Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education

(FIPSE)

Department of Education

Proposed Cut

$136M

% Reduction

100.0%

Action Type

elimination

Who Is Served

Colleges and universities pursuing innovation in higher education delivery

Summary

The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) is a U.S. Department of Education grant program that pays for competitive projects testing new ways to help college students succeed, including help with food, housing, and transportation costs, support for rural colleges, and broader campus innovation efforts. The FY2027 budget proposes eliminating FIPSE entirely, cutting all $136 million (a 100% cut), because the administration says these discretionary innovation grants are a lower priority than direct student financial aid.

Who Is Affected

FIPSE money currently funds several sub-programs, including the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Grant, the Postsecondary Student Success Grant, and the Rural Postsecondary & Economic Development Grant, which go to a limited number of colleges and universities each year through competitive awards — for example, only six institutions split $5 million in one recent Basic Needs Grant round. Losing this funding means those specific grantee colleges (often public four-year schools, private colleges, community colleges, and rural institutions) lose the federal dollars supporting food pantries, emergency housing help, and student-success pilot programs on their campuses.

What this cut would actually mean

If FIPSE is eliminated, colleges that currently rely on these grants would have to shrink or end campus programs like food pantries, emergency housing assistance, and transportation help for low-income students, or find other funding sources, which many smaller and rural schools may not have. It would also end the federal government's main way of testing and spreading new ideas for improving college graduation rates and support for students in rural areas, since there is no comparable existing federal program that funds this kind of competitive, innovation-focused higher-education grant.

Sources

The Administration's FY 2027 Budget Proposes to Eliminate Crucial Basic Needs Investments — Explains that FIPSE elimination would end the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students program, the Postsecondary Student Success Grant, and the Rural Postsecondary & Economic Development grants.
Trump's FY2027 Budget Puts the Department of Education on a 'Path to Elimination' — Confirms the $136 million FIPSE cut as part of the FY2027 Department of Education budget request and lists other related higher-education program eliminations.
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) | U.S. Department of Education — Official description of FIPSE as a grant program funding innovative postsecondary education reform projects meant to serve as national models.
Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program | U.S. Department of Education — Shows recent award data for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program, a FIPSE sub-program, including funding totals and number of institutions funded.
Montgomery College Secures One of Only Six U.S. Department of Education Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Grants — Example of a specific college receiving a FIPSE Basic Needs Grant, illustrating the scale and competitive nature of these awards.