Financial aid is an ever-growing topic of interest to researchers as well as policymakers in understanding the impact and relationship to student success. Aid comes in many forms, from merit-based or need-based scholarships and grants, loans, tuition waivers, and other. Federal and state aid programs alike are typically designed to assist students…

The volume and number of federal student loans, which provide financing to make higher education more accessible, have grown over the past few decades. In 2017, the most recent year for which detailed information was available, $96 billion in new federal student loans was disbursed to 8.6 million students, compared with $36 billion (in 2017…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions focuses on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act through improving college affordability. The following committee members presented opening statements: (1) Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and (2) Honorable Patty…

A quality education is the primary instrument of social and economic mobility in the United States. As open-access institutions, community colleges are the gateway to postsecondary education for millions of Americans. Many of these students would be unable to afford college without federal resources, such as student financial aid and tax credits.…

To provide greater understanding, Trellis Research recently conducted a mixed-methods, outcomes-based study of parent PLUS borrowers in Texas. The study, "PLUS Borrowing in Texas: Repayment Expectations, Experience, and Hindsight by Minority-Serving Institution Status," provides a rare look into the repayment behavior of Parent PLUS…

For nearly 50 years, the cost of higher education has risen faster than the pace of inflation, with federal student aid contributing to increasing tuition. In 1987, Secretary of Education William J. Bennett penned a "New York Times" article, "Our Greedy Colleges," in which he wrote, "If anything, increases in financial aid…

According to the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), the number of high school students enrolled at Georgia institutions of higher education has increased by 88% over the past 4 years and spending on dual enrollment programs has more than doubled during that period. As enrollment continues to increase, the Governor has enacted legislation…

Americans believe in the value of a college education, but worry about its price. Recent surveys show large majorities affirming the importance of postsecondary education, but characterizing it as too expensive and sometimes financially out of reach. This Statistics in Brief describes three measures of the price of undergraduate education in the…

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) program, authorized under Title IV, Part D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, is the primary federal student loan program administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The program makes available loans to undergraduate and graduate students and the parents of dependent…

The degree to which students are able to make adequate repayments on their student loans and avoid default is of special concern for colleges. If too many former students go into default, the college will face sanctions by the federal government and lose eligibility to provide currently enrolled students federal financial aid, such as the Pell…

This paper examines the rise in student loan default and delinquency. It draws on a unique set of administrative data on federal student borrowing matched to earnings records from de-identified tax records. Most of the increase in default is associated with borrowers at for-profit schools, 2-year institutions, and certain other nonselective…

Each year, millions of college students borrow money to help bridge the gap between college costs and available income, savings, and grants. Experts all agree that, for those who need to borrow to pay for college, federal student loans are the safest and most affordable option. Unfortunately, some colleges choose not to participate in the federal…

To ensure that students have access to the full range of financial aid they may need to succeed, colleges must be able to confidently and responsibly offer federal student loans. The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and the California Community Colleges Student Financial Aid Administrators' Association (CCCSFAAA) support…

This year, more students are applying and qualifying for need-based financial aid and more financial aid offices are being asked to reassess financial aid packages to reflect recent changes to families' financial situations, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. "This survey…

More than three-quarters of postsecondary institutions (79 percent) would prefer expanding the current Perkins Loan program rather than replacing it with the Direct Perkins Loan program being proposed in Congress, according to a recent survey of NASFAA-member schools. In fact, increasing unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits (80 percent) and lowering…