Vermont approves $3.44 million in aid and endowment allocations

Vermont approved a record $3,443,680 distribution from its Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund, including $2,459,772 for non-loan student aid and a separate allocation for two institutions’ endowments. The annual report schedules payment of the FY2026-calculated distributions during FY2027, provided applicable requirements are met. Approval and allocation do not mean the money has already been disbursed.

Treasurer Mike Pieciak announced the distribution Oct. 5, 2026. The annual report, dated Sept. 30, says the Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund Council and the Secretary of Administration approved the full distribution.

Student aid and endowments have separate uses

The $2,459,772 student-aid allocation is for Vermont students and is divided equally among the University of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges and the Vermont Student Assistance Corp., or VSAC. Each is allocated $819,924.

The student-aid money is distributed through the three institutions; it is not an automatic payment to every Vermont student. VSAC is eligible for this aid allocation, but not for the separate endowment component under current law.

The endowment allocation is calculated at 2% and supports permanent endowments at UVM and the Vermont State Colleges, rather than direct individual student awards. Before either institution can receive its share, it must secure private donations worth at least twice its allocation and certify receipt of the donations and their use for the endowment to the Commissioner of Finance and Management. The report lists $491,954 for each institution, which adds to $983,908, one dollar below its reported $983,909 total because the component amounts are rounded.

The report says FY2026-calculated distributions are to occur during FY2027 if all requirements are met. It does not give an exact payment date. The endowment portion also cannot be disbursed until the required private donations are secured and certified.

Record distribution follows earlier scholarship awards

The Treasurer’s office described the distribution as the second consecutive record-breaking total and reported that the FY2025 distribution was $2.6 million. The new total is about $844,000 higher, using that rounded prior-year figure. The annual report says distributions during Pieciak’s tenure have set successive records beginning with FY2023.

The report separately describes scholarship activity during academic year 2025–26: the institutions provided 1,227 scholarships to more than 800 students, averaging about $1,900 per award. It says 70% of those awards went to first-generation students and 79% to students eligible for Pell grants. Those figures describe earlier scholarship activity, not confirmed recipients or results from the newly approved distribution.

Other amounts in the report are separate from the $3,443,680 distribution. It lists FY2027 appropriations from the fund’s principal of $2.32 million to VSAC, $600,000 to the Vermont State Colleges and $2 million to UVM. The report says withdrawals from principal will reduce future fund balances used to calculate distributions.

The Treasurer’s office recommends changing the law to raise the optional endowment distribution from 2% to 3% and make VSAC eligible for it. Those are proposals, not current law or terms of this distribution. The report says the office intends to work with the Legislature on statutory changes but gives no date for that work. Students consulted for the report generally supported the fund’s current uses; some suggested allowing scholarships to cover non-tuition expenses or allocating aid in proportion to the number of Vermont students served.