The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 20 percent of community college students default on their student loan obligations (compared with 14.7 percent of all student loan borrowers), and that number is rising. What can community college financial officers do to keep their default numbers low? In this article, Heather Boerner describes the…

A study of the factors related to job satisfaction among financial aid administrators suggests that how well the job fits the individual's expectations of employment accounts for job satisfaction best, regardless of intrinsic or extrinsic job orientation. Implications for the management of financial aid offices are examined. (MSE)

Colleges can and should do much to improve the management of financial aid offices in a time of reduced funds. Exemplary programs provide a framework for improvement, consisting of two key elements: assessment of office management needs based on the overall campus structural development and good basic management procedures. (Author/MSE)

Before a sound and cost-effective aid program can be developed in a community college, its importance must be understood by the college's administration. Steps to be taken and the aid officer's role in administering and promoting an effective program are outlined. (Author/MSE)

A survey of California college and university financial aid offices resulted in a rank-ordered list of 39 chronic stressors and similar rankings of stressors for each sector and job classification, and by employee gender. (MSE)

Because of the integral relationship of student financial aid with student recruitment and retention, budgeting, program design and development, student services, and long-range institutional planning, it is useful to review organizational structure periodically to ensure visibility of the financial aid function within the institution. (MSE)

Increased responsibilities placed on financial aid offices and the results of a survey of Georgia public two-year colleges suggests the need for a staffing formula based not on the number of aid applicants but on standards more clearly reflecting the institution's commitment to enhancing educational opportunities for all students. (MSE)

A survey of 64 institutions investigated how the organizational structures of financial aid offices and institutional characteristics (e.g., staff size, sector, computer services) affect the efficiency of administering federal student aid programs. The questionnaire is appended. (MSE)

The practice of reducing student aid packages by the dollar amount of private donors' gifts to individual students as a means of reducing institutional gift assistance is criticized as effectively subverting the donor's intent in giving the gift and as possibly placing the donor in legal jeopardy. (MSE)

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)

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…

A survey of financial aid officers in 50 state universities concerning information dissemination about graduate student scholarships is reported. Specific suggestions are given, e.g., establishing a computerized or microfiche system to organize information for individual or printout access, increasing publicity by a variety of means, and getting…

Data on salaries of 98 administrative positions in colleges and universities are presented for all institutions and separately for public and private institutions, for universities, four-year colleges, and two-year colleges. The percentage of change in salary level within the past year is noted. (MSE)

The changing role of the college financial aid administrator is examined, and contributing factors are discussed, including shifts in public perceptions of the aid officer's function, public lack of understanding of the financial aid process, technological advancement, economic change, the federal government's evolving influence, and changes in…