About 300 University of Memphis students may lose over $500,000 in total from a federally sponsored loan program if the Federal Perkins Loan Extension Act is not passed.
The U of M currently has 300 students that are benefiting from the Federal Perkins Loan program. These students will no longer receive the funding if the act is not passed, but the Student Government Association (SGA) is working to influence senators to back the bill.
“Students with extenuating circumstances like their parents losing their jobs benefit from this loan,†Greg Atkins, University of Memphis Bursar, said. “If this was taken away from the students, they would have to take out a private loan with the possibility of an 11 percent interest rate as opposed to the Federal Perkins Loan with a 5 percent interest rate.â€
Drew Gilmore, Student Government Association president, addresses the SGA body during their meeting Thursday. Gilmore sent a letter to Sen. Lamar Alexander urging him to support the Federal Perkins Loan Extension Act.
This loan being taken away would have a negative impact on the U of M and its students, Atkins said. Students have benefitted from it since 1958 and have received over $23 million. Atkins said he knows this situation personally from receiving the loan when he was in college.
“I received this loan in the ‘80s,†Atkins said. “If I hadn’t have had this loan, I wouldn’t have been able to attend the school I wanted or had the opportunities I did.â€
SGA is taking action by writing 10 letters to the United States Senate and House of Representatives in favor of the Federal Perkins Loan Extension Act, Drew Gilmore, SGA president, said.
Gilmore included in one of his letters to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R–TN) what the Federal Perkins Loan Extension Act was and how it could affect U of M students if they did not have it.
“The Federal Perkins Loan Program is a campus-based student aid program through which college and universities provide subsidized, low-interest loans to undergraduate students demonstrating financial need,†Gilmore said in his letter to Alexander. “In the current higher education environment which focuses on access, affordability and retention, the loss of this loan program will negatively impact those students who rely on these funds to fulfill their dream of pursuing a college degree.â€
Gilmore said if the letters do not help anything, then SGA will decide on what action to take next.
“We care about this act because we are the voice of the students,†Gilmore said. “There are 300 students that use this loan, and every one of them matters to us.â€
During Thursday’s SGA general meeting, SGA also mentioned they were working towards a bill that holds them accountable to respond to any student’s question within 48 hours. They also mentioned Rep. Steve Cohen will be coming to the U of M on Nov. 20 for a luncheon in the University Center.
