Dr. Barbara Keener, Capella UniversityDr. Linda Delgado, SUNY, New Paltz

Emily Coleman, Midway CollegeMelissa Allen, Hartwick College

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Provide snapshot of student financial need and affordability issuesGive overview of new Federal higher education legislation and implicationsDiscuss best practices at two and four yearDiscuss best practices at two- and four-year institutionsIllustrate needs of a particular minority group of students through results of case study

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Unprecedented financial need and number of applications in 09/10 and for 10/11

Changes in family circumstancesChanges in family circumstances

Increasing cost of higher education

Retention issues

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PELL Grant EFC and maximum awardAcademic Competitiveness and SMART GrantsTEACH GrantAdditional Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford eligibilityTransition to Direct LoansVeterans’ Benefits

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Professional Judgment (PJ)

Special institutional funds

H i k C ll ’ 3 dHartwick College’s 3-year degree program

Financing options

Reminding families of the investment they are making in higher education

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Over the past ten years tuition and fees have increased ◦ 52% @ 4-year institutions◦ 26% @ 2-year institutions ◦ California is scheduled for a more than 30% increase

from 09/10 to 10/11 academic year (Pastedo, 2006).

Pell Grant now only covers 38% of tuition, forcing students to turn to the student loan system (Reed, 2000).

There are over 22 million student loan borrowers holding over $287 billion in debt (Porter, et al, 2006).

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Persistence Literature Review Related to Financial Aid◦ Tinto (1993)◦ Astin (1993)◦ Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, and Associates (2005) ◦ Pascarella and Terenzini (2005)

Due to the lack of persistence literature, many institutions find themselves providing a reactive response to the current consumer demand and “negotiation” approach to financial aid awards (Wei, Li, Berkner & MPR Associates, 2004; Paulsen & Smart, 2002).

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Professional Judgment (PJ)

Special institutional funds

Financing options

Family Education on the Value of Education

But…is this sustainable? ◦ In 2008, institutional discounting levels reached as high as 50

percent in order to meet enrollment goals (Castagnera, 2009).Example

Villanova University “spent 3.5 million more this year than last” to recruit and retain the target number of students (Castagnera, 2009, p. 27).

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Table 1: Institutional Response to the Economy: A Three Year Comparison

# of Institutions

Program 09/10 08/09 Prior to 08/09

Tuition Freeze 11 4 4

Eliminating Tuition 0 8 13

Tuition Reduction 2 4 3

Lower Tuition Increases 33 0 0

Tuition Guarantee 0 0 10

Replacing Loans w/Grants/Reducing Parent Contribution 5 30 22

Eliminating Parent Contribution 0 3 1

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Matching Public Tuition 5 1 0

Matching State Scholarship Program 1 0 2

Four Year Graduation Guarantees 4 1 11

Discounted or Free Housing 0 1 1

Job Guarantee 1 0 5

Accelerated Degree Programs 3 0 13

Community College Partnerships 1 0 7

529 Savings Plan Discounts 0 1 1

Eliminating Loan Interest 0 0 2

Two Year Commuter Option 0 1 0

Council of Independent Colleges

Do we…◦ Revisit the persistence literature?

◦ Review institutional long term ability to maintain current financial programs?

◦ Analyze the correlation between current practices and enrollment levels?

All of the above? None of the Above?

Other Options?

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Eight themes emerged from the focus group interview of Hispanic freshmen:

1.They did not know the real cost of their first year at college.

2.Affordability (or lack of) emerged as the prevailing concern.

3.The importance of maintaining good academic standing and its effects on their financial aid was known by all.

4.They understood the potential negative impact on their grades with increase of work hours.

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5. Finding co-signers for student loans was not an option for any of these participants.

6. They understood the value of completing their degree.

7 They acknowledge not having any debt7. They acknowledge not having any debt management skills or experience.

8. The commuter-student participants were also dealing with economic downturn first-hand and its effects on their parents and deteriorating financial situation at home.

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Debt avoidance and debt aversion needs further research for Hispanic college students. The qualitative data from this study reflects the importance of these considerations.

Future studies need to keep the affordability factor a prominent concern in the persistence process that includes p p pthe aspirations and the ability to earn a degree.

Debt or financial aid management should be learned in the high school years. In fact, the Bridge Project suggests that such information be passed on to students AND parents no later than 9th grade.

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The area of urban, commuter students is another area of potential research. Many of the students in the single school study were commuter students. The commuter status, family and work responsibilities, along with the ethnicity of the group being sampled, could be new areas of study.

Future research on commuter college students should take into consideration ethnicity/race of participants and theirinto consideration ethnicity/race of participants and their socio-economic status, especially during periods of economic downturn. The qualitative data revealed the negative effects of the “increased metro card cost” for one of the participants.

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This study began by addressing the growing need to understand the persistence process for Hispanic college students. This ethnic population is the fastest growing group entering into higher education and they are the least graduating. Years of institutional programs at all levels have increased access but this was only a first step. Institutions retain and students persist (Tinto, 1993). Students are active participants in this process and their perceptions of financialparticipants in this process and their perceptions of financial security and persistence matter. Affordability as Braxton (2000) described, is part of the persistence process. Affordability, especially during hard economic times, is understood differently by different cultures. Perceptions of financial security in the single school study impacted decisions to persist for the participants in the single school study.

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Federal Student Aid Handbook -http://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=fsahandbook&awardyear=2009-2010

Information for Financial Aid Professionals -http://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/index.jsp?

FinAid – The SmartStudentTM Guide to Financial Aid -http://www.finaid.org/

American Council on Education’s Summary of Education Provisions in the Healthcare and Reconciliation Act of 2010 -http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Papers_Publications&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=36019

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Getting Started – Schools New to Direct Loans http://www.direct.ed.gov/participating.htmlNASFAA’s Checklist for the Transition to Direct Loans -http://www.nasfaa.org/PDFs/2010/DLChecklist.pdfPost-911 GI Bill Overview -http://www.military.com/education/content/gi-bill/new-post-911-gi-bill-overview htmlgi bill overview.htmlYellow Ribbon Program -http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_BILL_Info/CH33/Yellow_ribbon.htmHow to Apply for GI Bill Benefits -http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/How_to_Apply.htmHartwick College’s Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Program -http://www.hartwick.edu/x26204.xml

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Astin, A. (1985). Achieving educational excellence: A critical assessment of priorities and practices in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Braxton, J.M., (Ed.) (2000). Reworking the student departure puzzle. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

Braxton, J.M., Brier, E.M. & Steele, S.L. (2007-8). Shaping retention from research to practice. Journal of College Student Retention, 9 (3). Retrieved on January 12, 2009 from http://baywood.com

Castagnera, J. (2009). Is getting through this what should we be striving for. Today’s Campus. p. 27-28.

Creswell, J.W. (2004). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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Dounay, J. (2008, November) Strategies to empower low-income and minority students in gaining admission to and paying for college. Education Commission of the United States: Policy Brief. Retrieved on July 20, 2009 from www.ecs.org

Hossler, J.P. & Bean, J.P. (1990). The strategic management of college enrollments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Immerwahr, J. (2003). With diploma in hand: Hispanic high school seniors talk about their future. San Jose, CA: National Center for Public Policy.

Kuh, G., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J., & Whitt, E. (2005). Student success in college: C ti diti th t tt S F i CA J BCreating conditions that matter. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Lewis, A.C. (2006, January). Education and demographic concerns. Tech Directions. 65, ( 6)__. Retrieved on August 20, 2009 from ABI/Inform Global Database.

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, (2008). Engaging higher education in societal challenges of the 21st century. April 2008: Special Report. Retrieved on September 13, 2008 from www.highereducation.org

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National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (2005, November). Policy Alert: Income of U.S. workforce projected to decline if education doesn’t improve. Retrieved on September 1, 2009 from www.highereducation.org

Noel-Levitz. Inc. (2007). National Research Report: 2006. Embracing diversity: Looking at Freshmen attitudes by race/ethnicity. Retrieved on December 16, 2007 from www.noellevitz.com

Noel-Levitz Inc. (2008). National Research Study. Third annual national freshmen attitude report. Retrieved on November 30, 2008 from www.noellevitz.com.

Noel-Levitz Inc. (2008). National Research Study. Addendum by race. Retrieved on N b 30 2008 f ll iNovember 30, 2008 from www.noellevitz.com

Noel-Levitz Inc. (2009). Student retention practices and strategies at four year and two year institutions: Noel-Levitz Report on Student Retention Trends. Retrieved on May 30, 2009 from www.noellevitz.com

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Pascarella, E. & Terenzini, P. (1991). How college affects students’ findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Paulsen, M.B & Smart, J.C. (2001). The finance of higher education: Theory, research, policy & practice. NY: Agathon Press.

Porter, J. Fossey, R., Davis, W., Burnett, M., Stuhlmann, J. & Suchy, P. (2006). Students’ perceptions of factors that affect college funding decisions. NAFSAA Journal of Student Financial Aid 36(1), 25-33.

R d K E (2000) Di ti t d di t T iti di ti llReed, K. E. (2000). Discounting towards disaster: Tuition discounting, college finances, and enrollments of low income undergraduate. USA Group Foundation. Indianapolis, IN. Retrieved on November 2, 2009 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/16/af/23.pdf.

Tashakkori, A. & Teddlie, C. (Eds.) (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago University Press.

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Torres, V. (2006). A mixed methods study testing data-model fit of a retention model for Latina/o students at urban universities. Journal of College Student Development. May/June, 2006. Retrieved on July 1, 2009 from Academic Premier Search.

Vela-Guide, L., Cavazos, Jr., J., Johnson, M.B., Fielding, C. (2009, April). “My counselors were never there”: Perceptions of Latino college students. Professional school counseling journal 12 (4)__. Retrieved on August 30, 2009 from Academic Premier Search.

Wei, Li, Berkner, & MPR Associates (2008). A decade of undergraduate student aid: 1989-1990 to 1999-2000. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics Retrieved October 9 2008 fromStatistics. Retrieved October 9, 2008, from http://nces.ed.gov/das/epubs/2004158

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QUESTIONS?

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