Minority-Serving Institutions Seek Long-Term Funding Increases: With a short-term federal funding increase set to expire soon, minority- serving institutions and their advocates on Capitol Hill are moving on several fronts to make permanent at least some of these valuable gains.
In a fiscal 2010 education appropriations bill and the newly proposed Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, advocates are seeking to consolidate increases achieved in 2007. At that time, the College Cost Reduction Act steered an extra $500 million to minority-serving institutions — in addition to regular appropriations — with the proviso that the additional funding would end in 2009.
Since President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January, groups representing historically Black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges have sought to extend that short-term funding. Organizations say the need for long-term extra funding is significant given the effects of the recession on colleges.
While the Obama White House has endorsed only small increases for these colleges, Congress is taking steps to extend the large investments approved in 2007.
