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It is a daunting task to analyze, interpret, and implement federal financial aid regulations these days. Hopefully the information I provide will help you understand and locate the financial aid you need to earn your online degree.
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I presented a financial aid session at a study abroad information session this past week, and I asked the six (yes, six) students in attendance who had filed the FAFSA or were expecting federal and/or state financial aid to help pay their expenses. Of the six, three students raised their hands. Then, the study abroad advisor asked the students if they knew what the FAFSA was. ALL students nodded. It's no surprise that these students were familiar with the FAFSA, even those who didn't file, or didn't plan on filing. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application to be considered for federal and/or state financial aid. The FAFSA is the federal financial aid form that was created by Congress in conjunction with the Department of Education. Over the last eight or nine years, the FAFSA has gone from a paper application to an online application. But what exactly is the FAFSA? Most say it's hell! Students, parents, and financial aid professionals alike feel it's a bloated application that's tedious to complete and doesn't take into consideration true family finances. The FAFSA application asks for prior year income and current assets. Prior year income for 2009-10 is the parent and student's 2008 federal tax return Adjusted Gross Income, or 2008 wages earned if a federal tax return wasn't filed. In addition, some untaxed income such as child support is also counted. There are some offsets that reduce the overall income including child support paid by a student and/or parent and wages earned by the student through Federal Work Study. Assets include cash, savings, and checking, as well as investments and net worth of a business or possible farm. What it doesn't take into consideration is credit card debt, bankruptcy or foreclosure, or home mortgage. On top of that, if you are lucky enough to have a trust fund, you must also report that value as an asset. The value of assets is at the time the FAFSA is filed, so when I talk to students and parents I tell them to pay all bills out of checking or savings before they sit down and complete the FAFSA. Once the FAFSA is filed, a Federal Methodoloy is used to determine the Expected Family Contribution. I think I'll save explanation of the Federal Methodology and Expected Family Contribution for another post. The FAFSA is meant to capture the essence of the family income situation, but it falls short. It does not take into consideration loss or reduction of employment or other financial distress, which is prevalent in this current economy. There is an ongoing struggle to streamline the FAFSA process and make it easier for students and their families to not only complete the complicated form, but provide a true picture of the family's financial situation to determine financial aid eligibility. Cross your fingers that that happens.
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The federal Pell Grant is a grant awarded to needy students who are deemed eligible by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). There is no magic income level that determines eligibility. A Federal Methodology formula is used to determine the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) using information provided on the FAFSA. Once the FAFSA is completed, the student's chosen schools are sent the FAFSA information and EFC electronically. Using the EFC and a federal Pell Grant eligibility chart, the school then notifies the student of Pell Grant eligibility. In most cases, if a student's financial aid award letter does not list Pell Grant, then the student did not qualify for the need-based grant. To determine how Pell Grants are effectively helping students, or whether additional funding is needed (duh!), the National Center for Education Statistics released a report on the demographics of Pell Grant recipients who graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1999-2000. To be included in the report, a student had to have received a Pell Grant some time during their education. It is interesting to see how the monies were spent: - 60% of Pell Grant recipients were female, with 40% being male.
- The largest majority graduated in the age range of 23-24, which is pretty consistent with graduating in 4-5 years right out of high school. The next largest group was 25-29 at 26.9%, but 18.8% were age 30 or older.
- Surprisingly, the highest percentage of Pell Grant recipients came from households where the parents have a high school or less education. Parents with at least a bachelor's degree came in next at 36.0%, with parents with some college bringing up the rear at 22.9%.
- Almost two-thirds (63.3%) of students are white, with black and hispanic the next highest levels at 11.8% and 13.2%, respectively. The remainder of recipients were Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, or other.
This data tends to support what I hear from students: many are first-generation students who are striving to be the first in their family to get a college education. The data also supports the concerns of colleges that minorities are still underrepresented. I wish that data was available for more recent Pell Grant recipients. After all, this data is almost 10 years old. I would venture to guess that the percentage of students who graduate in the age 30 or older category has signifcantly increased from the 18.8% in 1999-2000. Still, it is interesting to see the breakdown of how Pell Grant monies are spent. I would have like to have seen the income/EFC ratios.
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Are you a veteran? Are you enrolled in the new Post 9/11 GI Bill? In past posts, I've discussed the eligibility requirements for the new GI Bill, which pays up to 100% tuition and fees, depending on your state's highest public school in-state undergraduate tuition and fee rate, plus housing expenses and book costs. More information about the new Post 9/11 GI Bill can be found on the Veterans Administration website. So, how is Yellow Ribbon different? Remember the payment of up to 100% tuition and fees at your state's public college in-state undergraduate tuition and fee rate? You may be paying tuition and fees that are in excess of this amount. Unless your school participates in Yellow Ribbon, you're responsible for any excess of the standard amount of tuition and fees that the new Post 9/11 GI Bill will pay. If your school participates in Yellow Ribbon, that excess amount of tuition and fees may be lower with the college kicking in a portion of the remaining tuiton/fees and the government kicking in a portion also. Colleges have the option of participating in Yellow Ribbon. And they have the option of how much they want to "kick in", up to 50% of the excess. My main reason for writing this is to let you know that I attended a webinar and the University of Phoenix was mentioned as one school who is paying 50% of the excess, with the government paying the other 50%. That means you pay nothing in tuition and fees. That's great! I tried to look up other online schools participating with eLearners.com, but the VA website goes by state and I don't know where the home institutions are to check other online schools. The Yellow Ribbon program is not without limitations. To qualify, you must be eligible for the full new Post 9/11 GI Bill. A percentage of eligibility will not qualify. I highly recommend that you take a look at the Yellow Ribbon website. There is a chart that lists your state's maximum tuition and fee allowance. If your costs exceed this, check with your school to see if they participate in Yellow Ribbon. The program mainly benefits students in graduate school, and in private and for-profit colleges, which includes many online schools.
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I had not heard of this before,but the University of Illinois had launched a major campaign to create a Global Campus where students could earn a degree completely online. It was a good idea, allowing student across the country, and even the world, to get a degree from a highly respected Big 10 college through 100% online courses. The program was separate from any degree through coursework taken on campus. Sadly, the plan has been scrapped. The goal of Global Campus was to enroll 9,000 students by 2012, and 50,000 students before the year 2020. The program would have been larger than on campus enrollment. At the time the program was axed, only 500 students were enrolled. In the short time of its existence, the program did graduate several dozen students. So why didn't the Global Campus work? So many colleges offer distance learning courses as a part of their curriculum, but the U of I found that having a separate, accredited online program just couldn't compete with the dozens of existing online for-profit institutions that already offer degrees as a lower cost. In addition, many professors and administrators felt the U of I brand would suffer with a less-than-quality education through online learning. Obviously, these professors and administrators didn't have enough confidence in themselves to deliver high-quality instruction via online. Bottom lines: too much competition and not enough academic support. This was a great missed opportunity for online students. Having a major college support online learning would emphasize the ability for students to get a good education via distance learning. Instead, distance learning still carries the stigma that online instruction can't deliver a quality education. In his August 31 post, Cajun talks about his experience with online learning, in which he has been successful with earning three degrees! Still, I'm hopeful that as the demand for online learning continues to grow, colleges will reassess the quality of education gained from distance learning. As veterans of the education field retire, younger adminstrators and professors with technology experience may step in and step up. The University of Illinois has a strict admission standard (except for those admitted by Governor Blagoyevich!), but other schools across the country graduate students just as smart-even online.
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With the death of any famous individual comes a multitude of reflections on that person's life. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy is no different. What is different about Senator Kennedy is his legislative accomplishments for higher education, among other high-profile subjects like health care. Since his inaugural Senate year in 1962, Senator Kennedy was a driving force to enhance education that allows equal access to all. I'm not on a soapbox tonight. Rather, I would just like to highlight some of the senator's involvement in education, which plays such an integral part of what's available today for financial assistance: - A driving force behind the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide an educational opportunity to all Americans.
- Heavily supported the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, completed in 1968. Out of this came the Student Services Program and enhanced Upward Bound and Talent Search. These three programs are still commonly referred today as TRIO.
- In 1972, worked along side Senator Claiborne Pell to create the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG), which is now called the Pell Grant.
- Probably most notably, was a key player in the creation of the government's Direct Lending program in 1993.
- As Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in 2007, passed the College Cost Reduction Act which increased federal financial aid by $23 billion. This Act increases the Pell Grant over time and continues to reduce the Stafford Loan interest rates through 2011.
- Worked with Senator Mike Enzi (Wyoming) to pass the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2008. This Act simplified the FAFSA, expanded aid for veterans and students with disabilities, established an ethics practice for colleges and lenders, and mandated better access of college costs for families.
- Also in 2008, passed the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act which reduces family reliance on private alternative loans and increased limits on federal Stafford Loans. As a result, an ensuing crackdown on wasteful spending stabilized the lending industry and has kept the fees charged by lenders to student loans at a minimum.
Senator Kennedy was also responsible for establishing programs to enhance education and job skills to enter the workforce, as well as working diligently to expand education resources through reauthorization of the Vocational Education Amendments of 1968. No one says it better than Drew Faust, President of Harvard (December 1, 2008) when he said, "No United States senator has committed more of his time and his wisdom to the advancement of American higher education. Thanks to him, students across the spectrum have the opportunity to pursue their ambitions." Rest in peace, Senator.
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