Institutional Assistance Grants

Institutional Assistance Grants (IAGS) were created by ACT 174 of 1975. The act states that “The Commonwealth is committed to the development and preservation of a planned and diverse system of higher education which encompasses both public and independent institutions.” The Act notes that the percentage of students attending independent institutions in the Commonwealth was much higher than the national average. The creators of the IAG program saw the benefit in supporting private colleges and universities and understood that “independent institutions make a significant contribution to higher education in the Commonwealth and it is in the public interest to facilitate optimum utilization of all higher education resources in the Commonwealth.” The grants were also meant to “assure maximum educational choice.”

Private colleges and universities that don’t receive direct non-preferred appropriations split the IAG appropriation ($42.0 million in 2007-08) based upon the number of PHEAA grant recipients they enroll. Thus, the IAGs encourage Pennsylvania private higher education institutions to enroll Pennsylvania low and moderate income students and help to ameliorate the institutional financial aid costs of enrolling those students. Those private colleges and universities which serve larger numbers of these lower-income students receive the greatest benefit from the program. These grants were intended to help independent institutions:

  • Maintain their financial stability and quality
  • Moderate tuition increases and
  • Promote choice and opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.

Due to cuts and no or modest funding increases in recent years as well as increases in the number of low-income Pennsylvania students served by private colleges, IAG per capita grants have been stuck around $1,000 since 1998 and desperately need to be increased due to the loss of purchasing power over time. While providing increases to public colleges and universities, Governor Rendell has proposed no increase for the IAGs and this year proposed a 10% cut in the 2009-10 budget—even though this is the only institutional aid targeted to serve low and moderate-income students. AICUP is requesting that IAGs be treated equitably. Institutional Assistance Grants (IAG) should receive the same percentage funding level as the State System of Higher Education in the final 2009-10 budget. The Governor proposes level funding for SSHE. Unlike most states, Pennsylvania has long benefited from its private higher educationsector. The independent colleges and universities of Pennsylvania:

Enroll:

  • 41% of all students
  • 39% of minority enrollment
  • 29% of non-traditional undergraduate enrollment

Graduate:

  • 50% of all Bachelor’s degrees awarded
  • 63% of all Advanced degrees awarded
  • 52% of all minority bachelor’s degrees
  • 51% of all B.S. degrees in Math, Science, & Engineering
  • 57% of all B.S. Minority B.S. degrees in Math, Science & Engineering
  • 58% of all Women B.S. Degrees in Math Science & Engineering.

For every dollar the state provides in student aid to Pennsylvanians attending our private colleges and universities, the college provides a match of $8.50 in institutional aid for its students. 87% of students receive some type of aid, and Pennsylvania’s private colleges and universities provided a total of $1.3 billion in institutional aid in 2005.