Financial Aid Offices Report Increases in Aid Applications, Awards and Appeals

Recession, rising enrollment, changes to eligibility criteria, and Obama administration actions increase demand for aid and administrative burden for financial aid offices

This year, more students are applying and qualifying for need-based financial aid and more financial aid offices are being asked to reassess financial aid packages to reflect recent changes to families' financial situations, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

"This survey demonstrates a growing demand for financial aid and a growing burden for financial aid offices," said NASFAA Interim President Joan Crissman. "As Congress works to overhaul the student aid programs, it should address these trends by directing program savings to increase funding for need-based aid and simplifying the student aid system."

The Numbers

The survey of nearly 500 financial aid offices asked financial aid administrators to compare the number of aid applications, awards, and appeals this year to last year. The survey found that:

61 percent of higher education institutions have seen applications for financial aid increase by 10 percent or more compared to last year. Another 28 percent of institutions have seen applications increase less than 10 percent and only 8 percent reported no increase.
63 percent reported that the number of Pell Grant recipients has increased by more than 10 percent this year compared to last year. Another 25 percent reported an increase of less than 10 percent, and only 5 percent reported no increase.
65 percent reported a 10 percent or greater increase in the number of aid appeals this year compared to the 2008-09 award year. Another 21 percent reported an increase of less than 10 percent in appeals, and only 7 percent reported no increase.
51 percent reported an increase of 10 percent or more in the number of students who still had financial need after using federal and state funds. Another 20 percent of institutions saw an increase of less than 10 percent in the number of these students and 17 percent reported no increase in the number of these students.
55 percent said they have increased institutional aid for students. Of the 41 percent that have not increased institutional aid, the majority (60 percent) said they didn't have any additional institutional aid to offer students.
Four-year institutions were more likely to offer additional institutional aid this year than two-year schools. Nearly three in four (74 percent) four-year institutions increased institutional aid while 71 percent of two-year schools said they did not increase institutional aid.

Behind the Numbers

There are several trends that seem to drive the dramatic increase in aid applications, awards and appeals. Financial aid administrators who filled out the survey highlighted the economic downturn, actions taken by the Obama administration to encourage unemployed workers to apply for aid and appeal aid awards, recent changes to the formula used to determine aid eligibility, and rising enrollments as causes for the increases this year.

More Work for Financial Aid Offices

The increases in aid applications, awards and appeals are increasing the administrative burden for financial aid offices. Many financial aid administrators noted that they are also seeing an increase in verification -- a time consuming requirement where the financial aid office verifies data provided on the aid application. Financial aid offices must handle the increase in applications, professional judgments and verifications with the same or fewer resources because higher education institutions are trying to cut costs to balance budgets that have been hit by the economic downturn

"The increase on professional judgments alone is so much more work and we certainly did not receive any extra help to do this process," one aid administrator noted.

"This has been the most difficult and stressful year that I have ever experienced in my 34+ years as a financial aid administrator," another commented.

An in depth analysis of the survey is available online.

Media Coverage

More Students Are Applying and Qualifying for Need-Based Financial Aid, Survey Finds The Chronicle of Higher Education

Aid Requests and Grant Recipients Rise With Economic Woes, Survey Shows Inside Higher Ed

Posted 09/24/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.