In the middle of a global health crisis, thanks to your engagement for support, TICAS stood up for students and borrowers like never before. We celebrated our fifteenth anniversary in 2020 and renewed our fight for affordability, accessibility, and equity in higher education. Here’s how we made change together:
- Led a coalition of over 80 organizations that called on Congress to invest in and protect the Pell grant program during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
- Fought for bipartisan votes in Congress protecting borrowers cheated by for-profit colleges, leading to President Trump’s only veto on domestic policy.
- Successfully called on the Michigan legislature to extend access to the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), which provides free tuition at community college and $500 per semester towards a B.A. for qualifying low-income students in Michigan.
But there’s so much more work to be done. While federal student loan borrowers have been granted temporary relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, payments restart on February 1 unless the Administration and Congress takes immediate action. The federal Pell Grant, which helps make college possible for about 7 million students, currently covers less than one-third of the average cost of attending a four-year public college and Pell Grant recipients today are more than twice as likely as other students to have student loans. And important protections for students and taxpayers were weakened this year by powerful interests.
Thank you to those who have already given. We are so appreciative of your support and happy holidays.
James Kvaal,
President, The Institute for College Access & Success
