State financial aid in Delaware Sarah Pingel & Molly Sarubbi College Affordability Summit Dover, Delaware June 2, 2017

Agenda State Financial Aid 101 Delaware’s Aid Policy Environment Alternative State Examples State Financial Aid Redesign Principles & Recommendations

State Financial Aid 101 $12.5 billion nationally across scholarships, grants, state-funded loans, work-study, etc. in 2015 4.6 million students served

State Financial Aid 101: Expenditures Notice that CA and NY account for $3 billion of the $11.7 in state aid

State Financial Aid 101: Spending per Student (2015)

Delaware’s Aid Policy Environment In 2015, the state of Delaware funded 22 state financial aid programs Individual program expenditures ranged in size from over $4 million to under $25,000. In total, these programs served over 9,000 Delaware students. Allude to the fact that Shana gave us the highlights of these major programs earlier in the day

Historical expenditures in three main state aid programs The figure below charts the historical expenditures in each of these three main state aid programs in place in Delaware SEED: Serves 1/3 of student population (largest program) with steadily increasing financial investment Univ of Del: General Fund and other state-funded aid totaling $6.5 million were disbursed to 1,042 students in 2014, Univ of DE funds go directly to institutions, not through state department of education Legislative oversight Disparate levels of oversight between two and four year institutions Sector and/or system specificity With the largest # of Fin Aid programs in the country, fewer programs are integrated and available across sectors in the state. Varying eligibility criteria across programs may result in disproportionate support between two and four year programs.

State Comparisons State Total Student Enrollment # Aid of Programs Grant & Scholarship Expenditures Recipients Montana 43,848  6 $5,044,534 5,397 Maine 49,646  1 $14,008,575 18,068 Hawaii 49,939  2 $3,589,702 1,643 Delaware 52,278  22 $23,502,640 9,688 Nevada 66,564  $35,407,891 25,462 Characterized by large institutional autonomy in DE- can we talk about that or is that a sore spot in DE? Point out that these figures include both resident and nonresident enrollment Talking point: public institutions are majority out-of-state students with exception of community colleges. Be careful to make a point to say that these include nonresident enrollment. Delaware is going to provide a handout of the list of programs and where they are administered and the disbursement amounts, not the recipient counts.

Similar: Hawaii One main state university system Financial aid is routed through the university system, not a state department of (higher) education Awards are made based on in-state high school graduation and achievement

Different: Nevada Larger system of state universities, colleges, & community colleges coordinated through a system office Financial aid administered through system office In 2nd year of awarding need-based aid to college-ready students https://www.nevada.edu/ir/Page.php?p=ssog

Similar in Terms of Spending Arizona ($22.9 million) High degree of institutional control Aid funded through institutional tuition revenue with limited legislative support District of Columbia ($23.5 million) All district aid administered through centralized K12 focused agency Aid focuses on needy high school graduates Speak to normalizing the challenges that other states face, provide context as to why states make the choices that they do and the consequences of those decisions Bring back to the talking points- its not really how aid is administered, but at the end of the day all of these states face similar challenges with affordability

Four Redesign Principles for State Financial Aid Student-Centered Goal-Driven, Data Informed Timely and Flexible Broadly Inclusive Food for thought as legislators go about rethinking affordability and aid in Delaware

Proactive recipient notification California Proactive recipient notification Oklahoma Early awarding/ notification Core Elements: Passive eligibility Support students first- rethink using aid as a conduit for institutional support Consider student decision-cycles California High schools provide GPAs to CSAC DELAWARE RECENTLY WENT THROUGH THIS CHANGE AS WELL! STUDENTS JUST NEED TO SAY WHERE THEY ARE GOING, NOT PROVIDE ALL APP DATA FOR NEED-BASED GRANT. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE OTHER COMPONENTS. Oklahoma/Washington: Early promise/notification programs, preferably that do not require a secondary income check (data from Indiana)

Monitoring goals & institutional eligibility frameworks Mississippi Minnesota Monitoring goals & institutional eligibility frameworks Mississippi Program consolidation For Delaware: FINANCIAL AID SHOULD BE USED IN THE CONTEXT OF ADDRESSING AFFORDABILITY- NOT IN TERMS OF HONORING IMPORTANT PEOPLE IF WE WANT THESE PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY, ARE THEY DESIGNED TO MAKE THAT PROBLEM BETTER? Core Elements: Broad input into state goals Explicit links to data for assessment Accountability implications Holistic view of funding sources Minnesota Mississippi/ program consolidation– THEY LIKE THIS. LINKAGES TO THE LABOR FORCE. WE HAVE TIGHT RESOURCES AND STUDENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING, LET’S POOL THOSE RESOURCES TO THE MOST HIGH-IMPACT STUDENTS AND FIELDS.

Reserving funds at multiple deadlines Oregon Reserving funds at multiple deadlines Tennessee Reconnect grants available without an application Core Elements: Avoid exhausting funds based on deadlines Decouple award schedule from traditional academic calendar Oregon Tennessee/ Reconnect: BILL RUNNING RIGHT NOW FOR CC/TC STUDENTS. (Read for background but do not need to mention.)

Pro-rating awards for part-time students Pennsylvania Illinois Pro-rating awards for part-time students Pennsylvania Flexibility for funding distance education Core Elements Allows for full or part time enrollment Synchronizes pace of funding and degree completion Funds progress no matter how it takes place Illinois Pennsylvania/distance ed

Questions for Policymakers to Consider How can programs best be designed around student needs- both traditional and non traditional? Is there space for a conversation about state aid that includes a global look at all programs?

Q&A Sarah Pingel, Ed.D. Senior Policy Analyst spingel@ecs.org 303.299.3695 @sarah_pingel Molly Sarubbi Policy Researcher msarubbi@ecs.org 303.299.3606 @MollySarubbi www.ecs.org