Explores how a dispute between the U.S. Department of Education and Saint Louis University over alleged misuse of professional judgment in the awarding of over 2,000 Pell grants could change how campus officials handle students' financial aid requests. (EV)

Every eligible program, including graduate programs, must have a defined academic year. Award limits are generally connected to a period of time. For instance, all of the programs except Federal Work-Study have a maximum amount that can be awarded for an academic year or award year. This handbook is a resource for learning about Federal Student…

Student financial aid grants often fall short of amounts suggested by standard needs analysis systems, creating "unmet need," which some students try to offset with employment earnings. This study indicates that employed aid recipients can often offset unmet need, while nonworking recipients are at a financial disadvantage. Includes five tables,…

Examined whether there is evidence of gender bias in the awarding of institutional aid to students, controlling for academic ability and need. Found no direct evidence of bias when examining the relationship between student characteristics and aid, but when examining institutional characteristics, indirect implications suggested that gender was…

In response to Fischer (HE 527 626), the author considers his proposal to simplify need analysis in Pell grants and other federal need-based student aid as ignoring important considerations. It is suggested that a single formula will be difficult to derive until a coherent philosophy of needs analysis and specific current purpose for the grant…

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…

Reports evidence that the federal government's three campus-based student aid programs are no longer serving needy students well, but rather benefit a select group of institutions. Urges changing the 20-year-old financial aid formula to better reflect changing college demographics. Contrasts aid received by students attending the University of…

This form is used to renew an application for federal and state student grants, work-study, and loans. The form begins with instructions, deadline dates for state student aid, and instructions on renewing an application on the Web. Sections of the application request borrower (student) information, student and spouse income and assets, student…

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…

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 a good start toward getting policymakers to achieve more consistent assessments of student financial need, but more work by many parties to create a system producing more realistic need…

In order to meet two key objectives, enrollment managers at colleges and universities make extensive use of single equation probability models. The first objective is to generate sufficient financial resources to educate the students enrolled. The more dependent the institution is on tuition revenues, the more important is this objective. The…

This publication is intended for financial aid administrators and counselors who help students begin the student aid process--filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), verifying information, and making corrections and other changes to the information reported on the FAFSA. This guide contains the following chapters: (1) The…

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…

Describes how 28 private colleges have endorsed a set of policies designed to preserve need-blind admissions. The group agreed on guidelines for the formula used to calculate a family's ability to pay for college, resulting in more aid for more needy students. (EV)

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) is an independent, nonprofit research center based in Washington, DC that is dedicated to researching public policy and economic issues relating to postsecondary education. CCAP aims to facilitate a broader dialogue that challenges conventional thinking about costs, efficiency and…