NASFAA Mention: How Colleges, and the Government, Are Handling a Spike in Requests for More Financial Aid
"After 25 years of working in financial aid, Brad Barnett understands the devastating effect a job loss can have on a college student’s ability to graduate. He has heard the pleas from families desperate for a few more dollars to cover tuition when household budgets get stretched thin," The Washington Post reports.
"But whereas years past brought a handful of requests, the last few months have delivered a steady stream of them, as the novel coronavirus spawns a national unemployment rate over 10 percent. By the end of June, Barnett’s team at James Madison University in Virginia had received 231 appeals for additional aid based on a loss of income — nearly 13 percent more than students had submitted for all of the previous year.
... Guidance issued Thursday by the department assures colleges that lending a hand to a higher number of students during the pandemic will not trigger an investigation. It upholds a key part of guidance the Obama administration issued during the Great Recession, though it ignores other elements that would make it easier for financial aid officers to help students.
Still, the agency’s latest directive provides a safe harbor for colleges and universities as they brace for an influx of appeals. A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators found that 90 percent of financial aid offices at 293 participating schools anticipate an increase in requests between May 26 and October 1 compared with the prior year.
... As appeals climbed in late spring, the school promised to process requests when fall reopening plans were finalized this summer and after getting more federal guidance on award adjustments.
Before this week, the Education Department was unclear on whether the decade-old guidance, which gave colleges leeway to adjust a greater share of financial aid awards, still applied. In May, a senior official at the department said the 2009 guidance was no longer active, as NPR first reported. In June, the agency called the guidance outdated while promising to update it."
NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.
Publication Date: 7/10/2020
