June 6, 2007                                                                           67LCR#1                                                                               

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDENT UNION

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Sponsored by:            Dustin Farivar                      Leg Council Parliamentarian

                                     

                                               

           

 Authored by:            Hadley Brown                       Tri-Executive

                                               

A Resolution

 

Higher Education Reform Bill & Letter

________________________________________________________________________

Resolution History

 

The United States Student Association (USSA) and The State PIRGS’ Higher Education Project are conducting a higher education reform campaign in efforts to increase grant financial aid and make the student loan process more affordable.  These organizations will be presenting the Higher Education Reform Bill to Congress on Wednesday, June 13.  In conjunction with these efforts, they’re asking institutions of higher education and other groups to sign a letter asking Congress to reform policy in three major ways:

 

1)      Increase the Pell Grant award to $5100 this year.  Proponents of this initiative point to statistics that show that the Pell Grant program has had high success in  increasing college accessibility for low-income students.

 

2)      Reduce Interest Rates on student loans.  The House of Representatives passed a bill in January 2006 that cut interest rates from 6.8% to 3.4%.  The letter urges the Senate to also pass this bill.

 

3)      Consider Reforming the Loan Repayment System.  The letter suggests that graduates repay their debt according to their capacity to pay based on income and other factors. 

 

 

Resolution Summary

 

Whereas, University of Colorado at Boulder students suffer from a decline in need-based financial aid awards, while graduates of UCB have recently been burdened with greater student loan debt; and

 

Whereas, Higher education institutions in Colorado receive poor public funding when compared to nearly all other states; and

 

Whereas, The rapidly increasing cost of higher education is severely detrimental to UCB students’ experiences in college, and makes college less accessible; and 

 

Whereas, On behalf of UCB students, the UCSU supports the goals of a letter authored by The United States Student Association (USSA) and The State PIRGS’  Higher Education Project that urges Congress to increase the maximum Pell Grant award, and to reform the debt repayment process by lowering interest rates and allowing graduates to repay debts according to their income levels.

 

 

THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED by the Legislative Council of the University of Colorado Student Union, THAT:

The University of Colorado at Boulder officially endorses the USSA/PIRG June 11, 2007 letter, and supports its effort to make higher education more affordable for students in US institutions.

 

 

 

 

Vote Count

6/7/07                                                Passed                            Acclamation

6/21/07                                    Passed                            Acclamation

 

 

 

 

____________________________         __________________________________

Sara Martinez Davine, Tri-executive                  Charles Gilford III, Tri-executive

 

 

 

____________________________         __________________________________

Hadley Brown, Tri-executive                    Boyce Postma, Legislative Council President