Pennsylvania's State System of
Higher Education
14 universitie
Infinite Opportunities
Hi I'm Chancellor Karen Whitney,
and today we're going to talk
about the many ways students can
fund their college experience at
our 14 state universities.
I'm joined today by a wonderful
panel.
Let me introduce you to our
panelists.
Elizabeth McCloud is the vice
president of state grant and
special programs at the
Pennsylvania Higher Education
Assistance Agency also known as
PHEAA and she's also a proud
alumni of our IUP.
We're joined today by Angelo
Hronis, a senior sport
administration major at Lock
Haven University.
He's also the recipient of the
LHU SAS student success and
engagement scholarship.
Welcome Angelo.
Thank you for having me.
Absolutely.
And finally we joined by Deb
Suder, senior principal of the
government relations section at
Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney
PC.
She's also an alum of LHU, and a
trustee of Lock Haven
University, and a donor.
Welcome Deb.
Thank you.
Great to be here.
So let's go ahead and just get
started.
Angelo, could you tell us a
little more about yourself?
Absolutely.
So, I'm a senior at Lock Haven
University.
I'm graduating in May of 2018
and I had the very fortunate
opportunity to start working for
the Cleveland Cavaliers in
January due to my success, and
what I got out of Lock Haven
University that really helped me
to get to where I am today.
Congratulations on graduating
and toward the employment;
that's terrific.
Yes.
Sure, you bet.
Hey Elizabeth, what role does
PHEAA play in helping students
fund their education?
We're going to spend a few
minutes here talking about the
different ways students fund
their college experience, so how
does PHEAA help out?
Well PHEAA works to facilitate
higher education that's
affordable for students and
families in Pennsylvania, and
PHEAA administers multiple
financial aid programs on behalf
of the Commonwealth.
The largest of those programs is
the Pennsylvania state grant
program, which is a program that
all of the PASSHE schools
participate in.
We also provide public service
initiatives across the
Commonwealth.
We have publications available
to assist students and families
and website resources, but
probably our most notable public
service initiative is the 14
higher education access partners
who live and work in communities
throughout the Commonwealth and
provide hands on assistance to
students and families in
learning about the financial aid
application process, and, you
know, planning for college and
completing that application
process.
So interestingly, PHEAA funds
those initiatives through our
financial resources; our
business earnings.
And so that saves our taxpayers
a great deal of money.
We also use some of our
financial resources at PHEAA to
provide additional funding to
some of the programs, including,
for this current academic year,
an 87 million dollar supplement
to the state grant program.
[WHITNEY] Wow!
And over the last 10 years we've
provided supplements to the aid
programs in excess of 670
million dollars.
Wow that's really terrific.
It's a tremendous help the
students in Pennsylvania.
So thank you.
Yeah.
Well let me ask Deb.
Deb can you talk to us about the
many ways that you're serving
Lock Haven University to be
successful?
Well, I've been lucky, since I've
graduated I've been on the
alumni board, the foundation
board, and now I'm really
enjoying being a trustee of the
college.
I worked with our political
science professors up there to
bring the students to --
actually to the Capitol for days
- see how a bill really passes -
so they can throw the book out
the window and learn the system;
which has been fun through the
years.
Each year the students advocates
come down to meet with the House
and Senate leaders and I attend
the meetings with them and I'm
also a donor and provide a
scholarship each semester.
Wow.
So you're an alum, you're a
trustee, an advocate, and a
donor.
Wow.
Well thank you for all that
you've done in all those roles.
I appreciate that very much.
I think the idea of giving one's
time, talent, and treasure is
very important, particularly in
helping students afford to
attend the university.
So in terms -- if I could ask
more about PHEAA, I mean what's
the number one question you're
asked by folks who are
interested what PHEAA offers?
Sure, I think families are always
looking to see what resources
are available.
And so primarily we start by
talking about the state grant
program and making sure that
students know how to go about
applying for financial aid, so
they don't miss out on any
financing opportunities
available to them, particularly
the gift aid programs, such as
the state grant program.
So I assume you have a website.
We do absolutely: PHEAA.org.
Oh that's easy to remember.
So that would be 'PHEAA.org,'
right. Correct.
Yes.
And there are multiple resources
available on PHEAA.org.
There is information about the
state grant program, as well as
each of the other special
programs that we administer for
the Commonwealth.
There are forms when families
need them to fill out.
There are some website tools to
assist them in planning for
college and the application
process and help them make
decisions about where they want
to apply and how they might be
able to finance an education.
Wow, that's very helpful.
That's very helpful.
I hope everybody listening will
go to PHEAA.org and really look
at what's what's been made
available by the state, because
I think everybody, no matter who
they are, should consider how
the state can be helpful to them
in going to college.
Let's take a quick break and
head on out to Indiana
University.
Your old school there, huh?
Ok, great.
As soon as I've stopped on the
grounds here I said, "Wow, this
college is beautiful!"
You know I went through the Oak
Grove and everything, and I
said, "You know, I could see
myself here."
I got my acceptance letter, it
said 'you got accepted to IUP'
and I said, "Oh my gosh, I think
I'm going to go here now!"
And I told my dad about it and
he was like, "But Mary, that's
four hours away."
So that type of variation within
a molecule, ninety nine point
eight percent of the DNA's
identical.
So what I've be telling is only
in point 2 percent it is
different.
I attended my first biology
course here at IUP and that's
when I met him, Dr. Bharathan.
He came down walking, in the big
auditorium in Wayandt, saying,
"My name is Bharanthan. It
rhymes with marathon.
Don't forget it."
So, he really hit home to me
when he said, you know, "You
have to work hard. You're gonna
to have to work hard. This
isn't high school. You're gonna
to have study; prepare ahead of
time."
And so I went back the next day
into his office and I said, "Dr.
Bharanthan, is there anything
you want me to do in your lab?
Anything?"
And you know what, he thought
about it for a while, and he
goes, "Yeah, there is
something."
So he brought me to his lab and
he says here wash the dishes.
And so I made my way up there.
He saw that I just kept coming
day after day, I wouldn't give up.
I'm very grateful for these
scholarship opportunities.
It had really allowed me to
focus more on academics.
My dreams for the future then is
to pursue a higher degree to get
my Ph.D. in cell molecular
biology, after which I plan to
work 5 to 10 years, or 10 to 15
years, in the industry primarily
focusing on cell and molecular
biology, looking at cellular
interactions involved with
people who have terminal
illnesses like my grandmother.
What I would say to those who
have given me this opportunity
-- this scholarship opportunity,
basically, would be, thank you.
Without them I wouldn't have
accomplished and succeeded in
what I have done today.
One day I hope to give back to
students like me at IUP.
♪♪
♪♪
Welcome back we're here talking
about how you can find your
college experience in our 14th
state universities.
Well Deborah, what inspired you
to give so much of your time,
talent, and treasure to Lock
Haven University?
Well, even though I went to
another institution to get my
master's, if it wasn't for Lock
Haven, I don't believe I'd be
where I am today.
I didn't have the internet, or I
couldn't google the internships,
or any of the other
opportunities that my professors
gave me while at Lock Haven, and
it was a one-on-one.
They found the internships for me.
They pushed me to work in DA's
office and even to work on a
legislator's campaign:
Representative Russ Letterman, a
former legislator up in the Lock
Haven area.
And so I am so thankful, and
it's my time to turn around and
help those behind me, and help
the students, and help the
institution, to keep it
affordable.
That's the one thing that really
is my passion - is making sure
it's affordability.
The cost of college, and the
debt that the student comes out
with now from our colleges and
universities, it is outrageous.
I don't know if you saw recently
the report this weekend?
Mhmm.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania came
out as number one in student
debt.
Each student graduating in our
-- averages of thirty five
thousand dollars in debt when
they graduate.
That's upsetting to me, so my
mission is to see and find ways
to keep us affordable.
So because so much was given to
you you're giving back now.
Yes.
So thank you so much.
Well let me talk about
scholarships.
Angelo, you're a scholarship
recipient, can you talk about
how your scholarship helped you
be successful at Lock Haven?
Absolutely.
So this scholarship gave me all
the opportunity to have all my
books paid for, as well as any
kind of code that I needed for
class.
For example, at my finance
class, I had to do a business
game simulation that made real
life simulation with the real
world - put it back into class
and I had to get that code, and
that was all taken care of.
So it gave me the opportunity to
utilize all of my books for
class, because some classes I
had two to three books, and that
could get costly.
So, the fact that I have all
these books that I can continue
my education - learn to where I
am today.
I'm very thankful to have this
opportunity, to get the
scholarship, and then I'm able
to learn on an everyday basis,
not only in the classroom, but
as well with the books, as well,
just to reinforce what I learned
in class outside in the books.
So the scholarship helped reduce
the price that semester, or
while you had it.
How long did you have the
scholarship for?
I had the scholarship for a
year. Wow.
So it really brought down the
cost of what you had to pay that
year to go to Lock Haven?
Absolutely and I got it through
being involved in the S.A.S.
incorporated board as a
corporate board member and
that's where I received the
scholarship from.
I see.
Okay great.
Thank you.
Hey, Elizabeth what are other
ways students can fund their
education?
We've talked about donor-funded
scholarships, but can you talk
to us about other ideas or ways
you find that students are
funding their college
experience?
Absolutely.
So students, sometimes as they
go through the admissions
process with the school, they
might be offered a scholarship
directly from the school, or
they might have scholarships
coming in from private entities
outside of an institution.
But it's very important that
students go through the formal
government financial aid
application process to make sure
that they're not leaving any
resources unused that might be
helpful in covering college
costs.
It's known as the FAFSA.
The FAFSA.
That's correct.
And so that's an application
that even for seniors in high
school is available fairly early
on nowadays.
Students can start the financial
aid application process as early
as October 1st of their senior
year in high school, and they
will need to fill that out on an
annual basis as they move
through their college years.
And so with the FAFSA
application, students are
applying for federal types of
aid.
There is a link from the FAFSA
application to Pennsylvania's
state grant program application.
And so that's a secondary form
that students fill out with just
a couple of additional questions
and that then enables students
to be considered for the state
grant program which is then
need-based state funding.
So students want to start by
using all of the gift aid
resources that might be
available and applying for all
of those resources, and then
[cough] excuse me, once students
have used up all of the gift aid
options, or pursued all
available gift aid, then they
turn to what we call self-help
financial aid funds, and that
can include things like student
employment, perhaps a federal
student work-study job on campus
at one of the PASSHE schools.
That's something that I did when
I was at IUP.
I participated in a work-study
program.
So did I.
That's something many students
don't know.
Right.
And so and that's actually a
program that PHEAA provides
additional funding directly to
colleges to help them with the
funding that's required for
their share of the federal work
study-jobs for their students on
campus.
And then of course students
would also want to look at the
federal student loan program as
the final piece of that
financial aid puzzle.
So we've talked about today --
we've talked about ways to fund;
includes scholarships that are
funded by generous donors.
We've talked about PHEAA grants
that are funded by the state.
Those are items that you don't
pay back and we've talked about
working your way through through
work-study, and then there also
loans that you do have to pay
back.
Correct.
So not to mention there are
other grants besides, you know,
PHEAA.
There's other federal and state
grants as well, so there's
grants and scholarships, loans
and working your way through.
Right. So it's a puzzle of all those
pieces put together and most
students end up utilizing aid of
various types as part of that
puzzle.
There you go.
So we'll talk further about this.
Well let me let me ask you,
Angelo, I mean besides the
scholarship, did you work while
you were a student?
Absolutely.
I work in the student union
building, which is known as 'the
PUB.'
And I did a lot of operations,
but I worked there part time to
assist with my funding.
So you've worked, you have a
scholarship.
What are the other ways you know
that -- in some cases parents
will save money, in some cases
parents don't save at all; mine
didn't save, they weren't
savers, so I had to work my way
through.
Everybody has a different story.
What else have you done to make
it work out?
I was very thankful my parents
helped me out a lot throughout
my college career.
So I'm very grateful for that.
I applied with FAFSA and I got
some assistance with that as
well, so that helped, and
financial aid, and then also
working on campus and getting
involved, just to help offset
anything, and then, of course,
the scholarship that I was very
greatly appreciative for.
That's great.
That's terrific.
And I think it takes a little
bit of everything to help people
get through college these days.
Well I'll tell you what, we're
going to go ahead and take a
break now, and we're going to
learn some more about the State
System Foundation, and the way
that foundation helps students
with scholarships.
AT&T Aspire is really our
signature philanthropic
initiative.
AT&T started this in the year
2008.
We've been at this for about
nine years.
We've invested about 400 million
dollars across the country on
this and the signature
initiative is really around
education.
It's twofold.
It's making sure that students
are staying in school.
The second piece is just that
ensuring students are career
ready.
That we have a qualified
workforce that's ready and able
to step into positions at AT&T
and within our industry.
The State Systems Foundation's
fundraising efforts are
specifically focused on student
success.
So when we go out and talk to
prospective donors about
investing in our students or
being a partner with the State
System Foundation, we often will
present the option of investing
in our students because it is
important to our business
community here in Pennsylvania
as well.
AT&T has a number of career
needs in the STEM fields, so
AT&T hires approximately 25,000
new workers across the country
and in any given year.
About three quarters of workers
are in STEM-related fields.
Businesses can invest in
Pennsylvania students by
partnering with the State System
Foundation because we have 40
universities across the state
and we had the largest
population; over 100,000
students.
80 percent of the students that
graduate from the state system
stay in Pennsylvania and are
productive members of
Pennsylvania community.
So it's not only good business,
at least for us at AT&T and
other donors, but it's also an
investment in the economic
future of Pennsylvania and
that's critically important for
anybody that lives or works in Pennsylvania.
I feel that I am being benefited
right now through this
scholarship and I feel that
hopefully I am able to return
that in the future by helping
society as much as possible
through what I'm studying right
now.
We've provided 1,000 dollars
scholarships for STEM for the
last two or three years, and I
believe we're close to about a
100,000 dollars in scholarships
to students across the state.
We are able to provide students
with the opportunity to invest
their time and energy in
extracurricular activities in
bluechip practices, like
internships, lab experiences,
and even tutoring, and giving
back, which set them apart from
other candidates when they go
out for their first interview for a job.
I could be a student who is
working, you know, 20 or so
hours a week, or with funding
from sources like the AT&T
scholarship, I could spend that
time studying and trying to
further my own education and my
own future.
Whether it's a situation where
it's maybe a first generation
college student, whether it's a
situation where our 1,000 dollar
scholarship, or any of the other
donors to the state system
Foundation, has been able to
close that gap.
A student that otherwise would
not have had that opportunity to
go to college.
It's really heartwarming to hear
those stories and to recognize
that you've made a difference.
Working towards graduation three
semesters from now I feel that I
have been able to lay a very
strong foundation through the
resources that IUP and the State
System have given me.
I feel like that's a benefit I
definitely would not have
without the scholarship.
So I was a first generation
college student and paying for
college was difficult for me
also.
As an alum of Shippensburg
University, it is really
meaningful to me to be able to
bring together corporate
partners to help those students
like me, is truly -- it's why I
come to work every day.
It's why I come to work
everyday.
Welcome back.
We're here talking about the
different ways you can find your
college experience.
Hey Deborah, what are the
financial needs that you see of
our college students?
And it seems like they're
getting much greater than ever
before.
Well they are unfortunately.
When I started in Lock Haven in
1977 it was, for a whole year,
2,000 dollars, all in your room
board and all the fees.
Now it's an average of about
20,000 dollars.
2,000 versus 20,000 dollars.
The debt the children are coming
out -- the students are coming
out of college with it is
outrageous, as I had mentioned
earlier is very upsetting, and I
don't see it getting any better
unfortunately.
The pension costs, the health
care costs, and unfortunately,
that funding from our state has
drastically decreased.
And the way our budgets have
been running, and in
Pennsylvania, I don't see us
ever restoring the money that
the System gets.
So right now, I see that the
corporate America, the alumni
need to really assist and help
the students to keep their
college costs down.
Definitely over the decades the
cost -- the price has shifted
from the state to the student
for a lot of reasons.
So I hear that you're saying
that it's really important to
you to try to help lighten that
burden as much as possible back
to our students and I get a
sense that's one of the biggest
reasons you're donor.
Yes.
That's terrific.
Well I think it means a lot to
know that students have rich
scholarship because that means
you believe in them.
Thank you.
Well let me ask you to that
Angelo can you tell us about
your scholarship?
You've got a great scholarship.
What was the secret to your
success in getting such a
terrific scholarship?
I wanted to stay involved in
campus.
I played baseball on the Lock Haven
baseball team as a
sophomore.
And after that I wanted to focus
on my career.
And I thought well, what's a
better way to get involved on
campus, get involved in clubs,
the Student Union Building which
led to my job.
I started talking to Jodi Smith,
the director of student
activities, and I started asking
a lot of questions.
How can I get involved?
What can I do to help out around
campus?
Not knowing about the
scholarship at that point, but
just to get involved and after a
year proceeded, she really liked me.
I did a lot of good stuff at the
PUB and it led to me getting a
scholarship on the corporate
board member -- as a corporate
board member and that's where I
received the scholarship.
So getting involved -- what
really helped me a lot because,
not only did I get to meet
people, I got the opportunity
for the scholarship, and they
really helped me with my success
at Lock Haven.
Wow.
That's great.
It's terrific.
Well Elizabeth, what other
resources -- we've talked about
few earlier that you could
consider suggesting to students
to look at either resources that
are directly related to PHEAA or
other areas or resources that
you might suggest, you know if
your next door neighbor were
watching this and was trying to
figure out how to afford to go
to college what would you
suggest?
Right.
So I would start by suggesting
higher education access partners
I mentioned earlier, the 14
folks around the Commonwealth
who literally host thousands of
financial aid information
sessions and FAFSA completion
sessions every year.
And are those those events
listed on the PHEAA website.
I don't know that they're all
listed on the PHEAA website, but
usually they're primarily
advertised within the
communities where they're being held.
So keep an eye open.
Right. So that would be my first piece
of advice is to check through
local libraries, secondary
schools, post-secondary
institutions, see what is
available in the community in
the way of it in terms of those
events beyond the access
partner's work.
PHEAA does have other resources
available.
We have many free publications
which walk families through the
financial aid planning process,
college higher financing
planning, financial aid
application process, the types
of aid that are available.
We also have online planning
tools which help students plan
for their education and think
about how they go about
financing it.
You know our goal is to help
students have an affordable
higher education.
We're also focused on making
sure that students are borrowing
reasonable amounts through these
government student loans to fund
their education.
So our goal is to have students
come out on the other side of
college with an education that
was affordable, but also with a
manageable level of student
debt, so that they can live
independently as citizens after
the college years.
So really, loans are the last
thing we would suggest people
and they should look at,
like we've talked about earlier
scholarships and grants,
planning to work summers or
during their college in a way
that's reasonable to help bring
the cost down, so that loans
become the last thing. Right?.
And we have a particular tool
that I think is very helpful with
that, which is called
MySmartBorrowing.org.
My Smart Borrowing is a site
where students can play around
with some calculators that are
very helpful, and you can plug
in different majors, you can
plug in which school you're
planning to attend, and look at
estimates of what the employment
availability will be in that
field post-graduation or what a
potential starting salary would
be.
And so it helps students make
decisions as they're going into
the college years, and even
throughout those years, that
will impact the amount of debt
they come out with on the other
side and help them be prepared
to move on post college
independently.
So you could almost see what
your return on your investment
in yourself could be?
Oh that's pretty exciting.
Well at this point what's the
one piece of advice that you
would give high school students
looking to attend one of our
state universities?
I think the biggest piece of
advice I would give students is
not to assume that because
they're applying to a public
university that they won't be
eligible for financial aid
programs.
And so every student should be
planning to complete the FAFSA.
The deadline for PASSHE
institutions state grant
eligibility is a May 1st FAFSA
submission and so students
should be applying by May 1st
each year with the FAFSA
completing any other paperwork
PHEAA needs, you know making
sure that they're taking
advantage of any type of aid
that might be available to them.
So often we hear stories where
families have just assumed that
they wouldn't be eligible
because their cousin wasn't or
their neighbor wasn't you know
and they're leaving types of
financial aid behind.
You're leaving money on the
table.
So everybody who plans to go to
college this fall before May
they should complete the FAFSA?
That's right.
Very good.
Well hey, Angelo, what advice do
you have for high school
students?
Definitely agree with the FASFA
for sure.
That was such a big help going
through my college career.
But you know deciding the school
you want to go to, go visit it,
and see what fits best for you,
because each one of our
universities has different
strengths, and see what it means
to you, and what you want to be
a part of.
And then just go through the
process of you know getting
involved in campus, getting
involved in clubs, and working
on campus, so you never know
what's going to happen.
Potentially s scholarship can
help you do anything.
Like you said, to avoid getting
a loan.
But anyway, just to make your
college career smooth-sailing.
Awesome advice.
Deb, let me ask you what would
you say to potential donors
about why they should be giving
to our universities to do what
you're doing so well and that's
lighten that financial load?
I would ask the alumn of the 14
schools and our businesses to
please look at any resources
that they have that they can
donate: their time or
financially.
Children and students coming out
of college right now, it's hard
for them.
Even without debt, I know my own
children I had to co-sign for
credit cards, first cars, and
apartments.
It's tough to get started.
And with the alleviating of some
of their financial liabilities
when they graduate, it's so so
helpful.
And I would just say ask if
anybody could please look to see
what they can do is alum to help
our 14 schools.
It's, it's the future.
I think we'll all say with
students like Angelo alumni like
yourselves.
You know our state system
university students are great
investments and well we're
scholarships.
Thank you all very much.
That's all the time we have
today.
Thank you panelist for talking
with me on such an important
topic.
And thank you all for being and
watching here about how to pay
for college at your state
university.
Thanks.
Come back next week to learn
more of the Infinite
Opportunities at the State
System's 14 universities or visit
us online.
♪♪
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét