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Office of Higher Education reports flood of student-loan-reimbursement applications, flags budget cut and Roberta Willis timing
Summary
Office of Higher Education officials told lawmakers they have received 1,474 applications to a newly launched student loan reimbursement program, with 201 applications marked pending‑eligible and roughly $5.57 million identified to cover those pending awards if paid immediately.
Office of Higher Education officials briefed the Appropriations Committee—s Higher Education Subcommittee on a surge of demand for a new student loan reimbursement program and on timing problems tied to other state scholarship lines.
The most immediate development was the volume of student loan reimbursement applications: OHE staff said the portal opened Jan. 1 and had received 1,474 applications as of 8 a.m. on the day of the hearing; 201 applications had been reviewed and deemed pending-eligible. Staff said those pending-eligible applications would require about $5,568,203 to pay if awards were issued the same day. The office set an application deadline of March 31, 2025 and said it could extend that deadline if funding remained after the initial round.
Why it matters: committee members pressed OHE after hearing the application numbers because the governor—s proposed budget eliminates about $6.24 million tied to two items — the adjunct professor grant and the student loan reimbursement line — raising questions about whether the remaining appropriation will cover applicants who meet eligibility requirements.
What OHE told lawmakers: Associate fiscal administrative officer Mike Frascolov (student financial aid) described the intake and review process and the current staffing levels assigned to the application review. OHE said two part‑time staff plus additional OHE employees are processing applications and that the office has been fielding a large volume of email inquiries (it reported an inbox that received hundreds of emails per day during the initial surge). Division leaders said the office built the application system internally at no extra cost.
Roberta Willis timing and need allocations: OHE also updated the committee on the Roberta Willis scholarship program. The office told the panel that need-merit awards for the next academic year would be made by the end of the week, and that the agency had posted by‑institution estimates on its website. OHE said it recognized a carryforward of $15 million; of that amount $10 million is the statutorily designated cap for the need-merit component, which OHE said it has used to notice students for next academic year. That leaves an identified $5 million available for the need-based institutional packaging portion; OHE said its website figures do not yet include that $5 million and therefore are posted as estimates.
AmeriCorps match request: OHE staff told the subcommittee that the governor—s budget includes a new line item to supply the state match required to operate a new statewide AmeriCorps "resiliency corps" program. Presenters said the proposal seeks to engage about 500 participants in year one and up to 1,000 in year two; because federal AmeriCorps grants require matching funds, the governor is proposing state matching dollars for a state-run program rather than relying on non‑profit matches used by existing AmeriCorps grantees.
Staffing and data requests: Committee members asked OHE for detail on staffing and reportable demographic breakdowns of applicants (age, income bands and parent‑plus loan applicants were specifically requested). OHE said it would provide updates, run demographic reports once applications move from "pending eligible" to awarded status and bring the requested details to the working group.
What the committee pressed OHE to do next: lawmakers asked the office to report back in mid‑March on anticipated spending burn‑rate and to provide the committee with full demographic and program data, including the numbers of applicants deemed ineligible and the reasons for denial. Several committee members said they expect to consider restoring the $6.24 million that the governor proposed to eliminate.
Ending note: OHE officials told members they would continue to process applications and would provide the working group with reports on pending awards, demographic characteristics of applicants, and outreach efforts to trade and technical schools to increase awareness of the program.
