Financial aid in American higher education is discussed with a primary focus on undergraduate education. Some major issues pertaining to public policy and pricing in higher education are considered, and the practice of subsidizing students, with special attention to the role of the federal government, is briefly reviewed. Information regarding…

Factors influencing students' choice of institutions are examined in Part A of the SISFAP studies. The principal empirical base of the study consists of a large-scale longitudinal data file that assesses students' college choices at three time points: the beginning of the 11th grade, mid-way through the 12th grade, and college entry. Multivariate…

Information on financial aid programs is provided in this guide for students. The introduction discusses where the labor movement stands on educational needs. The contents of the publication are as follows: Meeting College Costs through a Financial Aid Package; How to Cut Educational Costs; How Students' Financial Aid Needs Are Analyzed; Low…

Four federal programs were investigated for inconsistencies in awarding financial aid to college students: the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Basic Educational Opportunity Grants, College Work-Study Program, and National Direct Student Loan Program. Their methods for determining student need and their legislative histories are…

This workbook assists college and vocational school bound American Indian students in determining their financial needs and in locating sources of financial aid. A checklist helps students assess the state of their knowledge of financial programs; a glossary defines terms pertinent to the realm of financial aid (i.e., graduate study programs,…

The impact of financial aid on the distribution of undergraduates among South Carolina's postsecondary institutions during the 1972-73 to 1977-78 academic years was studied. The major purpose of the study was to determine and to demonstrate how changes in educational costs, family ability to pay for those costs, and available financial aid…

This paper surveys European and United States approaches to public funding for post-compulsory education and offers an analytical framework describing how the funding is allocated, with a particular focus on identifying the principles that governments use to determine access to public funding for post-compulsory education. The study identifies two…

These hearings were concerned with the authorization of the Higher Education Act 1998 amendments. The hearing focused on affordability of postsecondary education, simplifying the student financial aid system, and academic quality for students. The document reports testimony of representatives of professional associations and Pennsylvania…

This report provides information on the outcomes of the Intervention for College Attendance Program, a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations and community-based organizations. Funded programs focus on increasing the access and success of groups traditionally underrepresented in higher…

Research suggests that low-income high school students may opt out of preparing for college, because they believe a postsecondary education is more than they or their parents can afford. At the same time, federal agencies and some state agencies have indicated that every year available student aid goes unused. In response to these misconceptions…

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) commissioned this paper to help policy leaders and decision makers understand the impact of selected state financial aid programs on students' choices--choices of which college to attend, where to attend college, and even whether to attend college at all. As the paper shows, states…

As part of its Performance Accountability Framework, the Commission analyzed the affordability of public colleges and universities. This report summarizes how the real cost of a college education in California changed between 1996 and 2004 and examines the way students at California's public colleges and universities paid for their education. In…

This chapter focuses on indicators of postsecondary participation, looking at the characteristics of students who enroll in postsecondary education, students who receive financial aid, and students who receive different levels of postsecondary degrees. Between 1976 and 2004, minority enrollments increased as a percentage of undergraduate…

Historically, the primary role of financial aid was to increase educational opportunities for those with inadequate resources, yet more recently institutional aid is increasingly becoming based on criteria unrelated to financial need. Various political forces have reinforced the institutional tendency to redirect dollars from the mission of…

Barack Obama agreed to answer a series of questions submitted via e-mail to his campaign. This article presents excerpts of "The Chronicle"'s exchange with the senator and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, in which he discussed his policy suggestions for student aid and college access; the appropriate role of the federal…