November 16, 2011

Ohio House Concurs on Pell Grant Legislation

State Rep. Tim Derickson (R-Hanover Twp.) today announced that the Ohio House of Representatives accepted the Senate’s addition of an emergency clause to House Bill 167, a bipartisan bill that makes obtaining a college degree more affordable to students throughout the state.

“Encouraging Ohioans to pursue a college degree has been and continues to be a goal of this state,” said Derickson. “This legislation reflects our state’s desire and goal to encourage Ohioans to continue their education in a post-secondary program. All of this can be done with minimum impact to the State of Ohio’s budget.”

Currently, students who qualify for a Pell Grant (federally funded-needs based) or an Ohio College Opportunity Grant (state funded-needs based) are able to pay for many of their education-related expenses from these federal and/or state grant funds. Furthermore, these expenses are not subject to federal or state taxes. For example, tuition, fees, and books are allowable expenses and are exempt from federal and state income taxes.

However, the portion of these grants used for the purposes of room, board, and meal plans offered through the college are subject to federal and state income taxes. For students living away from home, the expenses associated with room, board, and meal plans are just as real and relative to obtaining a college degree as the cost of tuition itself.

H.B. 167 broadens the “tax exempt” status of allowable expenses to include room, board and meal plans offered through the college.

Data from the U.S. Department of Education indicates that Ohio’s four-year institutions were awarded $511.4 million in Pell Grant monies for the 2009-2010 academic years. The average award for a four-year institution, both public and private, was $3,714. This was offered to 99,663 students from the state.

The House unanimously concurred on the Senate’s changes, and House Bill 167 will now be sent to Governor Kasich for his signature.

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November 10, 2011

Reps. Duffey and Stinziano Introduce Student Trustee Voting Rights Bill

State Representatives Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) and Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus) have announced that, after more than nine months of stakeholder discussions, they have formally introduced legislation that will grant equal voting rights for student trustees at Ohio’s public universities and colleges. Their bill is supported by The Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee.

“Now more than ever, it is important that Ohio’s public universities put students first when it comes to important decisions about curriculum, tuition pricing, facilities and all other aspects of student life,” said Rep. Mike Duffey. “The bill Rep. Stinziano and I are proposing gives student trustees equal voting rights in those decisions.”

“Across Ohio, student trustees are making extremely valuable contributions to the work of university boards. President Gee’s support for our legislation speaks volumes about the work of student trustees at OSU. This legislation has bipartisan support and it is time to include student trustees in all aspects of Board decision-making and give them the right to vote,” said Rep. Stinziano.

Over 30 states currently allow student trustees to have voting rights, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Carolina. Each of Ohio’s 14 public universities has two student trustees who have no voting power and are not included in quorum or entitled to attend executive sessions.

Ohio’s student trustees are appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Ohio Senate, from a group of five candidates selected pursuant to a procedure adopted by the university’s student governments and approved by the board of trustees. The term of office for student trustees is two years.

In his letter of support, President Gee states: “I write to express my full support of your proposal to grant students the opportunity to serve as full voting trustees at public universities in Ohio. By giving students full voting privileges under statutory law, you are enabling them to actively engage in decision-making processes that directly affect their academic success and university experience.”

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September 26, 2011

Column from Speaker Batchelder in the Post: Contributing to higher education in Ohio

The Post, 9/20

With a slight chill in the air, the fall season is upon us. That means that nearly all of our state's higher education institutions are in session, and the students are working hard to make themselves more marketable, obtain academic degrees and contribute to our economy--hopefully within Ohio.

The fact of the matter is that our state is fortunate to have many colleges and universities, and they are certainly some of the best in the country. Whether obtaining an associate's degree, bachelor's degree or an advanced degree, students flock to Ohio in order to gain a world-class education. This is something that we as Ohioans should be very proud of. It contributes to our long-term growth, as well as attracts some of the brightest minds to our state.

Throughout my time as House speaker, we have fought to ensure that our higher education institutions can continually bring in a vast array of people. We have worked very closely with the leadership of such institutions in order to accomplish this. Some of the conclusions reached are that efforts must be made to keep a college education affordable and allow our universities the flexibility to adapt to a lack of money in the state. Additionally, we have provided financial support to a number of schools in every corner of Ohio.

Regardless of the challenging times we have faced, support for higher education is something that receives broad, bipartisan support in Columbus. I believe this is because we recognize that a commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit and today's marketplace will significantly pay off down the road.

Some of the actions we have taken to assist Ohio's college students include capping annual tuition increases at 3.5 percent. Although tuition rates have been rising across the country, we hold the view that keeping tuition down helps attract the eyes of the best and brightest people out there. Hopefully, it keeps them in Ohio, as well. While they are studying here, they might take advantage of a pilot program that includes digital textbooks and other content. We included this provision in the state budget, as well as allowing students who attend for-profit colleges to take advantage of the Ohio College Opportunity Grant awards, just as students who attend both public and private four-year institutions in Ohio can.

In the fight against brain drain, where our young people flock to other states for jobs and other opportunities, we made it possible for Ohio's high school graduates to receive in-state tuition rates so long as they return to our borders for their education within a specified time frame of graduating high school. This will help contribute to our economy by adding to the qualified pool of applicants to fill certain jobs.

Perhaps one of the areas that will most benefit Ohio's higher education institutions is the area of construction reform. Through the changes the House made, our state's public construction laws are being modernized in a way that has been needed for years. Bringing these laws up to date frees our universities from outdated rules and regulations that are purely inefficient. As a result, they can save on both time and costs associated with such projects and focus more on the students' education.

It's my hope that we will continue to see the benefits that come as a result of some of the legislation brought forward by the Ohio House regarding our universities and their students. I'm confident that Ohio will maintain its reputation as a state that offers a variety of educational opportunities that will prepare students to be leaders for generations to come.

http://thepostnewspapers.com/northernwayne/Opinion/copy_of_batchelder-s-column-wadsworth-9-24

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June 21, 2011

Pell Grant legislation passes from the Ohio House

State Rep. Tim Derickson (R-Hanover Twp.) today announced that House Bill 167, a bipartisan bill that makes obtaining a college degree more affordable to students throughout the state, has passed from the Ohio House of Representatives.

Currently, students who qualify for a Pell grant (federally funded-needs based) or an Ohio College Opportunity Grant (state funded-needs based) are able to pay for many of their education-related expenses from these federal and/or state grant funds. Furthermore, these expenses are not subject to federal or state taxes. For example, tuition, fees, and books are allowable expenses and are exempt from federal and state income taxes.

However, the portion of these grants used for the purposes of room, board, and meal plans offered through the college are subject to federal and state income taxes. For students living away from home, the expenses associated with room, board, and meal plans are just as real and relative to obtaining a college degree as the cost of tuition itself.

H.B. 167 broadens the “tax exempt” status of allowable expenses to include room, board and meal plans offered through the college.

“Encouraging high school students to pursue a college degree has been and continues to be a goal of this state,” said Derickson. “This legislation reflects our state’s desire and goal to encourage Ohioans to continue their education in a post-secondary program. All of this can be done with minimum impact to the State of Ohio’s budget.”

Data from the U.S. Department of Education indicates that Ohio’s four-year institutions were awarded $511.4 million in Pell Grant monies for the 2009-2010 academic years. The average award for a four-year institution, both public and private, was $3,714. This was offered to 99,663 students from the state.

House Bill 167 passed with unanimous, bipartisan support from the House and will now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

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April 6, 2011

McKenney’s NEOUCOM legislation passes from Ohio House

State Representative Todd McKenney (R-New Franklin) has announced the passage of House Bill 139 from the Ohio House of Representatives by a vote of 92-1.

House Bill 139 changes the name of the “Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine” to the “Northeast Ohio Medical University.” The legislation includes an emergency clause to allow the new designated title to be utilized on upcoming graduation diplomas. The first class of pharmacy students will graduate in May. The legislation enables the charter class of pharmacy students to graduate under a new name that is not the “College of Medicine” and to award students a doctoral degree in the College of Pharmacy at the Northeast Ohio Medical University.

“I am pleased this legislation is moving forward,” McKenney said. “The new Northeast Ohio Medical University will soon play a major role in the economic development of Rootstown, Portage County, and all of northeastern Ohio. Renaming NEOUCOM as NeoMED is an important step in the school’s expansion process. The expanded university will drive local investment and new economic opportunities in the emerging field of biotechnology. This is a very exciting opportunity for our area.”

The Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) is a community-based, public institution offering both a doctor of medicine (M.D.) and a doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. The colleges’ educational partners include teaching hospitals, community pharmacies, boards of health and four northeast Ohio public universities.

Through these and other collaborative arrangements, the colleges participate in the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health program and offer graduate-level coursework and research opportunities leading to master’s and doctoral degrees in biomedical sciences and biomedical engineering. NEOUCOM is a founding member of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron.

House Bill 139 now moves to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

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