Flat Funding for NTID: What does it mean?

Recently, RIT received $92.5 million from the federal government to operate NTID. This is the same amount that RIT received in fiscal year 2023. In fact, the appropriation for NTID is likely entering a period of flat funding, meaning that they will receive the same amount of funding every year for the foreseeable future. Despite the fact that funding for NTID has risen most years, NTID is not concerned by this. Here’s why.

Federal Funding for NTID

It was clear after passing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) that federal funding on domestic programs would be flat this fiscal year. The FRA was passed to provide a “responsible increase to the debt ceiling,” to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt.

“In the past year, when it was clear that most programs were going to be flat funded, we did not sound an alarm,” Heather Eaggleston, director of NTID government relations, said. 

“Actually, that level funding was one of the best-case scenarios. We try to read the room. The federal budget is going to continue being limited for a while. There’s a lot of financial concerns, knowing that there’s wars happening and that there are extra costs for that, emergency costs for natural disasters are happening every year. It’s going to be a time for tight budgets. We plan for that and it's important to show the Department of Education and Congress how we are planning to manage things,” Eaggleston said.

"Actually, that level funding was one of the best-case scenarios." - Heather Eaggleston

At the beginning of NTID’s fiscal year process, the Department of Education (ED) sends a call letter to NTID. The ED asks to see NTID’s budget at three levels of funding: flat funding, a ten percent increase and a ten percent decrease. With these three scenarios, NTID creates plans for possible expansions and renovations if given an increased budget, and what programs may suffer if given a decreased budget. That information is then passed onto the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which determines the president’s budget recommendations. This process is helpful for two reasons: it helps NTID develop plans based on these three real possibilities, and it helps the OMB understand how the budget will affect NTID.

While Congress is responsible for giving NTID the funding they need, it’s very unlikely that they would ever eliminate funding for NTID entirely.

"[NTID not receiving federal funding] would require a coordinated effort on a number of fronts. We operate on the assumption that we are going to get funding, but the question is how much funding are we gonna get,” Bernie Herwitz, associate vice president for NTID administration, explained.

NTID is one of three special institutions, the other two being Gallaudet University, a leading institution for deaf and hard of hearing students, and the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Eaggleston noted that it would be challenging for Congress to cut the funding for any of these institutions because of their special designation. The funding for these institutions are also just a drop in the bucket of the federal budget, meaning that there is no real incentive to cut funding to these programs.

“If they were to get rid of those three programs, it’s a lot of money for us, but it’s not for them. When you’re dealing in billions, to cut that, is not going to change a lot for them. Most of the time when money is tight, they just flat fund us. Because, if they eliminate us, they create problems,” Eaggleston said.

Eliminating funding for those programs would mean an upset public. NTID provides important services for its deaf students and is able to show good employment outcomes for its students.

“The tagline is we are a federal investment that works. We have data that we can show Congress and the department and say, 'here’s what your money is going toward, here are the outcomes and here’s what would happen if NTID was no longer able to provide these services.' We have over 1,000 deaf and hard of hearing students and if NTID suddenly shut down, many students wouldn’t be able to get access services and support services on the level that we provide here. Not funding NTID and not funding Gallaudet would create a severe burden on many other colleges and universities,” Herwitz said.“The tagline is we are a federal investment that works. We have data that we can show Congress and the department and say, 'here’s what your money is going toward, here are the outcomes and here’s what would happen if NTID was no longer able to provide these services.' We have over 1,000 deaf and hard of hearing students and if NTID suddenly shut down, many students wouldn’t be able to get access services and support services on the level that we provide here. Not funding NTID and not funding Gallaudet would create a severe burden on many other colleges and universities,” Herwitz said.

RIT vs. NTID Government Relations

NTID differs from RIT in that NTID is a “line item” in the federal budget and is considered in the budget every year. RIT looks for funding from many different sources, including federal and state funding, and requesting earmarked funds.

“They’re (RIT) very involved in some of the higher ed associations that will work collectively to say,'“you need to double the Pell Grant,' or 'FAFSA is a mess, you need to simplify that,' Eaggleston said. “We do not participate in that at all. We are very careful about that. Also, we do not participate in issues related to deafness. So, when we’re contacted about whether [a situation is] appropriate we refer people to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), or locally the Center for Disability Rights (CDR). Those kinds of policy and community discussions are not appropriate for us in our mission.”

The separate government relations divisions of RIT and NTID work together occasionally, especially if a public official is visiting campus for a tour. When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited campus in December 2023, NTID helped facilitate that meeting.

“That was something [RIT] led, but [Gillibrand] wanted to talk about NTID, so we helped with that. Also, if President Munson is going to D.C., and is meeting with people, he’s emphasizing RIT’s funding priorities, but he needs to know [NTID’s] funding, so he will talk about NTID and usually have a paper describing our programs if he’s meeting with other offices that don’t know us,” Eaggleston said.

NTID also has to undergo a federal monitoring visit every two years, being notified via letter from the ED.

“They identify areas that they want to have in-depth discussions with us about, that they want us to prepare presentations on. The monitoring of us is ongoing, but they can ask us for things anytime,” Eaggleston said. “We’re in constant communication with [the ED].” 

NTID depends on RIT for many services, including food services, dormitory, FMS and others. RIT charges NTID for the use of those services, and federal appropriations and tuition revenue go toward paying for those services. For that reason the ED is interested in reviewing those charges to ensure that the money paid to RIT is for the necessary services for NTID students.

“RIT does not make money off of NTID, nor do they lose money. It doesn’t cost RIT anything to operate NTID because we are supported by Federal appropriation every year, and also by tuition revenue,” Herwitz clarified.

“It doesn't cost RIT anything to operate NTID because we are supported by Federal appropriation every year, and also by tuition revenue." - Bernie Herwitz 

Above all else, NTID’s primary mission is to ensure support for its students and the institution works to facilitate that every year through the careful monitoring of their budget. “We don’t want to impact students as much as possible,” Eaggleston said.

Eaggleston added, “We’re very fortunate to have a department that understands and respects our mission. Congressional members who understand and respect our mission, and value it and treasure it. They really do the work for us.”