The majority of college financial aid offices have seen cuts to their operating budgets this year compared to the 2007-08 academic year when the recession began, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator's latest QuickScan Survey. Sixty-two percent of financial aid offices reported operating budget cuts this year…

Using a competing risks event history model this study explores the effects of differentiated forms of financial aid on the postsecondary enrollment patterns of Latino college students in Indiana. Much of the prior research on financial aid has employed cross-sectional methods, which assume that the effects of aid do not vary across time. This…

This year, more students are applying and qualifying for need-based financial aid and more financial aid offices are being asked to reassess financial aid packages to reflect recent changes to families' financial situations, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. "This survey…

More than three-quarters of postsecondary institutions (79 percent) would prefer expanding the current Perkins Loan program rather than replacing it with the Direct Perkins Loan program being proposed in Congress, according to a recent survey of NASFAA-member schools. In fact, increasing unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits (80 percent) and lowering…

More than three in four college financial aid offices reported an increase in the number of cases where they must verify information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators' (NASFAA's) latest Quick-Scan Survey. The increase in the number of verification…

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…

In what kind of job environment are financial aid administrators (FAA) currently working? How satisfied are they with their jobs? What motivates them and what factors are considered morale dampers? How are financial aid (FA) functions viewed by campus' top administrators? Does FA get similar respect and appreciation from their campus peer offices…

The Academic Competitiveness (AC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants were established by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The grants provide merit-based financial aid to certain low-income college students eligible for Federal Pell Grants and are administered by the Department of Education (Education).…

While admissions officers are well versed in SAT-score and GPA requirements for their institutions, it is now crucial that they know how to answer questions about eligibility for financial aid and merit scholarships. A new "Chronicle" survey of admissions officers found that monetary issues weigh heavily on their minds. When asked about the "most…

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…

An expanding investigation into conflicts of interest in the student-loan industry continued to sweep up more lenders and college financial-aid administrators last week. The nation's largest student-loan provider, Sallie Mae, accepted a $2-million settlement with New York State's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, and three more college officials…

Despite a decade of simplification efforts, students and families are often still baffled by the student aid process and cringe at the sight of financial aid application forms. Contrary to its purpose of helping students to access college, the student aid application process causes families frustration and confusion that has been cited as an…

The ever-expanding investigation into conflicts of interest between colleges and lenders continued to claim victims last week as two more universities settled with New York State's attorney general, and another fired its financial-aid director. Drexel University, the only institution that had said it would fight allegations over its student-loan…

Colleges would be required to give students information to help them shop around among loan providers under proposed changes in student-loan programs announced by the U.S. Department of Education. The proposed regulations represent the department's most significant response to date to the continuing controversy over conflicts of interest in the…