Student Aid Alliance Still Saving Student Aid

An ambitious Student Aid Alliance campaign to "Save Student Aid," launched October 24, is mobilizing all sectors of higher education in an effort to ensure that the student aid programs remain strong for both current and future students. In under two weeks, more than 50,000 members of campus communities along with concerned citizens had signed the campaign's "Statement of Support."

The 74 member associations in the coalition are working to get as many of their members - including all facets of campus life from presidents, to students, to alumni, parents and trustees - to sign on.  The Alliance initially hoped the campaign would generate at least a respectable number of supporters via the Statement of Support in the time window for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (The "Super Committee") to develop its budget recommendations, due November 23.  However, the effort exceeded all of the planners' expectations, garnering 20,000 supporters in its first five days.

NAICU staff and members are playing a key role in the initiative.  NAICU members dominate the top 20 spots on the list of institutions with the greatest number of constituents participating in the campaign.  NAICU President David Warren serves as co-chair of the Student Aid Alliance, and has challenged NAICU's public college and university colleagues to match the effort.

Other key elements of the campaign include directing statement supporters toward the Student Aid Alliance website which makes the case for the core student aid programs - including the Pell Grant and federal student loans, campus-based aid, TRIO and GEAR UP and graduate education.  Visitors can also download a Save Student Aid Toolkit with information on how to contact Congress and the media, as well as state-specific Pell Grant data and key talking points in support of student aid.

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