and renovation.
Knepfle said Miami may or may not see any approved work-study money, and that the university is not relying on state money for building projects.
The planned Bicentennial Student Center, delayed due to a lack of funding, would not qualify for grants from the infrastructure fund.
"The big one, as far as Miami's concerned, is the House's awarding $79 billion directly to states," Knepfle said. "That money may or may not be used for education."
The compromise package may award significantly less to state governments, according to Knepfle and information from a press release from the governor, as the Senate and House work to reconcile their two versions.
