These tables show undergraduate Stafford loan borrowing rates and average Stafford loan amounts from 1989-90 to 2007-08, using data from six separate administrations of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS): NPSAS:90, NPSAS:93, NPSAS:96, NPSAS:2000, NPSAS:04, and NPSAS:08. The estimates that appear in these tables reflect the newly…

The author asserts that current federal education policy and student aid programs effectively discriminate against older, part-time, low income students. She calls for changes aimed at achieving equity for adult, part-time learners when the Higher Education Act is considered for reauthorization. (SK)

Increasingly, state officials are dealing with the financial needs of the fastest-growing segment of the higher education market by expanding their financial aid programs to working people, parents, and students with disabilities who must attend college part time. (MLW)

The impact of completing a part-time degree course by one year of full-time study on the personal finances of the students is explored. Analysis indicates that students can normally increase their net incomes during the period of full-time study. (JMF)

A large survey of postsecondary students in California was used to test the sensitivity of alternate definitions of the independent student population on the number and proportion of independent students, to trace the cost implications of these alternate definitions, and to offer conclusions about the effects of these definitional changes. (MLW)

The social and economic characteristics of adult students enrolled in postsecondary schools (collegiate and noncollegiate) in spring 1976 are examined, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1976 Survey of Income and Education. For students who were dependents, information is presented on their families. Findings include the following: adult…

Federal and state student financial aid programs and their future are outlined in this discussion paper. An introduction to the issues of student financial aid and higher education finance includes recent changes in financing patterns due to expansion, reduction, and erosion of assets; state and federal appropriations; tax privileges; and student…

Financial barriers to college attendance that affect women, minorities, low-income, and other nontraditional students are identified, along with alternative sources of student financial aid. Research has suggested that financially-independent students are most vulnerable to fluctuations in aid, and tend to have low incomes, be minority members or…

This report examines "non-traditional" students in higher education and their characteristics, the types of institutions they attend, and their participation in federal student aid programs. Using data from the "National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey of 1986" the study compares five groups of "non-traditional"…

Factors affecting access to postsecondary education for college-age youth were studied, with emphasis on personal characteristics and institutional policies that influence educational aspirations and postsecondary enrollments. Data were primarily derived from two databases: the High School and Beyond Study and the National Longitudinal Study of…

Characteristics of students and their family/personal income was studied for each of the four segments of California higher education to determine how college costs were met. Data sources were the 1982-1983 Student Expenses and Resources Survey (SEARS) and student data files. Major findings include the following: In 1982, more than 300,000…

Based upon data collected throughout the U.S. in the spring of 1976 as part of the Survey of Income and Education, this report presents a socioeconomic and educational profile of Hispanic postsecondary students. Wherever relevant, the data are compared with data on all U.S. postsecondary students. A general overview presents characteristics of the…

The third in a series by the Higher Education Panel, this survey of student aid programs and participants focused on selected characteristics of aid recipients representative of those at 3,000 colleges and universities. Aid distribution was analyzed by the students' sex, racial or ethnic group, enrollment status (full- or part-time), and income…

This report examines the participation of older undergraduates, above age 24, in postsecondary education using data from the 1989-90 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:90) and the 1990-92 Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study (BPS:90/92). It profiles older undergraduates and compares them with younger undergraduates with…

Previously ignored, lifelong learning became a governing principle of Irish educational policy in 2000. Participation trends in education were assessed including early school leaving by males, poor educational levels of older adults, low literacy levels throughout the population, and educational barriers experienced by women. Resulting government…