"In Fall 2020, 67% of all first-year students at Ithaca College received need-based aid, but upon receiving financial aid packages, some students have had trouble understanding how much their aid will cover," The Ithacan reports.

..."Megan Walter, policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said via email that NASFAA has worked to make the financial aid process easier to understand for families by creating a set of guidelines that colleges should follow when making and distributing financial aid offers. 

'Until now, there have been no enforceable standards, guidelines or principles when institutions create their financial aid offers,' Walter said. 'So, those offers can vary widely between colleges, with each using its own terminology, inadvertently making an inherently confusing process even more difficult. Maintaining some level of flexibility in communicating financial aid offers is important, as different colleges have different student populations that they may need to tailor their aid offers to.'

Some colleges do not use language in their financial aid letters that can be understood by families with little knowledge about the financial aid process, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education."

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: 4/19/2023