Administrators unsure what a Betsy DeVos confirmation would mean for financial aid, do not expect radical changes

Despite the concerns surrounding President Donald Trump's secretary of education nominee Betsy DeVos, the University does not expect much to change should she be confirmed. 

After a contentious hearing, the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee allowed DeVos' vote to proceed to the Senate floor on a party-line vote, with all Republicans voting for and all Democrats against the measure. But two Republicans—Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska—have since said they would not vote for DeVos. Assuming all Democrats vote against the nominee, one more Republican in opposition would thwart DeVos' confirmation effort. 

During the confirmation process, Democrats have accused DeVos of not knowing enough about public education and of only being selected due to her donations to the Republican party. Trump, on the other hand, has supported her views on school choice and charter schools—he proclaimed a week in January to be National School Choice Week.

But Alison Rabil, director of financial aid, said she has confidence that Duke would not be significantly impacted. She argued that the majority of funding changes would likely be to public K-12 schools.

“I don’t see any changes to University policy that would come about if Betsy DeVos is confirmed,” she said. “We will maintain our need-blind admissions policy and our commitment to meet full need for all our students.”

There could be some changes at the University level, she said, but Duke will fill any gaps that should arise. For example, she said there could be a reduction in both Pell Grants from the federal government and North Carolina funding.

“If state grant aid changes because of a reduction in federal support for the state, there could be a decrease in state aid from North Carolina,” Rabil said, adding that Duke would make up the difference if necessary. 

Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said she was simply unsure what a DeVos confirmation would mean. The confirmation hearing was not helpful in understanding DeVos' stance on higher education, Wasiolek said. If anything, Wasiolek's concern stemmed from what she called DeVos' lack of preparation for the hearings.