First generation college students spoke on the importance of state aid during an advocacy day in Harrisburg.
Over a hundred students swarmed the state capitol today, speaking with lawmakers about the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.
Tom Foley, president of the association, says independent higher education institutions — like Gannon University in Erie or Lycoming College in Williamsport — have 47% of the state’s low income college students.
The institutions do not get direct state funding. Rather, tuition aid programs give students flexibility on where to go. Foley says independent institutions face the same cost of living stressors other schools do, and that the state aid for students helps to balance the books.
Pennsylvania’s Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) distributes many of these scholarships.
Foley also shared that college education is retaining its value even in the face of artificial intelligence.
“If you talk to the heads of the big tech companies in America, ask them two things. What did they major in in college? You’d be surprised how many of them are English literature, philosophy, religion, majors,” Foley said.
“And, do they want people who had a liberal arts education as opposed to a computer science education? And they will say we do, because we need people to be able to look at the whole picture and see where to go when the next step,” Foley said.