U.S. Presidents & Financial Aid:Who’s in Charge Makes A

Difference

Craig Munier, DirectorOffice of Scholarships & Financial Aid

University of Nebraska

• Historical overview of presidents and higher education

• Funding history in relation to Administrations

Presentation Outline

• Presidential power is unique• Limited by Congress• But there are exceptions:

– Veto Threat– Executive Orders and Actions– Election years change everything

How Strong is the President’s Power?

Thomas Jefferson1801-1809

…to avail the state of those talents, sown as liberally among the poor as among the rich, which perish without use if not sought for and cultivated.

Abraham Lincoln1861-1865

• Morrill Act of 1862• Referred to as the “Land Grant Act”• 30,000 acres of land per Senator and Representative• Just celebrated 150th anniversary

• World War I veterans found it difficult to find work

• World War Adjustment Act of 1924• Most veterans didn’t see money for 20 years• Greatest period of unrest ever seen in

Washington, D.C.

Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929

Herbert Hoover, 1929-1933

• Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944

• Commonly known as the “G.I. Bill”• Controversial (unemployment provision)

• Wanted to avoid missteps following World War I

• Harry Colmery, former Republican National Chairman drafted first bill

Franklin D. Roosevelt1933-1945

President signs Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944

Harry S. Truman1945-1953

• Appointed President’s Commission on Higher Education, commonly referred to as the “Truman Commission”

• Appointed July 13, 1946• “I hope the Commission will concern itself with…

means of expanding educational opportunities for all able young people…”

• Named George F. Zook, President of the American Council on Education (ACE), Chairman

• One of the first specialists in higher education for the U.S. Bureau of Education

• Former President of the University of Akron

• Native of Fort Scott, Kansas

George F. Zook

• Grants-in-aid to undergraduates based on need• Low or no tuition commuter institutions (especially

community colleges)• Student financial aid in the form of loans, grants,

and sponsored employment• Few, if any of the recommendations were enacted

President’s Commission on Higher Education: Higher Education for

American Democracy

50th Anniversary of the Space Age

Dwight D. Eisenhower1953-1961

• National Defense Act of 1958• Fear of losing the “race for space”• Congress turned to the “1946 Truman

Commission Report” for ideas• Created low-interest loans• Still with us today as Perkins Loans

John F. Kennedy 1961-1963

• Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963• Per Truman Commission recommendation• Provided federal funds to institutions of higher

education for academic facilities

Lyndon B. Johnson1963-1969

• Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 o Created the College Work-Study Program

• Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1963

• Higher Education Act of 1965o Educational Opportunity Grants, support for College Work-Study, and created the

Guaranteed Student Loan program

Jimmy Carter 1977-1981

• Middle Income Assistance Act• Established a separate means test for student

loans• President personally thanked Senators Williams

and Pell and Congressmen Perkins and Ford.

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

1979

-80

1982

-83

1985

-86

1988

-89

1991

-92

1994

-95

1997

-98

2000

-01

2003

-04

2006

-07

2009

-10

2012

-13

Maximum Pell1979-801980-811981-821982-831983-841984-851985-861986-871987-881988-891989-901990-911991-921992-931993-941994-951995-961996-971997-981998-991999-002000-012001-022002-032003-042004-052005-06

Reagan Bush,Sr. Clinton Bush, Jr. Obama

Who Controls the White House Makes a Difference

• Federal Direct Student Loan program was first suggested in a white paper from this administration

• In 1993 104 colleges and universities volunteered to participate as a demonstration program to begin in the fall, 1994

George H.W. Bush 1989-1993

• Supported direct lending in hopes the savings would help finance AmeriCorps

• Income contingent loan repayment fit with idea of national service

• America Read’s (Hillary’s idea) • Hope & Lifetime Learning Tax Credits • Student Loan interest tax credits

Bill Clinton1993-2001

• Academic Competitiveness Grants• The National Science & Mathematics Access

to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant)

• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH Grant)

George W. Bush2002-2008

• Increased maximum Pell Grant; full funding a high priority• Supported full implementation of Federal Direct Loan

program with savings supporting increased Pell Grant funding, support for community colleges, and federal deficit reduction

• Gainful Employment oversight for certificate programs• Greater transparency in college pricing• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Barack Obama2009-

• New policy to cease deportation of children of undocumented parents; supports “Dream Act” (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors)

Barack Obama2009-

Questions/Comments?

Thank you!