This digest offers a brief discussion about the growth of distance education in the postsecondary arena and summarizes the U.S. Department of Education's progress in evaluating current rules governing financial aid for distance learning. Department of Education statistics show that there was a 72% increase in the number of institutions offering…

This booklet is intended to help trustees of institutions of higher education understand the relationships among tuition, financial aid, and enrollment. It suggests questions trustees can ask of administrators and recommends the data needed to make informed decisions. Advocates and critics of higher education increasingly demand that colleges and…

As the number and volume of student loans increase nationally, lenders and policymakers look more closely at the use of loan forbearance. This paper examines whether forbearance really cuts the risk of loan default by reporting on a study of more than 9,800 Stafford loans in forbearance in December 1996. That research shows that the default rate…

This fact sheet provides information on financial aid for prospective college students with learning disabilities. Once students with learning disabilities gain admission to the college of their choice, they are not likely to find any scholarships on the basis of having a learning disability to help pay for college. Students with learning…

This booklet, written in Spanish, is intended to be used with a set of slides as part of a presentation to students on "How To Apply for Federal Student Aid" ("Como Solicitar la Asistencia Economica Federal para Estudiantes"). The first part of the book is a script based on the slides. After the script is a guide to hosting a financial aid…

This publication is intended to help postsecondary schools understand FY 1999 draft cohort default rate data. It explains how the Department of Education calculates cohort default rates, the effect of cohort default rates, and how to read the cohort default rate loan record detail reports. Also, it reviews electronic reports available from the…

This report provides a comprehensive picture of the history and current state of the Pell Grant program. Using data from various federal sources, notably the Pell Grant program annual reports and the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the report tracks key indicators of the growth and distribution of Pell Grants over the program's history…

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to determine whether the U.S. Department of Education uses taxpayer information to verify information provided by student aid applicants, and the benefits of increasing data verification activities, and whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses personal information maintained by Education to…

The Committee on Education and the Workforce of the U.S. House of Representatives met to hear testimony on the state of U.S. higher education and what taxpayers, parents, and students are receiving for their money. The hearing was held in the context of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Opening statements by Representative John…

This handbook explains the "how to's" of financial aid, focusing on private colleges in New York state. The first section discusses financial aid, explaining that a student who needs financial aid is very likely to receive it. The aid process is outlined, step by step. This section also explains the types of federal and other aid…

As background to the National Dialogue on Student Financial Aid, this essay discusses the fundamental assumptions and aims that underlie the principles and policies of federal financial aid to students. These eight assumptions and aims are explored: (1) higher education is the province of states, and not of the federal government; (2) the costs of…

This document updates the 2002-2003 "Fact File," which provided information about the independent colleges and universities in Ohio. It contains the most current facts about the 52 institutions that are members of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (AICUO). Independent institutions of higher education in…

The Washington Promise Scholarship program was established to encourage excellent academic performance and to reward low- and middle-income students who demonstrate meritorious achievement in high school by providing them a 2-year scholarship. An evaluation was conducted to study the program and its impact on college attendance and student…

The third publication of this themic bibliography lists some of the publications on the financing of education included in the archives of EURYDICE's (Education Information Network in the European Community's) European Unit, and is intended to accompany "Key Topics in Education, Volume 1" (June 1999) which covers financial support for…

This guide is designed to assist schools with their Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program cohort default rate. The guide is a reference tool in understanding cohort default rates and processes. This guide incorporates two former guides, the "Draft Cohort Default Rate…