This General Accounting Office (GAO) testimony before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, concerns the findings of the task force that addressed the increasing costs of student loan defaults. The task force report is considered, generally, to provide additional incentives and…

The purpose and direction of the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) quality improvement program are described. The background and context for the Pell Grant quality control (QC) design study and the meaning of QC are reviewed. The general approach to quality improvement consists of the following elements: a strategic approach that enables OSFA…

This report lists schools with fiscal year (FY) 1995, FY 1996, and FY 1997 official cohort student loan default rates that are 25 percent or higher. As a result, these schools are subject to initial loss of eligibility to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, and/or the Federal Pell…

This report lists schools with fiscal year (FY) 1995, FY 1996, and FY 1997 official cohort student loan default rates that are 25 percent or higher and have lost eligibility to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, and/or the Federal Pell Grant Program due to prior year cohort default…

The aggregate financing of student aid by the federal government, state governments, and institutions over the past 25 years is discussed. Trends in the composition of aid delivered (grants, loans, and work study) are described. Over time comparisons in the numbers of recipients and aid per recipient are given by programs. (Author/MLW)

Investigated the impact of student characteristics and financial aid awards on degree completion rates of 2-year college students. Found that less than one-third obtained their degree, less than one-tenth of completers had a high school GPA of less than 2.0, federal loans and work study were positive predictors of degree completion, and federal…

This report examines the changes that occurred in college student financial aid between 1986-87 and 1989-90 by comparing students receiving various forms of aid in the fall of 1986 with those receiving aid in the fall of 1989. The data used were derived from the 1987 and 1990 National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies (NPSAS). The overall focus of…

A study was done to investigate whether Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) were being awarded to students with the lowest expected family contribution (EFC). The study used data from a 1991 Department of Education study based on a sample of 25,000 undergraduate students drawn from over 1,100 postsecondary institutions across the…

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study collected data for sample students from registrar and financial aid offices at postsecondary institutions. The data were collected for students enrolled in a postsecondary institution in fall 1986. Since substantial numbers of students are not enrolled in fall and are therefore not represented in the…

This report, based on the 1987 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, provides information on how different sources and types of student financial aid were combined to produce student aid awards or packages for 34,544 undergraduate students. First, aid awards are examined by the source of aid; second, by the type of aid; and third, by a…

Because of public concern over prisoners receiving cash benefits from Social Security Administration (SSA) and Veterans' Administration (VA) programs, the General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a study to estimate the number of prisoners currently receiving cash, social security, other federal retirement, disability, and educational benefits.…

The objectives of the Pell Grant quality control (QC) system and the general definition of QC are considered. Attention is also directed to: the objectives of the Stage II Pell Grant QC system design and testing project, the approach used to develop the QC system, and the interface of the QC system and the Pell Grant delivery system. The…

This volume describes how a school calculates and pays Pell awards to eligible students and how it reports those payments to the Department of Education. The discussion covers what the school must do to process an eligible student's Pell award after the school has received documentation of the student's eligibility. The Federal Pell Grant Program…

While the effects of the shift from need- to merit-based grants on student enrollment and receipt of aid have been examined thoroughly by a number of analysts, very few recent reports have examined the effects of these grants on students' persistence towards completing bachelor's degrees. To examine this issue, this report explores the linkages…

After 25 years of federal and state voucher systems in higher education, public colleges and universities find themselves financially shortchanged. Higher education vouchers (direct student aid) were developed to expand educational opportunity, give lower income students more choices, and support private colleges. Voucher systems produce greater…