NASFAA’s Journal of Student Financial Aid is the only nationally-refereed journal devoted exclusively to research related to student financial aid. Published three times annually, the Journal reports on original research relevant to financial aid policy analysis, and promotes the continuation of research into current financial aid issues.
Recent articles in the Journal have focused on trends in merit-based financial aid, tuition discounting, student loan borrowing, and students’ use of credit cards to pay postsecondary education expenses.
Articles submitted for publication in the Journal are reviewed by an editorial board of higher education researchers and financial aid professionals. The guidelines for manuscript submission are outlined below. For more information, contact Linda Conard, Senior Associate Director of Communications, at (202) 785-0453 ext. 122, or ConardL@nasfaa.org.
Subscriptions to the Journal of Student Financial Aid
Subscriptions to the Journal of Student Financial Aid are available to individual researchers and libraries for $45/year. To subscribe, complete the subscription form on the NASFAA Web Site at http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2000/pubform.html.
If your institution is a member of NASFAA, a copy of the Journal is already sent to your campus. Check with your campus financial aid office or contact NASFAA at 202-785-0453 ext. 1 or membership@nasfaa.org for the name of the individual at your institution or organization who receives the Journal.
Journal Guidelines for Authors
The NASFAA Journal of Student Financial Aid invites the submission of manuscripts that report original research or discuss policy or position issues. The Editorial Board also welcomes correspondence about financial aid issues or articles and letters appearing in the Journal.
Writing and Organizing Manuscripts
Authors should present their material in clear and concise language appropriate for the general reader as well as financial aid administrators. Attention should be given to the use of proper English. The presentation and development of the theme should be orderly, avoiding irrelevancies and wordiness. Generally, articles are structured into segments with headings that suggest the logical progression from introduction to conclusion. Headings reflect the manuscript organization and denote the relative importance of each topic.
Research Articles
A research article should begin with an introductory statement of purpose, which does not have a heading. It should proceed with a discussion of recent and related research, followed by a presentation of the methodology. The analysis of the evidence follows, then conclusions and implications directly related to the evidence presented.
Statistics, Charts, and Graphs
Statistical data should be summarized in the text. Figures and tables must be clear, comprehensible, and used only when they add to the presentation or when they reduce the need for a lengthy discussion in the manuscript. Particularly complex research (including statistical terminology) should be explained in an understandable way for readers not fully acquainted with research methodology and analysis. Complicated graphs should be submitted with actual plotting points indicated.
Issue Articles
An issue article should address a position or a perspective on a student aid policy or topic. The headings should reflect the organization of the article. The author presents the issue in the introduction, which is not headed. Unlike the components of a research article, the sections of an issue article are arranged by relationship. The sections display the perspectives of others, the evidence and logical argument, and positive and negative implications. The conclusion should suggest next steps or otherwise finalize what has been introduced and argued earlier.
Style Manual
Questions of style should be referred to the fourth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Although the APA style has been historically oriented toward research, the APA stresses the adaptability of the style to more theoretical manuscripts.
Authors unfamiliar with the style should read the first chapter of the manual, "Content and Organization of a Manuscript," from which the primary points of these guidelines are derived. Copies are available in most college and university bookstores or may be ordered by calling the Order Department of the American Psychological Association at 800-374-2721.
Footnotes
Footnotes are generally avoided because they distract the reader. Reference citations are never footnoted, but are included in a reference list. Whenever possible, information germane to an article should be integrated within the text. Necessary supporting documentation may be included as an appendix. Table notes, author identification notes, and copyright permission footnotes are acceptable and are addressed in the APA Publication Manual.
References
The use of the APA reference is simple and straightforward. All references cited in the text must be listed alphabetically by author in a reference list at the end of the article. Since this list must enable the reader to locate the works cited, the reference data must be correct and contain all of the details necessary for identification and library research.
Reference materials not readily available to readers (unpublished works, papers presented at meetings, work in progress) should be cited only when they are essential to the article. They must be included in the reference list. As much information as possible should be noted, following the APA style, including: author, title, date, address from which material may be obtained, and whatever information is necessary to explain the source (for example, "Paper presented at the...").
Submission of Manuscripts
An original and three paper copies of your article should be submitted. If possible, articles should also be submitted on a 3½ inch IBM-compatible diskette in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect formats. If you wish to submit your article in a different format, please contact Linda Conard at NASFAA, 202-785-0453 ext. 122. Indicate on the disk which format was used. Diskettes will be returned if requested.
Manuscripts should be in upper and lower case. All copy, including indented material and references, should be double-spaced and generally no longer than 15 pages (including tables, figures, and references). The title of the article should appear at the top of the first page of text. Since the Editorial Board has a blind review policy, the author's name should not appear on any page of the text. A cover sheet should include the title of the manuscript, author's name, institutional affiliation, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and the date the manuscript is submitted.
Authors are also asked to include on the cover page a two to three sentence anecdotal description of the manuscript. Each page after the first page should be numbered. The disk, original manuscript, and three copies should be submitted to Joseph A. Russo, Director of Financial Aid, Office of Financial Aid, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556.
Acceptance Policy
Manuscripts will be acknowledged and then referred to members of the Editorial Board for review. When the Editorial Board completes its review, authors will be notified that their respective manuscripts have been accepted as submitted, accepted pending revisions, or rejected. The Editor retains the option to obtain final author approval for manuscripts that have been significantly altered in the editorial process.
Articles will be reviewed for substance and presentation. Please refer to "Writing and Organizing Manuscripts" above. The Editorial Board will consider the relevance of the article to current needs in the field, the significance of the idea or usefulness of the information, appropriate nature of any research method and/or logic of presentation, as well as clarity, syntax, and style, although these are the responsibilities of the author.
It is the general policy of the Editorial Board to accept articles not previously published elsewhere or not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors submitting a manuscript do so with the understanding that, if it is accepted for publication, copyright of the article will be assigned exclusively to the Journal of Student Financial Aid. The Board will not refuse any reasonable request by the author for permission to reproduce any part of it. The author alone is responsible for quotations from copyrighted materials.
Updated January 15, 2002.
