Education Commons^™

Arizona Uncertainty: Arbitrary Barriers In Accessing Institutional Need-Based Financial Aid, Dee Hill-Zuganelli, Nolan L. Cabrera, Jeffrey F. Milem

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Established in 2008, the Arizona Assurance Scholars Program (AASP) channeled institutional need-based aid to in-state, low-income students. Rapidly growing costs prompted three changes to the AASP eligibility requirements in 2011. We examined how these new requirements—a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average and the submission of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and admission paperwork by March 1—would affect the gender, racial, and socioeconomic composition of the program’s first three cohorts if they were in effect. Results revealed disproportionate impacts on racial and ethnic minorities and widened gender gaps. Male, Latina/o, and Native American students would …

A Comparative Study On Need-Based Aid Policy In Higher Education Between The State Of Indiana And Taiwan, Ching-Hui Lin, Don Hossler

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The question of how the government can best support access to postsecondary education has become a critical issue for education policymakers around the globe, as the practice of cost sharing for funding postsecondary education has been more widely adopted. In this context, this study explores the approaches to implementing current need-based financial aid policies in higher education in Indiana and Taiwan using G.Z.F. Bereday’s (1964) comparative method as the framework. Using a comparative cross-national perspective, the authors explored cost sharing, Rawls’ theory of social justice, and the economic principles of horizontal and vertical equity.

This review revealed that need-based aid …

Barriers To Need-Based Financial Aid: Predictors Of Timely Fafsa Completion Among Low-Income Students, Mary Feeney, John Heroff

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Access to financial aid is dependent on a variety of factors, including the time of application; the earlier students apply for financial aid, the greater their access to institutional and often state resources. We use the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) as a case for investigating the economic, social, and academic factors that affect application timeliness, and in turn, access to need-based financial aid. We analyze a stratified sample of 4,000 low-income students who completed the 2003-04 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and assess the relationships between Expected Family Contribution (EFC), first-generation status, and academic performance in order …