Following President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to eliminate the Department of Education, MTSU may face changes regarding financial aid, including possible delays to disbursement times.
The president signed an executive order on March 20 to effectively close the Department of Education. He cannot eliminate the department completely without congressional approval.
The Department of Education funds both Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Act. In the past, it also funded college financial aid. On March 21, Trump announced that federal aid will now be managed by the Small Business Administration. However, he did not lay out any clear groundwork for how the process will work.
“At this point, it’s simply too early to tell what the impacts would be on MTSU,” Jimmy Hart, MTSU’s Director of News and Media Relations, said. “Because the university has not received specifics on what exactly dismantling the U.S. Department of Education means in the short and long term in regard to federal funds administered by and through the department.”
About 83% of students at MTSU receive some form of student aid, equivalent to about $230 million overall yearly, according to MTSU’s website. One of those students, junior Christiana Gilbert, grew up in Unicoi County, Tennessee, an area with a population of just under 18,000.
“I would be able to go to college, just not this college,” Gilbert said.
If denied student aid, Gilbert would be forced to move to a local community college, unable to finish her bachelor’s degree at MTSU.
“I’m from a rural town where education isn’t the best and where a majority of the town is on food stamps,” Gilbert said.
While the school has not faced any major changes regarding financial aid, there has been concern looming for students like Gilbert relying on aid.
“I’m concerned about my future at this school,” Gilbert said. “I picked MTSU because of how at home I felt here … I just really hope I don’t have to leave.”
The college has not faced any major changes regarding financial aid yet.
“We are still waiting for further directives regarding the executive orders of recent,” OneStop Director Becca Smitty said regarding the sudden changes to the Department of Education.
OneStop is MTSU’s financial aid office.
Department of Education employees received an email on March 3 offering up to $25,000 as a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment. The email also warned of significant layoffs soon, which could cause delays for students relying on financial aid.
Since then, nearly 600 Department of Education employees have taken the offer and 259 accepted the Deferred Resignation Program, which will effectively mark their resignation dates as Sept. 30, 2025.
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