President McGuire
and Assistant Vice President Cathy Geier Advocate for Increased
Financial Aid for DC Students in Testimony Before DC Council
September 22, 2005: Trinity President
Patricia McGuire testified before the District of Columbia Council
Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation, chaired by Councilmember
Kathy Patterson, in support of legislation that will provide additional
financial support for D.C. residents to attend college. She was
joined by Trinity’s Associate Vice President for Student Financial
Services, Cathy Geier, who testified about how Trinity’s students
struggle to afford a college education.
Bills 16-248 and 16-384 “will improve educational opportunity
for citizens in the District of Columbia,” President McGuire
told committee members. “This important legislation will provide
significant relief for exactly the population of students whose
financial circumstances put them at greatest risk of dropping out
of college. The difference between academic success, a college degree
and lifelong economic security --- or academic failure and lifelong
economic stress --- can be as little as a few thousand dollars in
financial aid.” She added, “Your bills will provide
an extraordinary lifeline for students who can and will succeed
with your help.”
In her testimony, President McGuire noted that “Trinity today
educates more District of Columbia residents than any other private
university in Washington. Nearly half of Trinity’s 1600 students
in all programs are D.C. residents. Trinity’s student body
is nearly 90% African American, Latina and Asian.” She continued:
“The vast majority of Trinity’s D.C. residents hail
from the eastern half of the city, which includes those wards with
some of the highest poverty rates among jurisdictions nationally.
More than 20% of Trinity’s D.C. students are from Wards 7
and 8. Trinity enrolls students from every public high school in
the District of Columbia.”
President McGuire noted that “Trinity provides more than
$1.5 million annually in direct tuition subsidies to D.C. residents
who attend Trinity (and Trinity leverages an additional $7.5 million
annually in other private and public financial assistance for D.C.
residents attending Trinity).”
Trinity students “are striving to make their lives better,
to care for their children more effectively, to care for their parents
who have struggled for them,” President McGuire testified.
“Trinity’s success in the education of D.C. residents
is clear in our analysis of retention and completion patterns for
our students who have participated in the D.C. Tuition Assistance
Grant program. Of the 444 students who have participated in D.C.
TAG through Trinity since its inception, 73% have completed or are
still enrolled. By all accounts, this retention and completion rate
for D.C. TAG recipients is one of the best in the program.”
Describing the financial support that Trinity provides to students
who are D.C. residents, and the gap between financial aid and tuition
costs, Associate Vice President Cathy Geier told the committee that
“We have difficult conversations with students every day about
how they can possibly make up this gap in funding. We arrange flexible
payment plans, and help students search for more outside funding.
Many are forced to work full time while they are trying to attend
college full time, which can lead to less study time and lower grades.
Many decide to live at home rather than on campus to save money,
and are therefore at greater risk for dropping out.”
Associate Vice President Geier continued, “Given the enormous
level of unmet need, it is amazing how many of these determined
young people do meet their goal of earning a degree. It is a testament
to their courage and resolution that they believe enough in themselves
and in the value of a college degree that they find a way to make
it through. But it is heartbreaking to see the number of students
who are overcome by the obstacles they face and who are not able
to make it. These are the painful facts we face every day in the
financial aid office at Trinity and the painful choices our students
are facing. “
Click here to read
President McGuire’s complete testimony.
Click here to read Associate
Vice President Cathy Geier’s complete testimony.
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