The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance held a public hearing in Washington DC on Friday last September 30, 2011. Three questions drove the discussion: (1) What are the primary barriers to access and persistence for nontraditional students?; (2) What are the most promising state and institutional strategies and policies for overcoming those barriers?; and (3) What role should the federal government play in encouraging states and institutions to implement best practices? This publication presents written testimonies that addressed these questions. These written testimonies came from the following individuals: (1) Vickie Choitz and Julie Strawn; (2) John Ebersole; (3) Tom Flint; (4) Natala Hart; (5) Reshma Patel and Lashawn Richburg-Hayes; (6) Matthew Smith and Bruce Vandal; and (7) David Warren. Individual testimonies contain figures, endnotes, footnotes, and references. [For related report, "Pathways to Success: Integrating Learning with Life and Work to Increase National College Completion. A Report to the U.S. Congress and Secretary of Education," see ED529485.]