This article is the first of a three-part series based on the book, Basic Guide to Financial Aid. The contents within are abridged from the publication, with additional emphasis on the impact federal student aid administration has on non-financial aid professionals in higher education today. It should be noted that this information is not…

Amid persistent rises in college tuition over the past several years, financial aid policy has marched steadily toward goals of making college more affordable and removing economic barriers to attendance. Promises of "free college" often target low- and middle-income students, and likely have a particular influence on: (a) students who…

Administrative burdens scholarship has explored the factors influencing bureaucrats' perceptions and administrative discretion when entitled individuals seek policy benefits. Few studies, however, have recently investigated such phenomena with undocumented youth immigrants. Drawing from online web surveys and conducting a mixed methods study, I…

A growing and often unidentified segment of students on campuses who are hidden in plain sight are those who are homeless. In 2019, the national average for homelessness at two- and four-year institutions in the United States was between 14-16% (Baker-Smith et al., 2020). For these students, very small issues can become huge problems, such as the…

Low student completion rates have increased pressure on college and university administrators across the country to raise retention and graduation rates and have forced the review of many practices on campus. This qualitative study aimed to examine the effects of financial aid on higher educational persistence among African American males.…

The real price of college keeps rising, and it often surprises students and their families.1 People know tuition is expensive. They also usually account for books and supplies, even if they might cost more than expected. Still, they don't always expect or fully understand how the price of housing, food, and transportation factor in. It's not their…

Higher education often involves academic challenges like course selection or financial aid navigation. Developing effective study skills, mastering time management, refining note-taking techniques, and tackling complex course content demands dedication and proactivity. However, support services such as academic skills workshops and writing centers…

This is a conversation with Connie F. Cooke, Director, Financial Aid, State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo State and Sharon F. Cramer, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, Emerita, SUNY Buffalo State. They started working together twenty years ago when they began to implement a new student information system for the university. The SABRE…

In 2015, The Education Trust released "The Pell Partnership: Ensuring a Shared Responsibility for Low-Income Student Success." This analysis of over 1,000 public and private institutions revealed that while Pell grant recipients graduate at rates averaging 14 percentage points lower than non-Pell eligible students, many institutions do…

U.S. colleges and universities are sites where cultural norms such as genderism and transphobia are reified through institutional policies and practices. Any place on the college campus that segregates students by sex and gender can serve to limit access and success of trans* students. In order to gain insight into how key institutional agents…

The rising cost of attending college creates a financial challenge for most students, many of whom must take out student loans to pursue their education goals. Whether or not they earn a degree, these students will leave school with the burden of managing student debt. How well they manage this complex process may shape their personal finances for…

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…

Financial aid officers play a vital role in assisting prospective and current college students in enrolling and graduating from college. This study explores the competencies that financial aid officers need to be successful in their jobs. A survey of thirty competencies was distributed to 508 practicing financial aid officers in the Western United…

Equity in Excellence is a two-year project launched in 2013 to support the implementation of Colorado's higher education reform agenda. With a focus on the metropolitan Denver area, the project intends to align the state's higher education policies with concrete, equity-focused actions at its public community colleges and four-year institutions.…

This article paints a comprehensive portrait of the demographic, financial, and educational characteristics of Pennsylvania postsecondary students who are adult learners, and identifies rural-urban differences within this group. The study analyzed data from the 2010-11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (n = 610,925), supplemented by…