This fact sheet, an update of a report published in 1987, provides an overview of the financial aid system for postsecondary education. It covers the various types of financial aid, the technical words and phrases used to discuss it, and the process involved in its disbursement. The fact sheet discusses the roles and responsibilities of those who…

This is a Congressional hearing to review and receive comment on H.R. 6190, legislation that would amend Title 38, United States Code, to exempt GI bill educational benefits from the determination of a veteran's eligibility for Federal educational benefits. Testimony includes statements, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials…

To utilize automated technology for student aid processing, it is necessary to work with multi-institutional offices (student aid, admissions, registration, and business) and to develop automated interfaces with external processing systems at state and federal agencies and perhaps at need-analysis organizations and lenders. (MLW)

Five thousad position advertisements, which appeared in "The Chronicle of Higher Education," were examined. Three aspects of the positions advertised in financial aid were examined: the time and location by state of the advertisements, the nature of the position being advertised, and areas of skill, knowledge and job responsibility. (MLW)

The growing sense of professionalism within the financial aid community has led to the development of professional associations gathering periodically to talk about standards and procedures. Ethics related to the management of financial aid are discussed. (MLW)

The California State University, Fresno financial aid office developed an income matrix to determine whether a dependent student would be eligible for a maximum Basic Grant award. The matrix can be derived in a few hours, used throughout the academic year, and can reduce man-hours needed to re-compute indexes. (JMD)

Discusses complexity of federal financial aid programs; differences between financial aid and other student services; relationship of federal government and financial aid offices; verification procedures; the role of auditors; and needed simplification and improved administration of federal financial aid programs. (ABL)

The education pipeline in the United States will not produce enough college graduates to stay competitive in the global economy unless current trends are reversed (Callan, Ewell, Finney, & Jones, 2007). The fastest-growing populations--generally low-income and often from racial or ethnic minority groups--do not have the aspirations, academic…

Despite the increasing importance of higher education, students who are academically qualified for college still face numerous barriers to college enrollment. These barriers range from insufficient financial aid to mixed messages about academic preparation, poor understanding of admission and financial aid application processes, and limited…

This issue of "Access & Persistence" describes the roundtable discussion, "Ensuring Access to College Amid Economic Uncertainty," held on June 13, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. The purpose of the discussion was to gather information from a variety of perspectives within the higher education community on effects of the…

This article highlights the problem of omitted variable bias in research on the causal effect of financial aid on college-going. I first describe the problem of self-selection and the resulting bias from omitted variables. I then assess and explore the strengths and weaknesses of random assignment, multivariate regression, proxy variables, fixed…

The research findings have made it clear that Chinese college student aid policy has several characteristics. Generally speaking, student financial aid is increasing up to some extent. The government financial aids focus mostly on improving equality of educational opportunity in higher education. However, aids from the government are inadequate,…

Despite action by Congress and the Bush administration to shore up the student-loan industry, some state-authorized organizations say they may not return to the loan business this year, and others are cutting some of the borrower benefits and services they provide. Nine state loan agencies stopped issuing either new federally backed or new private…

Group presentations are an easy way to reach large groups of students and parents at one time. When group presentations are well done, they increase students' and families' knowledge of the financial aid process by providing information and building students' and their families' confidence as they navigate the financial aid process. Unfortunately,…

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…