The Student Aid Gauntlet: Making Access to College Simple and Certain Final Report of The Special St

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The Student Aid Gauntlet Making Access to
College Simple and CertainFinal Report of The
Special Study of Simplification of Need Analysis
and Application for Title IV Aid

• Presentation Prepared for
• Coalition of Higher Education Assistance
  Organizations
• by
• The Advisory Committee on Student Financial
  Assistance
• August 1, 2005
• www.ed.gov/ACSFA

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Advisory Committee Overview

• Independent committee created by Congress in 1986
• Purpose To advise Congress and the Secretary of
  Education on higher education and financial aid
  policy
• Primary Goal ACCESS for low- and
  moderate-income students

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The Access Crisis Findings from Access Denied
and Empty Promises

• Looked at college-qualified, low- and
  moderate-income students
• Over the next decade
• 4.4 million students will not enroll in a
  four-year college within two years of graduation
• 2 million students will not attend any college at
  all

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The Access Crisis
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The Access Crisis
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Simplification Study Charge from Congress

• Can a broad simplification initiative increase
  the effectiveness of student aid?
• Can simplification increase access to college,
  especially for low-income students?

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Simplification StudyConstraints from Congress

• Focus on low- and moderate-income students
• Identify and assess any potential adverse effects
  on
• Federal program costs
• Program integrity
• Delivery system
• Distribution of Pell Grants
• Consult broadly with stakeholders in higher
  education

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Simplification Study Approach and Member Goals

• Study Approach
• Regional hearings
• Exhaustive review of opportunities for
  simplification
• Extensive consultation with ED
• Rigorous analysis of simplification options
• Advisory Committee Members Goals
• Minimize adverse effects, such as impact on
  program costs
• Maintain the federal-state partnership in aid
  delivery
• Not simplify to such an extent that it
  inadvertently results in greater complexity
• Deliver recommendations with broad community
  support

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The Student Aid Gauntlet

• Barriers Include
• Poor Information
• Unfair Expected Contributions
• Impenetrable Forms
• Inflexible Processes
• Burdensome Verification
• Lack of Coordination Among Funding Sources
• Insufficient Total Aid
• Each barrier alone may not prove fatal to access
• Confronting them in succession and experiencing
  their full impact often does

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Simplification Study Findings

• Four National Imperatives
• Empower Studentsto make sound decisions about
  higher education
• Make It Easyto ensure students get the financial
  aid they deserve
• Lose the Paperto create an integrated web-based
  student aid system
• Work Togetherto forge creative public-private
  access partnerships
• Four imperatives ? 10 recommendations
• See Exhibits One and Two in the Student Aid
  Gauntlet

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Simplification StudyReducing Application Burden
Minimizing Costs

• Advisory Committee approach to data reduction
• Create a simplified paper form for the
  lowest-income students
• Streamline on-line forms as much as possible
• Phase out the full paper FAFSA and increase use
  of FAFSA on the Web
• Treatment of Costs
• Eight of the 10 recommendations in the report do
  not require an increase in program costs
• Recommendations requiring an increase in program
  costs can be phased in over several years, if
  necessary

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EMPOWER STUDENTS

• Create a System of Early Financial Aid
  Information
• Provide students from middle school through
  adulthood with accurate and age-appropriate
  information about financial aid
• Give students early estimates of awards from
  multiple sources in the context of college costs
• Make Federal Need Analysis Transparent,
  Consistent, and Fair
• Reduce the student work penalty
• Standardize the treatment of college savings
  plans
• Minimize disruptions associated with the state
  and local tax allowance
• Simplify for students with special circumstances

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MAKE IT EASY

• Expand Existing Simplification to More Students
• Increase the automatic zero EFC threshold to
  25,000
• Align eligibility with federal means-tested
  benefit programs
• Extend use of the automatic zero and Simplified
  Needs Test (SNT) to more low- and moderate-income
  students
• Allow All Students to Apply for Financial Aid
  Earlier
• Align the financial aid application and college
  admissions processes by allowing students to
  apply before January 1
• Allow students to apply early in order to receive
  estimates of their financial aid eligibility
  earlier in the college preparation process
• Pilot the use of prior, prior-year income for
  dependent students

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MAKE IT EASY

• Make the FAFSA Relevant and Understandable
• Eliminate the drug conviction and Selective
  Service questions
• Simplify the language used on the form to make it
  more accessible to students and families
• Create a Simpler Paper Form for Low-Income
  Students
• Provide low-income students with a highly
  simplified paper applicationthe paper EZ FAFSA
• Maximize to the extent possible the number of
  students who can use this form
• Field and pilot test the EZ FAFSA before
  full-scale implementation

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LOSE THE PAPER

• Phase Out the Full Paper Form and Increase the
  Use of Technology
• Establish a five-year timeline for phasing out
  the complex, full paper FAFSA
• Move all students to FAFSA on the Web
• Simplify and Streamline FAFSA on the Web
• Provide applicants with a tailored, on-line form
  containing the minimum number of questions
  necessary
• Fix the PIN process to make it easier to sign
  applications electronically without delay

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LOSE THE PAPER

• Simplify the Verification Process
• Create and implement a verification system that
  is
• Centralized
• Web-based
• Standardized across institutions
• Reduces burden on students, lowers costs to
  institutions, and improves the quality of data
  used to ensure program integrity

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WORK TOGETHER

• Create a National Partnership to Make Access
  Simple and Certain
• Strengthen public-private partnerships
• Base partnerships upon effective state models
  already in place
• Provide students with adequate grant aid to lower
  unmet need
• Use partnerships to fully implement
  simplification improvements

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HOUSE LEGISLATION Including Advisory Committee
Recommendations

• H.R. 609 College Access and Opportunity Act
  (Reps. Boehner and McKeon)
• H.R. 1277 College Aid Made EZ Act (Rep.
  Emanuel)
• H.R. 2960 College Opportunity for All Act
  (Reps. Miller and Kildee)

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• Status of HOUSE Legislation Including
• Advisory Committee Recommendations
• Amendment to H.R. 609 (Reps. McKeon, Ryan of OH,
  and Tierney)
• Key recommendations included
• Creates a paper EZ FAFSA for low-income students
• Allows for early estimates of EFC and early
  application
• Aligns eligibility for simplified forms with
  eligibility for federal means-tested programs
• Clarifies definition of independent student
• Encourages increased use of FAFSA on the Web
• Agreed to by a unanimous voice vote in full
  committee markup on July 22, 2005

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SENATE LEGISLATION Including Advisory Committee
Recommendations

• S. 371 College Quality, Affordability,
  Diversity, and Improvement Act (Sen. Kennedy)
• S. 1029 Accessing College through Comprehensive
  Early Outreach and State Partnerships Act or
  ACCESS Act (Sen. Reed)
• S. 1030 Financial Aid Form Simplification and
  Access Act or FAFSA Act (Sen. Reed)
• S. 1261 Higher Education Simplification and
  Deregulation Act of 2005 (Sen. Alexander)

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Forthcoming Advisory Committee Activities

• Symposium on Access and Persistence
• Honoring the 40th Anniversary of the Higher
  Education Act
• Presentation of papers assessing current
  condition of college access and persistence,
  authored by
• Jamie Merisotis, President, Institute for Higher
  Education Policy
• Michael McPherson, President, The Spencer
  Foundation and
• Morton Schapiro, President, Williams College
• Laura Perna, Associate Professor, University of
  Pennsylvania
• Sandy Baum, Professor of Economics, Skidmore
  College
• John Lee, President, JBL Associates
• Honor the achievements of 40 years of HEA
• Lend support to the formation of a new national
  access and persistence partnership in HEA
  Reauthorization

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• Symposium on
• Access and Persistence
• Date September 8, 2005
• Location Columbia Ballroom, Holiday Inn Capitol
  Hotel, 550 C Street SW, Washington, DC
• Please register by emailing ACSFA_at_ed.gov

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Contact Information

• Nicole A. Barry
• Deputy Director
• nicole.barry_at_ed.gov
• Erin B. Renner
• Assistant Director
• erin.renner_at_ed.gov
• [phone]