Financial aid panel calls for reforms that may solve Hopkins students' monetary issues
The Rethinking Student Aid Study Group, comprised of financial aid officers from around the country, released a set of proposals last week for reforms in federal financial aid.
The Hopkins financial aid office has expressed concern with the current financial aid process.
"We have received feedback from students and parents saying they had a difficult time understanding the aid application process, and we are currently looking at ways to simplify our own policies," Vincent Amoroso, director of the Office of Student Financial Services, wrote in an e-mail. "However, with the federal government being the driving force behind the look and feel of the FAFSA, there is only so much we can do."
The Study Group offered suggestions that, instead of the Free Application for Student Aid, colleges should get financial information through the IRS, that Pell Grants should be determined solely by family size and gross income rather than by family assets, that families should be alerted every year of the aid their children are eligible for, and that the number of federal scholarships should be cut so that Pell Grants can be more generous.
"It's a persistent puzzle that fewer people go to college than really ought to," Rethinking Student Aid Researcher and Assistant Professor of Education at Vanderbilt Will Doyle said. "If you look at going on to higher education, it's one of the best investments we could possibly make."
Amoroso said his office has been reviewing financial aid policies to facilitate the procedure.
"We are currently in the process of reviewing our aid policies and how we communicate and interact with students," Amoroso said. "Without a doubt, our goal is to try and take a complex process and to make it as user friendly and understandable as possible. However, this isn't always easy when your biggest partner is the federal government."
According to Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the federal government needs to ensure that aid is going to students looking to go into the for-profit sector, or those who otherwise plan to make use of this investment.
The Hopkins financial aid office has expressed concern with the current financial aid process.
"We have received feedback from students and parents saying they had a difficult time understanding the aid application process, and we are currently looking at ways to simplify our own policies," Vincent Amoroso, director of the Office of Student Financial Services, wrote in an e-mail. "However, with the federal government being the driving force behind the look and feel of the FAFSA, there is only so much we can do."
The Study Group offered suggestions that, instead of the Free Application for Student Aid, colleges should get financial information through the IRS, that Pell Grants should be determined solely by family size and gross income rather than by family assets, that families should be alerted every year of the aid their children are eligible for, and that the number of federal scholarships should be cut so that Pell Grants can be more generous.
"It's a persistent puzzle that fewer people go to college than really ought to," Rethinking Student Aid Researcher and Assistant Professor of Education at Vanderbilt Will Doyle said. "If you look at going on to higher education, it's one of the best investments we could possibly make."
Amoroso said his office has been reviewing financial aid policies to facilitate the procedure.
"We are currently in the process of reviewing our aid policies and how we communicate and interact with students," Amoroso said. "Without a doubt, our goal is to try and take a complex process and to make it as user friendly and understandable as possible. However, this isn't always easy when your biggest partner is the federal government."
According to Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the federal government needs to ensure that aid is going to students looking to go into the for-profit sector, or those who otherwise plan to make use of this investment.
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