Virginia has developed a state training program for student financial aid administrators. It is coordinated with two previously separate programs, is cost efficient, and has resolved the issues of who should train, what materials should be included, when training should be conducted, and where training should occur. (JMD)

The role of middle-management in college administration is addressed. Focus is on financial aid officers who are good representatives of the major dilemmas faced by middle-managers. For example: their contact with students is limited by paperwork duties; they must look off-campus for training and recognition; and federal regulations greatly affect…

Princeton University (New Jersey) is planning to replace loans with grants for students with annual family incomes under $40,000, and will stop considering the value of the family's home in determining need for most families with incomes under $90,000. The move will likely give the institution a competitive advantage in attracting low- and…

Institutional researchers and student financial aid officers can collaborate to construct the longitudinal data files needed to study students persistence and recommend persistence policy. (Author/MSE)

A 1953 article outlining procedures used at Harvard University (MA) for analyzing a student's need for financial aid is reprinted here because it is felt to reflect the basic principles of sound student financial aid policy. (MSE)

A review of the history of regulation in federal student financial aid programs indicates dramatic change and growth in the last three decades. Regulations of particular importance to aid administrators are highlighted, and two conclusions about recurring concern for the deservedness of aid recipients are drawn. (Author/MSE)

In serving students, financial aid officers must address issues outside the scope of the financial aid program, including admissions, academic policy, institutional bureaucracy, student consumer education, and pricing. These require policy decisions and resource allocations the financial aid administrator cannot make alone. Cooperation and support…

Analyzes data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey concerning the use of need-based versus non-need financial aid awarded by colleges and universities in 1989 and 1995. Provides descriptive and trend analyses of differences in types of aid among varying institutional types, and examines how financial aid awards have changed for…

When the Commission on Access, Admissions and Success in Higher Education (subsequently referred to as the commission) convened in the fall of 2008, the educational landscape included a number of issues that the commission's members recognized as formidable challenges to those students who aspire to enroll and succeed in college. The Commission's…

In the 2008-2009 school year, about 2,000 for-profit schools received almost $24 billion in grants and loans provided to students under federal student aid programs. In the early 1990s, Congress was concerned that some for-profit schools receiving federal student aid were recruiting students who were not ready for higher education. Many of these…

The Division of Policy, Planning, and Research has assembled the Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book which is a compilation of statistical information pertaining to higher education in Tennessee. The 2009-2010 Fact Book contains tables and charts with data relevant to enrollment, persistence, graduation, tuition, financial aid, lottery…

Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) is an innovative program and strategy developed by the Washington (WA) State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) in conjunction with the state's 29 community colleges and five technical colleges. Its goal is to increase the rate at which adult basic education and…

This "First Look" presents findings from the Human Resources (HR) Component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2009-10 data collection. The HR component consists of the following three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) and Fall Staff (S) for fall 2009 and Salaries (SA) for academic year…

What does "protecting our priorities" mean in an era when economic realities require that institutions of higher education trim their budgets while also providing critical education and training to more and more students--those "human resources" whose skills will be the key to any economic turnaround? This is a question WICHE…

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and other jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico. In 2005-2006, participation in IPEDS was a requirement for the 6,622 institutions and 83 administrative offices…