A national telephone opinion poll has found increased popular support for federal aid to college students, especially in the form of continued federal spending on grants, low-interest loans, and aid to institutions enrolling many low-income students. Concern about the rise in college costs was also found. (MSE)

Federal student assistance has become a tangled thicket of programs and policies. It is complicated, fails to focus benefits on the neediest students, and is increasingly expensive. Complexity and cost, grants or loans, who should benefit from student assistance and who should pay, and reshaping student aid are discussed. (MLW)

Advantages of locally-funded, short-term, small, emergency student loans for both institutions and students are outlined, and its increasing importance as a form of aid is noted. A list of questions for financial aid administrators to consider before making such a loan to a student is provided. (MSE)

This paper provides a model of optimal financial aid policies for a selective university. The model implies that the financial aid package to be offered to each category of admitted applicants depends on the elasticity of the fraction who accept offers of admission with respect to the financial aid package offered them. (Author/SSH)

This reference guide presents the basic accounting concepts, terminology, and definitions used by colleges and universities. The guide, a companion to the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO's) online self-study course of the same name or a standalone reference, compares college and university accounting…

The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher education issues. This issue contains the following articles: (1) "Effectiveness and Efficiency": The University System of Maryland's Campaign to Control Costs and Increase Student Aid (Kay Mills); (2) Remote Access: Western…

This E.D. TAB is the second publication based on the 2003-04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education. NPSAS is a comprehensive survey that examines how students and their families pay for postsecondary education. The first E.D. TAB…

In the years since student loans first became available in 1958, borrowing has become a common way for students to pay for education after high school. As student borrowing has risen over time, some have raised concerns about the debt burden facing some borrowers once they complete their post-secondary education. In an effort to learn more about…

Every eligible program, including graduate programs, must have a defined academic year. Award limits are generally connected to a period of time. For instance, all of the programs except Federal Work-Study have a maximum amount that can be awarded for an academic year or award year. This handbook is a resource for learning about Federal Student…

This report provides Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) official cohort default rates for all schools with 30 or more borrowers or official average cohort default rates for schools with under 30 borrowers. The schools listed in this report have fiscal year 1995 official cohort default rates of 40 percent or higher, which may make them subject to…

This report responds to a congressional request to assess the availability of information on the extent to which the increasing burden of student debt affects: (1) students' choices about whether and where to enroll in college and whether or how much to borrow; (2) the length of time it takes to earn the baccalaureate degree and student choices…

This study examined satisfaction of approximately 2,200 institutions of higher education that participated in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs during the 1995-96 academic year. Among major findings were: (1) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions were satisfied with their programs, although Direct Loan…

As part of a 5-year evaluation of the Direct Loan and the Federal Family Education Loan programs, 19 institutions of higher education participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program were visited to examine the diversity of approaches used by schools in planning for and implementing the Direct Loan program. The schools included…

This study examined satisfaction of approximately 2,200 institutions of higher education that participated in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs during the 1996-97 academic year. Among major findings were: (1) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions were satisfied with their loan programs, although FFEL…

As part of a 5-year evaluation of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, 12 participating institutions of higher education were visited to examine the diversity of approaches used by schools in planning for and implementing the program. The schools included public and private two- and four-year institutions and proprietary schools. Major…