 The House Committee on Education today advanced State Rep. Holli Sullivan’s (R-Evansville) proposal that would make reforms to the state’s financial aid programs for struggling higher education students, particularly those who attended post-secondary institutions that have recently closed.
“My proposal would maintain financial aid eligibility for the former students of colleges that abruptly closed last year by addressing each individual student’s financial hardship on a case-by-case basis,†Sullivan said. “This new flexibility would help increase graduation rates, shorten the time needed for students to graduate, and allow them to enter the workforce with less student loan debt. For example, when ITT Tech suddenly closed its doors, many of its students were trapped in a situation, at no fault of their own, in which they could not complete their degree after exhausting grants or financial aid.â€
With the support of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, House Bill 1281 would provide the state more flexibility when handling the individual cases of Hoosier adult students impacted by the recent closing of post-secondary institutions, such as ITT Tech and Medtech College late last year. These students would have their eligibility for financial aid restored in order to complete or renew their studies at another institution.
Additionally, Sullivan said the legislation would offer more incentives and opportunities for low-income students to participate in state grant and scholarship programs.
The bill now moves to the full House of Representatives for further discussion. For more information on Sullivan’s bill, visit iga.in.gov.
