President Obama's 2010 budget proposals include exciting news for those concerned with increasing educational opportunities. The urgency of the economic crisis and the clear commitment of the administration and Congress to make college more affordable provide the perfect opportunity for those in higher education to update their approach to…

The United States has long been a model for accessible, affordable education, as exemplified by the country's public universities. And yet less than 60 percent of the students entering American universities today are graduating. Why is this happening, and what can be done? "Crossing the Finish Line" provides the most detailed exploration…

Many people in higher education think that "values talk" should be reserved for important ceremonial occasions, like commencements and reunions, or for remarks after a major scandal. In their view, values should take a back seat to the pragmatic reality of empirical evidence. But, in reality, every interesting problem of policy or practice depends…

This paper recommends that the federal government take steps to reassert the sense of partnership and common purpose that undergirds college finance in the United States by enacting an old idea that never had become a reality. The original authorizing legislation for the Pell grant program envisioned direct institutional grants to colleges that…

Discusses data that indicate that students' academic promise is increasingly influencing even the amount of "need-based" aid they receive, signaling that families' demonstrated financial need is of less importance than they may expect when they fill out all those financial aid forms. (EV)

An analysis of the effectiveness of the U.S. system for enhancing student access to higher education looks at the success of government financing efforts in examining data on (1) encouraging enrollment and broadening educational choices of disadvantaged students; (2) making institutions work better; and (3) making the distribution of education's…

This paper examines the problem of determining how effective student aid programs have been in promoting the college enrollment of lower income and disadvantaged students and analyzes the institutional means through which federal aid policies have been implemented. The importance of considering the key role of state and institutional responses to…

The question of whether the availability of need-based student financial aid reduces the applicant families' incentives to save and work was assessed. Changes in the need-based aid system are also suggested. Need-based aid systems compute a family's ability to pay for college from information on the family's income and assets at the time a student…

Any full-scale attempt to measure the impact of federal student finacial aid on student enrollment behavior must also account for indirect effects on institutional behavior. This study argues that the potential effects of aid on supply and on institutions is substantial. Includes two tables, seven notes, and eight references. (MLH)

Discusses how a long recession will increase students' need for financial assistance, but that unfortunately, institutions are unlikely to cut back on merit aid to do more for the neediest students. (EV)

The two essays in this document address the many challenges facing liberal arts colleges today. "The Threats to Liberal Arts Colleges" (Paul Neeley), holds that the most serious threat to liberal arts colleges is not ideology or technology but instead it is the marketplace. Competition within the liberal arts sector leads the best schools to spend…

Recent research indicates a trend toward increases in the share of all institution-based student aid funds going to merit aid and in merit scholarship competition among institutions. This paper presents findings of a study that surveyed 379 nonprofit bachelors'-degree-granting institutions in 1983-84 and 1991-92. Findings indicate that the less…

Using both externally and internally derived data, a team of economists reveals the complexities of the impact of student aid on institutional finances. It is also suggested that high tuition increases are linked to federal aid policy, but in an unexpected way. (Author/MSE)

The relationship between the "need-blind" philosophy of college admission and institutional student financial aid policies is examined. The ethics of providing less-capable students with higher debt and workloads, and other policies that apply differential aid packaging for higher-risk students, are called into question. (MSE)

Since the early 1980s, college tuitions have soared, and state and federal governments have sought new ways to help students and families meet the costs of attendance. Annual state and federal appropriations to traditional student aid programs have more than doubled in the past two decades. In addition, the federal government created the Hope…