This is a summary of Sessions 5 and 6 of the presentations at the Maine Compact for Higher Education's 4th annual Maine Symposium on Higher Education, "Money For College: The Critical Link to Business & Economic Growth," held August 7, 2008 at the University of Southern Maine.
Session 5: Special Briefing: The Harold Alfond College Challenge
Beth Bordowitz, Acting CEO, Finance Authority of Maine
- The Harold Alfond Scholarship
- A legacy of higher education for all Maine families.
- A commitment to invest $500 in a college savings plan for every Maine resident baby. The first program in the nation of this scale.
- An opportunity to change the way Mainers think about/plan for higher education.
- To be launched statewide by January 1, 2009; started a pilot in January 2008.
- Guiding principles
- It has to be a Section 529 account, built on FAME's NextGen program.
- HACC investments are shown on the quarterly statement, but they are not available until used for Qualified Higher Education Expenses.
- No additional investments are required, but they will be encouraged.
- Families will get quarterly statements, and this will assist with family financial literacy. There will also be ongoing communication to account owners regarding college aspirations and preparing for college.
- Parents must open the account within 12 months of the child's birth or adoption.
- FAME's role: Overall implementation, coordination and program management; IT development and outreach, training about NextGen and HACC, customer support.
- Alfond Scholarship Foundation (ASF) & Compact role: ASF is a new nonprofit which the Compact administers, to oversee the finances and promote the program.
- Prenatal actions:
- The prenatal stage is the time of highest aspirations.
- Commitment of Maine hospitals: Hospitals make initial contact with parents. They will make information available in places where expectant parents are, and they will assist parents with the submission of forms.
- Hospitals will name a champion who will facilitate staff training and new parents.
- MaineGeneral's experience: an enthusiastic response. They have completed applications for 28% of all newborns. Their benefits specialists reach out to expectant mothers. Ninety-two accounts have been funded.
- We are building program awareness throughout state.
- Post-natal actions:
- Families must complete their 529 applications after the baby is born and has a name and SSN. Families are contacted quarterly in the first year, and we will look for partners to help promote the program and enroll babies--for example, the home visitors to moms could also help fill out 529 forms.
- Challenges:
- Completion of an investment account application is required.
- The timing; mothers-to-be and new mothers are overwhelmed.
- The next challenge will be engaging business and community participation. The ASF has set up a Challenge Committee to look into this.
- Goals:
- Enrollment: By 2014, we expect 60-75% of parents of newborns to open an account.
- Change in culture: All Maine children are prepared and expected to go to college; all Maine families save for a college education.
Q: Can FAME effectively come to a company and talk with employees about saving for college from different perspectives (newborns, older kids, etc.)?
A: FAME can do this, especially if we can regionalize and get a larger group in the room.
Q: How does this tie in with the First Step grants?
A: The First Step grants are being phased out by the end of the year.
Q: What happens if the child doesn't go to college right away?
A: A child has until age 28 to use the funds for qualified higher education expenses.
Q: What if the child passes away?
A: The Alfond Foundation's investment will be given to a different child.
Q: For Maine residents in the military, is there any way to reach out to them, even though they may not be in Maine when child is born?
A: Those children are eligible. We will make sure those kids get access.
Session 6: Congressional candidates' forum--the Federal role
Chellie Pingree, First District Congressional Candidate
Charlie Summers, First District Congressional Candidate
Pingree:
- Healthcare has become the "unpredictable cost" for all institutions; let's get this taken care of so we can focus elsewhere.
- Statistics that jump out:
- Maine has a high secondary school completion rate and low college-going rate.
- Rate of students who intend to go to college, but don't, is not improving.
- Average debt is currently about $23,000 for a Mainer finishing college.
- First generation students. In a lot of families where no one has gone to college in the past, many young people wonder why they should go. This is especially true in situations when a young person can make good money doing something like fishing. Parents recognize how unstable this is, and might want their kids to go to college. It is also especially difficult when they have to take out loans.
- Our state knows that higher educational attainment will help the economy, but people can't afford to get it. Funding of education from pre-K to higher education is critical.
- Federal roles: One of the first questions I get asked on the campaign trail is "What can you do at the federal level to help the state of Maine?"
- Infrastructure, which means education: We can increase the money available through Pell Grants, regulate loans, deal with accessibility to loans, and reduce interest rates on those loans.
- Community service--not only serving in military--and in return getting your education paid for.
- Provide assistance to our colleges so the tuition is not so high.
- Senior College--one of the driving economic forces in Maine is the retiree population.
- R&D at the university level will also foster economic growth in our state.
- Even though education is not the first issue brought up, it's a core issue for everybody, and it is extremely important to our economic development.
Summers:
- We can expand the community college system, and ease the access into the university system.
- We should expand technical education opportunities.
- BIW has an associate's degree program on-site.
- Technical jobs can come out of alternative energy planning.
- National service is incredibly important, not just military but also programs like the Peace Corps. Public service builds community and self-esteem, and fosters an investment in our state.
- Funding issues:
- Academic challenge grants.
- Process of filling out the FAFSA is daunting.
- Streamlining the process for loan applications could be helpful.
Q: Regarding the new GI Bill, what was passed in Congress with respect to troops returning from Iraq?
Summers: It's more comprehensive. It covers the full costs.
Q: What do you think the role of the federal government is in state education policy? Also, Pell grants have not kept up with inflation--I would encourage you to think about the federal government's role in increasing access as much as focusing on outcomes.
Pingree: I would be in favor of repealing No Child Left Behind. I was disappointed when a federal mandate came in where we already had a system for local standards. I tend to care more about local control, although there are times when the Federal government is important, for example, in special education. The Pell grant program should receive more funds. After this election cycle, how do we make decisions and where do we invest our money? It's about priorities; education will be key.
Summers: When No Child Left Behind passed, there was a lot of consternation about it, and there still is. I think that when kids get out of school and they go to work somewhere, those companies will expect them to know certain things. I think the concept of having standards is a very good thing, but there needs to be flexibility. I wouldn't be willing to throw everything out the door, but there are some positive things. With respect to Pell grants, we need to get that up to speed. Accessibility is key.
Q: Is it possible--and is it realistic and desirable--to make every child in Maine able to attend a community college free of charge?
Summers: I think it's an admirable goal. Community colleges offered a lot of my peers and me a lot. I think community college is one of the most underutilized and undervalued resources we have.
Pingree: I think it would be a great thing. I think it's great that the community colleges have moved to expand in Maine. However, we still cost more than twice the national average for community colleges, so we're a long way from achieving that goal. If we set up a goal like that, we could not only set up a state and federal effort, but there would be many benevolent individuals who would come to the table.
Q: About 40% of men who are in college actually complete it; how can we address this?
Pingree: I think it's distressing. We have programs that help set students up for the college experience like Upward Bound. If you take a student from a rural community, his academic and social readiness and finances are really burdensome, and increasingly so in this climate. When I was in the State Legislature, I supported Parents as Scholars. More and more single parents are unable to do this program, however, because of stricter work requirements.
Summers: This issue probably starts in the home. The value of education needs to be articulated to our kids. We need to get to a place in this country that helps our kids to succeed. This is not a liberal or conservative issue.
Comment: Maybe we could implement tax deductions for loans and textbook costs.
Summers: It's a smart idea to use our tax code to assist the individual.
Pingree: Good suggestion. My only concern is that we can't handle too many of those things at the state level. We need to do it at the federal level.
Sessions 1 and 2 | Sessions 3 and 4 | Session 7