In the context of a theoretical model of expected profit maximization, this paper shows how historic institutional data can be used to assist enrollment managers in determining the level of financial aid for students with varying demographic and quality characteristics. Optimal tuition pricing in conjunction with empirical estimation of…

Every year millions of students and families sit around their kitchen tables and grapple with how they are going to pay for college. All too often they approach what may be the most important financial decision of their lives armed with incomplete, confusing, or inaccurate information about their options. College financial aid offices have a…

The writer discusses the challenges faced by financial aid directors. Determining how much families can pay for college has become more complex as the very definition of family has evolved. A growing number of students are coming from nontraditional families, and many college officials are scrambling to accurately evaluate their financial…

Growing concerns about low awareness and take-up rates for government support programs like financial aid for college have recently spurred calls to simplify the application process and enhance visibility. However, little research has been done to determine whether such reforms would truly improve college access and in what form…

This primer is intended to provide college financial aid professionals with a background in fundamental areas of economics. Its goal is to provide a stronger understanding of the key principles that shape need analysis systems. Part 1 presents basic economic concepts and discusses their application to college enrollment and student aid. These…

The latitude (professional judgment) aid administrators might exercise in departing from the need analysis formula for campus-based financial award purposes is discussed. Three areas are discussed: politics, practice, and principles. (MLW)

This study was conducted to determine how often federal financial aid recipients received aid that was greater than their federally defined need and what cost or other implications might result from changing the Higher Education Act (HEA) to limit such aid. Data came from the 1999-2000 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study for full-time,…

This training manual is intended for use by higher education institutions that use the electronic student financial aid packaging process in a Windows environment. Each unit in the manual is organized into several lessons; each lesson presents the material and then provides practical application materials. The first unit is an overview of the…

This training manual is intended for higher education institutions that process Federal Pell Grants under a new system called the recipient financial management system (RFMS). The RFMS system is part of the electronic data exchange process which allows schools to send and receive Title IV student financial aid application data to and from the…

This guide advises students about college costs and how to pay them. The booklet explains financial aid and how it can help a student reach his or her educational goals. Merit-based and need-based aid programs are described, and the family's expected financial contribution is explained. The process of obtaining and completing the Free Application…

This workbook covers all the processes needed to administer the federal direct loan program in schools; it requires familiarity with the basic concepts found in the "Direct Loan School Guide." The eight units of instruction include: Unit 1: an overview; Unit 2: processing loan records, including the EDExpress setup, the processing cycle,…

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)

The need for advance planning to finance college studies is addressed. It is suggested that financial aid officers should stop thinking about this year's family income and current assets as a pool of resources to be tapped to pay for this year's parental contribution to college costs. Instead, income and assets might be viewed as indicators of a…

The purpose of this handbook is to assist counselors who are helping students apply for federal financial aid in the 1980-81 award period. Since most students seeking federal aid should begin by applying for a Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, that program is covered in more detail than the others. Chapter One offers an overview of the six…

Site visits to a sample of 173 colleges, universities, vocational-technical schools, and other postsecondary institutions--conducted to examine the procedures used to manage federal Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) and campus-based student financial assistance programs--are summarized. This report deals only with the conduct of the…