College officials worry that too many of their peers use merit aid to "buy" students whose test scores will burnish their institutions' rankings in "U.S. News & World Report." In fact, the debate about financial aid on today's campuses has led to the near vilification of merit aid. The lament is that money is often diverted…

Many people in higher education think that "values talk" should be reserved for important ceremonial occasions, like commencements and reunions, or for remarks after a major scandal. In their view, values should take a back seat to the pragmatic reality of empirical evidence. But, in reality, every interesting problem of policy or practice depends…

In response to Fischer (HE 527 626), the author considers a proposal to simplify need analysis in Pell grants and other federal need-based student aid as having merit but threatening serious financial harm to many current Pell grant recipients and their institutions. It is argued that focus on budgetary advantages ignores potential dislocations…

In response to Fischer (HE 527 626), the author considers a proposal to simplify and unify need analysis in Pell grants and other federal need-based student aid as appropriate. It is also argued that a single need analysis is needed because the complexity of the existing systems is a barrier to achieving the programs' central goal. (MSE)

Four general "fairness criteria" are presented for evaluating student financial aid award rules. Application to current Pell Grant rules indicated violation of two of the criteria. Recommendations include replacing the "percent-of-cost" rule with a "percent-of-need" standard, developing a broader class of rules, and…

A discussion of the two systems of need analysis used for Pell grants and other large federal need-based student-aid programs looks at the reasons for different systems and examines the usefulness of simplification to one. Budgetary feasibility, distributional implications, alternative cost-saving reforms, and effects on public confidence are…

This paper recommends that the federal government take steps to reassert the sense of partnership and common purpose that undergirds college finance in the United States by enacting an old idea that never had become a reality. The original authorizing legislation for the Pell grant program envisioned direct institutional grants to colleges that…

This is a Congressional hearing to review and receive comment on H.R. 6190, legislation that would amend Title 38, United States Code, to exempt GI bill educational benefits from the determination of a veteran's eligibility for Federal educational benefits. Testimony includes statements, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials…

There is a distinct possibility, it is suggested, that American higher education will experience a price war in the coming period. The recent growth in awards of financial aid based on "merit" may be viewed as either its precursor, or its prologue, or its early major phase. (MLW)

The needs of the nontraditional learner, particularly access to postsecondary education, are not being met, and one barrier is unmet financial need. One solution is to increase the awareness of the nontraditional learner of alternative resources which may reduce his/her need and allow institutions to better allocate their funds. (MLW)

This report, concerned with an equitable procedure to determine student financial aid eligibility, argues for adoption of an annuity income measure of parents' ability to pay, and against continuation of the consensus measure developed by the Keppel Task Force--National Task Force on Student Aid Problems (the UM measure). The new Uniform…

Student financial aid is examined with focus on the disparity of the partnership between students, colleges, the federal government, and the College Board. Changes resulting from the implementation of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) Program in 1972 are surveyed. The resulting financial aid system (with the exception of highly…

An alternative system is proposed for college students: provide grants in the freshman year, reduce grants and small loans in the second, introduce work-study in the third along with reduced grants and loans, and further increase loan and reduce the grant with work-study in the fourth year. (MSE)

Both parents of aid applicants have the primary obligation to contribute to their children's educational expenses before public and private funds are awarded. It is suggested that Basic Grant, state agencies, and national services should change their instructions, and that government agencies need central collection and analysis of each parent's…

A journalist and college instructor who attended college on a Pell Grant recounts her escape from poverty through education. She notes shifts in public policy toward financial aid through loans and tax credits rather than grants, but urges that the Pell Grant program be restored to the level of assistance provided youth from economically deprived…