Adams ends CAMP program after federal funding cut

Adams State has ended its long-standing College Assistance Migrant Program following a discontinuation of funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

The CAMP funding cycle, set for five years, ended in September, the Adams State Student Affairs division said in making the announcement. Adams State said it was notified of the decision to cancel grant continuation on Sept. 15, and had the opportunity to appeal. After submitting an appeal, the university received final cancellation notification on Sept. 25. 

“We are deeply saddened by the impact halting CAMP will have on our students. However, it will not stop our mission of serving our students in need, especially now that such an impactful program has unfortunately been defunded,” said Aftin Gillespie, assistant vice president of Adams State Student Affairs.

Adams State launched its CAMP program in 1972, during a time when the Valley’s agricultural fields were teeming with seasonal migrant labor. The program was designed to help families of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with their educational goals and has served 1,600 students since its inception.

Adams State said the program could return if funding returned from the U.S. Department of Education. The Trump Administration has signaled to universities that programs aimed at minority student populations would lose funding.

While the CAMP program and Adams State’s work with students of farm laborers dates back 40 years, the university more recently in its history began receiving funding as a federally-designated Hispanic-Serving Institution.

Adams State took on a designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 1998 and since 2000 has received more than $30 million in federal Title V grants. Funding under Title V is also going away for Adams State as the Trump Administration pushes its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” as the funding pact it wants with universities.

“To advance the national interest arising out of this unique relationship, this Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education represents the priorities of the U.S. government in its engagements with universities that benefit from the relationship,”  the U.S. Department of Education said in a memo to universities. 

The higher ed compact dictates admission and academic policies that universities would have to follow to receive favorable funding from the federal government. Adams State President David Tandberg said the proposed higher ed pact is a “direct threat to academic freedom” and that Adams State would not sign on.