The terms of the sequester, the budget cuts that go into effect on March 1 if Congress fails to reach a budget deal, may not be severe enough to force actual compromise in Washington, but the cuts will be noticeable, particularly for colleges.
Tyler Kingkade reports that colleges in every state in America will be hurt:
Several critical revenue streams for universities are at risk: The National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the Humanities are all subject to cuts that fall within both the 7.6 percent cut to mandatory spending and the 8.2 percent cut to discretionary spending.
Students’ tuition rates won’t go up, and Pell Grants are protected; but the federalwork-study program and other scholarship sources, like the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, would be subject to the 8.2 percent cut.
Some 4,720 poor college students in Texas, 2,370 in Iowa, 4,520 in New York, and 9,600 in California would lose federal financial aid.
Poor students are those who depend most upon federal financial aid to remain in school. Cuts to federal programs could would likely result in more dropouts or students taking on additional private student loans, which often have less generous repayment terms.
