Editor's note: A previous version of this story reported the Senate had not voted. The Senate has voted, and they decided to not extend the program. The story has been updated.
Ball State has participated in the Perkins Loan program for 58 years, but students are no longer able to depend on it to pay for college.
On Sept. 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3594, the Higher Education Extension Act, on a voice vote. The bill would have extended the Perkins Loan program for one year. The Senate blocked legislation for an extension on Sept. 30.
“Perkins loans are need-based loans which foster access to higher education for low-income students by providing low-interest loans to students in need,” said U.S. Representative Mike Honda. “Perkins loan borrowers are predominantly from lower income families and are often the first in their family to attend college.”
To date, more than 30 million students have benefited from the Perkins Loans Program, according to the Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organization (COHEAO).
Dennis Swartz, a federal regulations analyst at Ball State, said the university currently has 5,140 loans outstanding Perkins Loans, and the program is highly valued by students receiving the loans.
At Ball State, federal Perkins loans can be awarded in addition to Stafford Sub/Unsubsidized Loans, and about $1.5 million is available to lend to students annually. This is enough to lend 750 students $2,000 a piece each year.
Those students won't be able to depend on that funding anymore.
Honda said the program was one of several federal loan programs offered to students and the only one that is based at each individual institution. This means that each school had the ability to tailor the program to the needs of each specific campus based on its own financial contributions to the loans being distributed.
“In 2012-2013, close to 500,000 students with need were awarded nearly $1 billion in Perkins loans, with an average amount of $1,957 awarded per student,” Honda said. “This funding is critical to students who may not qualify for any other financing options, including more costly private loans, and therefore would be unable to complete their education.”
Allison Summers, a freshman business major at Ball State, said she received several thousand dollars through the Perkins Loan Program, which makes a “huge difference” financially.
“I didn’t really get a lot of scholarships or anything,” Summers said. “I was really happy when I found out I qualified for a lot loans — especially through the Perkins program.”
Summers said the Perkins program is the “best option she had for paying back loans in the future."
“I don’t know a whole lot about loans or how it’s all going to work out when I graduate, but I know that my family was most relieved when they found out I was able to get [Perkins loans] with low interest,” Summers said.
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