The budget includes a 7% or $16.3 million increase for the Grants to Students Program. This is the state's scholarship program which helps students pay tuition at any accredited college or university; however students who attend private schools, which charge higher tuition, generally qualify for more aid.

      The PHEAA Board annually determines the distribution of funds to applicants on criteria including family income, family size and the cost of the institution the student will be attending. The budget will allow for the following changes to the State Grant Program for the 1997-98 academic year:

• The maximum state grant award will be increased from $2,632 to $2,700.
• The maximum income level will be increased from $60,000 to $63,000.
• The allowance for books and supplies will be increased from $350 to $450.
• The commuter allowance will be increased from $1,100 to $1,500.
• The "other sibling enrolled" allowance will increase from $3,500 to $4,000 for the applicant and from $2,000 to $3,000 for additional students enrolled.
• The maintenance allowance for single independent students will be increased from $7,000 to $8,000.

      The budget also includes a $1.7 million or 25% increase for the Matching Payments for Student Aid Funds appropriation. This increase will enable Pennsylvania higher education institutions to capture an additional $9.6 million in federal funds which support work-study payments to students.

      The Institutional Assistance Grants program receives an additional $1.1 million or a 3% increase in the 1997-98 budget, 1% higher than the Governor requested. These funds assist independent, post-secondary institutions to stabilize education costs which benefits student grant recipients enrolled at those institutions. It is anticipated that since the State Grant Program has been increased by 7%, the number of IAG recipients will increase, therefore the average IAG award will drop from $922 to $920.

      The budget continues the phase-out of the Urban and Rural Loan Forgiveness Program and the Agricultural Loan Forgiveness Program. The budget provides funding for renewal applicants only. PHEAA is accepting no new applicants to the programs.

     The budget includes $100,000 for the Child Care Loan Forgiveness Program. Since the number of applicants far exceed the available resources, a lottery system is used.