Higher Education commissioner Michael Meotti is telling private colleges around Connecticut to hold off on awarding state-funded scholarships for incoming students.
Meotti, a former state senator, was responding to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposal to cut the scholarships for students entering private colleges, such as Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Albertus Magnus in New Haven, Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, the University of Hartford, and Goodwin College in East Hartford, among others.
Some students, however, have already been notified that they would be receiving a scholarship. The Connecticut Independent College Student grants are known at the Capitol as CICS or "kicks.''
Rep. Roberta Willis, co-chairwoman of the higher education committee, told Capitol Watch that "there are a lot of low-income Connecticut students who are able to go to those schools because of CICS. Under Rell, we added a lot more money into financial aid. It was a huge commitment that the legislature and Governor Rell made when we had money.''
As part of his "shared sacrifice'' budget to close a projected deficit of $3.5 billion in the fiscal year that starts in July, Malloy is calling for cutting CICS for college students by 25 percent in the first year and 50 percent in the second year.