This document presents seven papers that address several aspects of the new direct lending federal loan program established by the Student Loan Reform Act of 1993. Among the topics examined are the following: (1) the experiences with implementing new student aid programs; (2) the policy questions involved in lending in proprietary (profit-making)…

This study documents the redistribution that began about 1980 of responsibilities for financing higher education from social resources to private resources. It also examines the issues of affordability of higher education that arises from this shift in financial responsibility. Five sets of national data from different sources are examined to…

Project PRIME is a multifaceted accelerated academic program that identifies minority group junior and senior high school students with academic aptitude and prepares them for college. Arizona is the site of Project PRIME's national demonstration pilot project because the state has a culturally diverse population and accessible urban, suburban,…

The study empirically examines the effects of economic and non-economic variables on college persistence by presenting a causal model that relies on both economic theory and V. Tinto's Student Integration Model in order to enhance an understanding of the role of finances on the college persistence process. Analyses conducted upon a sample of 466…

The report summarizes a 1987 survey of over 8,000 New York State postsecondary students designed to determine how these students and their families finance postsecondary education costs. Highlights of the study are grouped under the categories of college costs, financial aid, total resources, and equity, access and choice. Among major findings are…

The report presents findings of a 1987 survey of 8,062 postsecondary students designed to determine how New York State students and their families finance postsecondary education costs. Among major findings are the following: college costs among full-time undergraduates averaged $6,530; 64% of all undergraduates received some financial aid…

This report examines the facilitation of financing higher education in Hawaii. The report covers financial aid programs available to Hawaii college students, as well as prepaid and guaranteed tuition programs and college savings programs. Following an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 focuses on threshold questions such as state constitutional…

One of the most critical issues affecting higher education access today is the rising cost of going to college. Symptoms of the trend include dramatic increases in tuition and fees, reduced state higher education budgets, declines in the purchasing power of student grant aid, increasing student debt burdens and heightened demand for institutional…

The purpose of this volume is to describe how schools become eligible to participate in the Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs and to explain the administrative and fiscal requirements of FSA program participation. In addition, the publication discusses other issues relevant to the general administration of the FSA programs. Major changes from the…

A study examined rural students' academic aspirations and expectations, their perceptions of their parents' aspirations and expectations, and their parents' actual aspirations and expectations. Surveys were completed by 3,733 seventh grade-students in 54 schools in 17 West Virginia counties. Parent response rates were lower, with approximately two…

This study explored the attitudes toward higher education of Mexican Southern Baptists in California. Interviews with 15 families and questionnaires completed by 126 high school students show that members of this group hold positive attitudes toward higher education but financial constraints pose an obstacle too difficult for many of them to…

Over the past few decades, higher education has become available around the world to a degree unimaginable to earlier generations. In many ways, accessible mass higher education is the foundation of the modern knowledge economy, and without it, the bright futures of many youth around the world would be dimmed. Preserving and enhancing the…

This paper examines the shortcomings of the existing federal system for providing student financial aid and evaluates the use of tuition tax credits and expanded Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) two of the largest educational provisions contained in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. It finds that tuition is continuing to rise, college…

This report uses data from the 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study to profile undergraduates who were enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions in the academic year 1995-96. The report begins with an essay that explores the extent to which undergraduates work while they are in school. This essay found that 79 percent of…

The purpose of this publication is to describe how a school becomes eligible to participate in the Student Financial Assistance (SFA) programs and to explain the administrative and fiscal requirements of SFA program participation. In addition, this publication discusses other issues relevant to the general administration of the SFA programs. Major…