By Matthew Matilsky / Staff Writer
After the Super Committee’s failure to make appropriate spending cuts, an unspecified amount of federal funding for higher education will be slashed during the 2012-2013 school year.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the automatic spending cuts will reduce most non-defense discretionary spending, like federal student aid, by 7.8 percent in fiscal year 2013 alone, according to fastweb.com, a website that provides resources for paying for college.
The remaining $2.3 billion in annual federal student aid funding — excluding the Pell Grant — next fiscal year will see about $183 million in cuts to programs, like Federal Work-Study, SEOG and TEACH Grant programs, according to fastweb.com.
The potential cuts in January 2013 could also restructure student loans by eliminating the six-month grace period allowed before initial payments and reducing the funding for research grants, said Matt Cordeiro, Rutgers University Student Assembly president.
“This is a total and utter failure and a bad example of leadership,” said Cordeiro, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. “People prefer communism over the United States government right now. They’re sending the wrong message to kids.”
He said the specific consequences of the cuts are unclear but are likely to affect the 86 percent of undergraduate University students relying on financial aid and funding for research.
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