Finding money for college is no easy task, and for students receiving Tuition Equalization Grants, things could get harder.
State budget cuts to education could significantly reduce the amount of money set aside for TEG, but administrators are doing everything they can to keep as much money in the state-funded grant as possible.
TEG gives Texas residents attending private Texas institutions up to $3,808 per school year or $5,712 in more serious circumstances.
ACU students collectively receive about $4 million in TEG funds per year. A decrease in TEG funds could reduce that amount – but Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, is working to prevent cuts from happening.
Schubert has been talking with Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university and Suzanne Allmon, senior adviser to the president, along with the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, Inc., to develop a plan to meet and talk with Texas legislators to express the importance of TEG for ACU and its students.
Schubert will travel to Austin on Tuesday with Kenneth Starr, president of Baylor University, and Dr. Dennis Ahlburg, president of Trinity University, to meet with key legislators to discuss TEG cuts.
“It’s a tough situation where there will be lots of cuts made to the state budget,” Allmon said. “It’s very early in the process. They just began mid-January, and so a lot will happen by the end of May, when it’s finalized. We don’t really know what that’s going to look like, but nonetheless, we feel like it’s important for Dr. Schubert and others to be actively making key legislators aware of the importance of TEG to ACU and other private institutions.”
During his visit to Austin, Allmon said Schubert will speak with 8-12 legislators about the importance of TEG to students and universities around Texas.
“We know that given the budget situation in Texas this year, it’s likely that it will be cut some,” Allmon said, “so we’re going to try to help them understand the need to keep it not much.”
Schubert said the university plans to wait for a definite outcome of TEG cuts before making plans to bridge any gap. He said the interest of the students, specifically in reducing the impact to students, is at the forefront of all TEG plans.
