Executive Orders May Impact College Students and Universities, Including Pitt

President Trump has signed many executive orders during his first three weeks in office that may impact colleges, college students, and college administrators.

On Feb. 9, Pitt students received an email from Pitt administrators detailing the NIH’s (National Institutes of Health) decision to cap indirect costs of federal grants at 15%. Indirect costs include funding for office and lab spaces, employee salaries, and more. 

While this does not directly impact Pitt-Greensburg, it does affect Pitt’s main campus. According to the email, the NIH is Pitt’s largest federal research sponsor. Pitt receives around $700 million annually, which makes up over half of the university’s research budget. 

The full impact of the decision is unclear, but the email said that university administrators will release more information as the situation develops.

It is currently unclear if other grant funding sources will have cuts similar to the NIH cut. According to Dr. Bob Gregerson, Pitt-Greensburg president, Pitt-Greensburg does receive funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education. 

“They [the Trump administration] haven’t said anything about those overhead charges,” Gregerson said. “We’ll have to wait and see.” 

Another concern for universities country-wide is the potential of student aid or student grants being cut or eliminated. There have not been any clear statements as to whether or not FAFSA or student grants would be affected by federal funding cuts, but many Pitt students would be impacted if this were to happen. 

Gregerson said that 42% of Pitt-Greensburg students are on Pell grants. 

Gregerson said that students and the university community should look to the University’s Communication Department for statements as that situation develops. 

“What we want to know is the impact on us, so we can make a case that this is what we are going to do,” Gregerson said.

While there are a lot of unknowns and things that are unclear, Pitt-Greensburg plans to continuously evaluate and make decisions based on how new policies will affect the campus community. 

It is important for students to check their campus email, since that is where they will find communications from Pitt regarding any impacts or policy changes on a campus level.