State Legislative Update November Edition

 

State Legislative Update                               

November 2016

Legislative news from across the SASFAA region, prepared by your 2016-2017 SASFAA Legislative Relations Committee.

Christen Neher – SASFAA Legislative Relations Chair

Ron Gambill – TASFAA Governmental Relations Chair
Mary Kosin – NCASFAA Legislative Advisory Chair
Vanessa Fulton – GASFAA Legislative Affairs Chair
Erin Klarer – KASFAA Legislative Chair
Jennifer Epperson – AASFAA Legislative Relations Chair
Francisco Valines – FASFAA Legislative Relation Chair
Della Bays – VASFAA Government Relations Chair
Michael Moseley – MASFAA Legislative Chair
Joey Derrick – SCASFAA Legislative Relations Chair
Amy Berrier – SASFAA Past President

Alabama

Notification of the 2016/2017 Alabama Student Grant award amount has been released by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to participating institutions within the state.  The state of Alabama’s Student Grant Program is available only to undergraduate students enrolled at independent/private Alabama colleges or universities.  The 2016/2017 annual award amount is $1,060 for full-time students and $530 for half-time students. 

Alabama Student Grant award amounts vary from year to year based on the availability of funds.  The 2016/2017 annual award amount is the highest amount given to students in more than 10 years, and is more than 70% greater than the award amount granted during the 2011/2012 aid year.    

Tennessee

For 2015-16, the Tennessee Promise Program had 16,300 students for awards of $15.2 million.  Approximately 54% of the students received an award from the program as the program is a last dollar scholarship.  Lottery-funded programs totaled $324 million with 120,000 recipients.

The state need-based grant program (Tennessee Student Assistance Award) funded almost 45,000 students with $80.1 million, which was a record for Tennessee.  Almost 50,000 students could receive an award for the 2016-2017 award year.

Georgia

Mr. Shawn Ryan was nominated by Governor Nathan Deal to serve as the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) new President, effective November 1, 2016. Mr. Ryan will also serve as President of the Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA) and the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation (GHEAC). Mr. Ryan was most recently the director of Georgia’s Integrated Eligibility System, the largest information technology project in state history. He was previously the director of communications for the Georgia Department of Public Health. Mr. Ryan has more than a decade of experience in Washington, D.C., as he worked in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as for the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Heritage Foundation. Mr. Ryan replaces Tricia Chastain, who has been appointed the Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration at the University System of Georgia.