UW-Eau Claire financial aid students could receive some extra help if one aspect of Gov. Scott McCallum’s budget proposal passes through state legislature.

In what he calls his Budget Reform Act, the governor proposes an increase in funding for the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant by $2 million, according to a release from the state’s Higher Educational Aids Board.

The WHEG program awards high-need Wisconsin residents attending a university, technical or tribal college in the state.

Despite the state dealing with a $1.1 billion deficit, McCallum budgeted more than $65 million in financial aid in 2001-02 and more than $67 million in 2002-03, according to the HEAB report.

Student Senate President Andy Oettinger heard the governor reiterate his focus on higher education last week while attending a student-lobbying rally in Madison with other Senate members.

The governor’s proposal to support financial aid was unexpected, he said.

“Honestly, it was a surprise to see him do that,” Oettinger said.

Financial aid is important to maintain or improve, Oettinger said, because college tuition otherwise prices students out of higher education.

Although, he has mixed feelings on McCallum’s proposal in general, Oettinger said he would like to see a bill passed tying an increase in tuition with an increase in financial aid.

“If the governor wants to invest in education, (financial aid is) the soundest investment out there,” Oettinger said.

In the 2000-01 school year, Eau Claire students received more than $38 million in financial aid, said Kathy Sahlhoff, the university’s financial aid director.

Students received $10.9 million in gift assistance (grants and scholarships), $5.5 million in student employment and $21.7 million in loans, she said.

Last year, about 6,800 students, or about two-thirds of the campus population, received some form of financial aid and 41 percent received need-based aid, Sahlhoff said.

Of the university’s main state need-based grant programs, 1,274 students last year received $1.5 million in aid from the WHEG program and another 227 received $347,000 in Talent Incentive Program grants, she said.

TIP grants are awarded for Wisconsin residents who meet low-income requirements along with other disadvantaged criteria.

Sahlhoff said she thinks McCallum’s efforts to improve financial aid are of “extreme importance” and are an insightful move on his part.

“We were really heartened to see him do that,” Sahlhoff said.

The proposal to increase financial aid grants is a welcome sign, Sahlhoff said, considering the nation’s financial aid formula has reversed over the years to provide for more loans than grants.

McCallum is right in recognizing financial aid as a crucial aspect of higher education and continuing to fund programs for it, Sahlhoff said.

Sahlhoff said she expects to see an increase in financial aid money given this school year, specifically in federal Pell grants and loans.

Students seeking to apply for financial aid grants should complete applications available at the university’s financial aid office in Schofield 115.