With student financial aid programs taking center stage in the U.S. Senate affairs, college administrators, students and higher education leaders gathered in a conference call Wednesday to discuss how to make college education affordable.
The conference, organized by the Coalition for Better Student Loans, correlates with a recent study conducted by the group whose mission is to improve the conditions of federal student aid programs and make higher education universally affordable.
The study, composed of 400 telephone interviews with college students, revealed firm sentiments among the interviewees desiring change in the existing loan programs.
More than 91 percent of those interviewed favored increases in current allotments. Ironically, approximately half of them incorrectly assumed that the maximum amount a student can receive from the government is more than $10,000. However, the actual ceiling for a college freshman, for example, is only $2,625.
“Paying for college is a major investment. It simply makes sense to use student federal loans,” Jim Boyle of the College Parents of America said. “Federal student loans are a great investment.”
Boyle said if adjustments are not made to match current tuition demands, many students may attempt to tackle the costs in potentially damaging and inappropriate ways.
Students in the study said if financial aid did not meet tuition costs, they would take on several jobs, pay tuition with a credit card or take out private loans.
Kyle W. Arganbright, student body president at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, said bringing financial aid levels up to par would give students the chance to focus on the main point of college: education.
In light of such prospects, the CBSL and other national higher education facilities are drafting plans to give students the upper hand in financial matters. For example, students entering the work force with lower-paying jobs, such as teaching, may receive “forgiveness” from the government, entitling them more time to pay back loans. Among others, some proposals would work to increase the amount financial programs could disperse, while another would eliminate origination fees.
Dallas Martin, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said that while these proposals would have a generally beneficial effect on universities, individual colleges could maintain their current financial systems so that the interests of their students are kept at the forefront of concerns.
“What we’re trying to do is provide as much flexibility as we can,” he said, noting the financial needs of individuals may differ from college to college.
Despite these proposed changes, both students and higher education leaders said an increase in grants would provide the ultimate solution to the problems plaguing student finances.
Even though this form of financial aid would be more beneficial than student loans, Martin said, such increases are not a realistic wish. With a large federal budget deficit cursing Congress, significant increases are far from being passed, he said.
Although the survey aimed to compare students’ feelings to those of higher education leaders, it came under fire by the Alliance for Access and Affordability, who said the survey questions were skewed.
Congress is currently in the process of possibly extending the Higher Education Act. Thus, the proposals are still being debated.
