Dive Brief:
- A new report recommends bringing state financial aid programs in line with the needs of today’s students, many of whom are not recent high school graduates.
- The study from the Education Commission of the States advocates disbursing state financial aid directly to students, rather than institutions, and granting it to students who study for longer than four years or go to school less than full-time, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
- The report also recommends that states make alternative programs eligible for state aid, including competency-based models that let students earn credit by proving previously acquired skills.
Dive Insight:
The new report argues state financial aid models haven’t adapted to the changing profile of college students. That seems to be true. However, there is not a surplus of financial aid dollars that simply don’t make it to students. Expanding opportunities to nontraditional students is an important goal. It must be acknowledged, though, that doing so will necessarily mean reducing the aid money available to traditional students unless states allocate more money toward financial aid. The Education Commission of the States, in this report, is focusing on disbursement policy alone.