DC TUITION ASSISTANCE GRANTS. Program May Increase College Choices, but a Few Program Procedures May Hinder Grant Receipt for Some Residents

In 1999, the Congress enacted the D.C. College Access Act for the purpose of expanding higher education opportunities for college-bound D.C. residents in an effort to stabilize D.C.s population and tax base. The act created the D.C. TAG Program, a residency-based tuition subsidy program, which allows D.C. residents to attend participating public universities and colleges nationwide at in-state tuition rates. UDC is not eligible to participate in the TAG Program because in-state tuition rates are already available for D.C. residents The TAG Program also provides smaller grants for students to attend private institutions in the D.C. metropolitan area and private HBCUs in Maryland and Virginia. An eligible institution may participate in the grant program only if the institution has formally signed a Program Participation Agreement with the mayor of the District of Columbia. Students attending a participating public institution can receive a tuition subsidy of up to 10,000 per year calculated as the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition rates, with a total cap of 50,000 per student. D.C. residents attending private institutions in the D.C. metropolitan area and private HBCUs in Maryland and Virginia may receive an annual grant award of up to 2,500 per year, with a total cap of 12,500 per student. The grant funding can be applied only to a students tuition and fee costs and must not supplant other grant funding that the student is eligible to receive. As a result, file tuition assistance grant must be considered as the final or last dollar that is added to a students financial aid package. Since the grant can be applied only to tuition and fees, other costs associated with college attendance, such as room and board fees and transportation costs, must be paid by other means. The D.C. government received 17 million in each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001 to implement the grant program and to provide grants to qualified applicants.