As a public institution, the University of Connecticut is beholden to the state and national governments for a significant percentage of funding, grants and other forms of support– so what might happen in the event of a government shutdown?
Jan. 19, 2024, marks the first deadline that the current congressional spending bill will “run dry,” without the passage of an official budget. Signed by President Joe Biden in November of this year, the temporary package was introduced to assuage congressional in-fighting pending the approval of a federal budget, a debate that remains unresolved despite the pressure of a looming expiration date.
“This year, there will be no government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Many are left to question whether this short-term fix will provide enduring solutions or if it is merely delaying catastrophe amid a conflicted congress. Should this uncertainty continue, the partial shutdown of different government agencies will ensue, including the Department of Education on Feb. 2.
Under a government shutdown, the Department of Education will operate with the lowest possible cost to ensure that only essential functions are carried out, including the processing of Pell Grants and federal direct student loans. The consequences of this emergency state would be resounding, with 89% of the department’s staff being furloughed, and even greater implications for academia nationwide.
“A protracted delay in Department obligations and payments beyond one week would severely curtail the cash flow to … colleges and universities” the Department of Education’s contingency plan states. “Examples of significant damage could be disruption of local educational agency operations or inability of students to obtain necessary higher education financing.”
The previous shutdown in 2018-19 lasted over a month.
The effects of a shutdown are thereby two-fold, with a present risk of complications in both student aid and university function.
For the 9.8 million students receiving federal aid across the country, including many of approximately 26,900 students receiving financial aid at UConn, the disbursement of Pell Grants and direct student loans may “experience some level of disruption,” per the department’s contingency plan.
As for campus operations, the damage is harder to speculate. UConn is set to receive $886.8 million from the state government for fiscal year 2024-25; in the event of a federal shutdown, this number would be reduced to $776.4 million in the absence of ARPA funds. The programs and projects that might be cut to bridge this $110.4 million gap are unknowable.
Beyond state funding, individual funding streams allocated from the federal government, including 84.6% of all university grants in fiscal year 2022, face an even greater risk of coming up short. The majority of research projects, as well as valuable programs like the Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, face an immediate threat to their continued operation.
Concerns should remain tempered, however, as the approval of federal budget is requisite for the proper functioning of the United States as a governing body. As for now, the nation can only wait and hope that Congress will reach a resolution or risk shutting down.