This report, "State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies for Public Colleges and Universities: 2010-11", examines the philosophies, policies, and procedures that influence decision-making regarding public college and university tuition, student fees, and student financial aid programs. This report also provides information…

The Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) is a broad-based initiative that provides the opportunity for traditional and nontraditional secondary school students and General Educational Development (GED) recipients to earn scholarships that may be used at Kentucky colleges, universities, and selected technical and vocational education…

The Department of Education is vitally interested in whether the financial incentives provided by the grants affect student behavior. That is, will the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACGs) induce more economically disadvantaged high school students to complete a rigorous high school program and enroll and succeed in postsecondary education? Will…

Assuming that an institution of higher education sees a need to devote resources to merit scholarships while continuing a strong need-based program, examines how the institution can do this, what impact it will have on enrollment, how scholarships should be marketed, and how much money will be required. (NB)

Louisiana concentrates its postsecondary financial aid funding in merit-based aid programs, as opposed to need-based aid programs. This study illuminates the distribution of Louisiana's merit-based financial aid program, Louisiana's Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), to students from difference socioeconomic backgrounds by describing…

Each year, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report, the 38th annual survey, represents data from academic year 2006-07. Data highlights of this survey include: (1) In the 2006-2007 academic year, the states…

Since the early 1990s, state governments have distributed billions of dollars in financial aid through merit-based college scholarships, most of which have no means tests. The model for most of these programs is Georgia's Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship. Given the high correlation between precollege academic achievement…

This chapter examines some of the salient features of merit-based student financial aid. The author explores the role of merit aid in college admission and how it is used in today's competitive market. (Contains 1 resource.)

Graduation rates for male athletes overall as well as men's football and basketball players lag behind those of male non-athletes at Division I colleges and universities. Scholarship athletes, however, are much more likely to be drawn from racial and ethnic groups with lower average graduation rates. After accounting for differences in racial…

The Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES) is a merit-based scholarship program intended to increase college access, long-term academic commitment, and retention of top students within the state. KEES uses a heavily graduated award structure and both high school grade point average and standardized test scores to establish award amounts.…

After passage of Proposition 209, the University of California began searching for race-neutral admissions criteria that would allow it to minimize drops in enrollment of under represented minorities. Concern for under represented minorities led to several changes in admissions policies, most notably the introduction of comprehensive or holistic…

Merit-based financial aid has been a growth industry in the United States over the past decade. Much media attention has focused on the use of merit aid by colleges and universities to try to attract academically talented students. In this article, the author argues that merit aid programs are the wrong tools for helping develop a skilled…

This article features Haitian Education & Leadership Program, Haiti's largest university-scholarship program, which provides merit scholarships to students in the top 10 percent of their high-school classes in the country's poorest areas. On average, the scholarships pay students $4,100, which covers tuition, textbooks, and school supplies,…

This paper uses panel data for the 100 colleges and universities at which the largest number of National Merit Scholarship (NMS) winners enrolled in 2003 to test whether an expansion in the number of institutionally funded NMS winners at an institution is associated with a decline in the number of Pell Grant recipients at the institution. Our…

The arguments against merit scholarships are presented, and it is urged, instead that achievement be rewarded at the time and place of its occurrence, i.e., locally. (MSE)