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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3421 notes).

Note 3421 by UMNS on Feb. 6, 1997 at 15:58 Eastern (5296 characters).

SEARCH:   Schools, colleges, universities, financial aid,
               Clinton, United Methodist     
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

Contact:  Joretta Purdue                       67(10-22-71B){3421}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722            Feb. 6, 1997

United Methodist-related college presidents
hear good news about outlook for education

     WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- Members of the National Association of
Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church heard good
news about their field of endeavor here Feb. 4-5.
     David L. Warren, chief executive of the Washington office of
the larger National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities (NAICU), told about 70 heads of United Methodist-
related educational institutions that prospects for education have
improved greatly in the past two or three years.
     "Education has moved to the No. 1 priority of this
president," Warren said on the morning after the "State of the
Union Address." 
     Although a few years ago educational institutions were facing
a cut of $20 billion in federal student aid programs, now the
President is moving to increase the resources for higher education
by $40 billion, observed Warren, former president of United
Methodist-related Ohio Wesleyan University.
     He praised members of the group for mounting a successful
campaign for financial aid under the banner Alliance to Save
Student Aid. Warren termed it a unique organization to get the
beneficiaries of student aid to act on its behalf.
     Now, he said, it is time for the administrators and trustees
to tell the story of higher education as the students did in the
earlier campaign. Warren challenged each institution head to
invite members of Congress to their campus to help them understand
the way the institution devotes its resources to students.
     "We are now going to be under a microscope in a way we have
never been before," said Warren. Legislators and regulators will
be watching costs and pressing college administrators to justify
every expense, he warned. Accountability will a byword.
     "This is going to be a year of tax cuts," Warren said, adding
that the ones proposed relating to education will benefit middle
class students.  He said a plan to increase Pell grants by $300
resulted from reminders to the administration not to forget the
neediest students.
     Ann H. Die, president of United Methodist-related Hendrix
College and public policy chairwoman, reminded the group that the
six associations related to higher education were committed to
continuing "to speak with one voice." Die, president of NAICU,
cautioned against trying to push additional federal spending and
advised keeping the tax cuts focused on education.
     The President's proposals may not get passed in their
entirety, she said, but urged the organization's members to help
keep them focused on education.
     A program of conversations between bishops and institution
presidents is being developed under the leadership of the group's
church relations committee, chaired by Peter T. Mitchell,
president of United Methodist-related Columbia College.
     The conversations, by jurisdiction some 10-13 months hence,
would result in a draft of a written covenant eventually to be
incorporated with like statements from the other jurisdictions and
offered for ratification at subsequent meetings of the Council of
Bishops and this organization.  Planning for implementation also
will be a part of the conversations.
     Angella Current, associate general secretary of the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, reported that
scholarships worth $2 million were awarded for the current
academic year.
     She also said the maximum for loans from the denomination's
student loan program were raised to $1,500 a year and a cumulative
total of $9,000, effective Jan. 1. She noted that $1.3 million was
awarded in loans in 1996, but that the program has more than that
available for lending. The program continues to enjoy a phenomenal
repayment rate with less than a tenth of 1 percent defaulting.
     The Korean initiative created by the National Association of
Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church at the group's
semi-annual meeting only a year ago opened a student recruiting
office in Korea on Dec. 5. Admission materials from 80 member
schools have been translated into Korean.
     Vivian Bull, a United Methodist who is president of the
American Baptist-related Linfield College and is a member of the
United Methodist Connectional Process Team reported on the early
work of that group. 
     She suggested that the presidents remind team members and
bishops of the value of continuing the United Methodist Church's
relationship with its institutions of learning. She pointed out
that only six or seven schools survive that were part of the
American Baptist system.
     Thomas Courtice, president of Ohio Wesleyan University,
presided. Visits to members of the House and Senate were planned
after adjournment. The next meeting will be July 27-31 in
Breckenridge, Colo.
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