This article provides remarks delivered by Gen. Mark Brown, Chief Operating Officer for Federal Student Aid on September 19, 2019 at the 2019 National College Access Network (NCAN) Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Gen. Brown granted JCA permission to reprint his remarks.

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development of the Committee on Education and the Workforce that was held to examine lowering costs and increasing value for students, institutions, and taxpayers. Opening statements were provided by: (1) Honorable Burgess Owens, Chairman,…

When a college closes, it can derail the education of many students, leaving them with loans but no degree. Those who cannot complete their education may be eligible to have their federal student loans forgiven through a "closed school discharge" from the Department of Education (Education), but this process has changed in recent years.…

Grant aid reduces the financial burden of human capital investment in postsecondary education. Theory suggests grant aid should substitute for other financial resources such as borrowing and labor market participation. Although studies have individually examined the impact of grant aid on hours of paid work and on borrowing for education, students…

College promise programs are spreading throughout this United States. These programs fund tuition and/or fees for eligible students who are actively progressing toward earning postsecondary certificates and undergraduate degrees. While existing college promise programs have varying designs, each one appears to be seeking continuous and long-term…

New federal spending on student aid is unlikely to improve college access. The increase in access in higher education in America largely came before massive federal involvement in student financial aid programs. Evidence suggests that federal subsidies for student aid may be counterproductive. Modest provision of financial assistance serves to…

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a comprehensive study of how students and their families pay for postsecondary education. It includes nationally representative samples of undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional students who attend less-than-2-year institutions, 2-year institutions, 4-year colleges, and major…

This literature review examines the effectiveness of student financial aid in light of doubts raised about it at the start of the 1980s and subsequent cuts in federal support for student aid as a result of those doubts. The review has three objectives: to determine whether there are reasons to doubt the effectiveness of student aid; to determine…

This speech by President William Clinton addresses the 1996 graduating class of Princeton University on the occasion of Princeton's 250th anniversary. After his opening remarks, the President touches on the importance of the graduating seniors' education as well as the importance of education in general to the nation's future. He compares the…

This study explored the role of financial aid in promoting year-to-year persistence over a five-year period following reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 1992. The study cohort included 6,711 full-time beginning freshmen in the fall 1993/1994 terms at Arizona State University. Variables examined were (1) effects of receiving any…

The complex rules and regulations of the student financial aid industry have alienated and confused both students and parents, especially those from lower income families. Unless simplified, the financial aid application process will continue to act as a deterrent to participation in the U.S. educational system. Families managing to overcome the…

This study examines what is known about the changing impact of both federal and states' direct, need-based, student financial grant aid policies. The author then develops recommendations for further research to evaluate the effectiveness of specific state policies to compensate for a reduced Federal role in support of higher education access,…