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

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

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

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

8. State Financial Aid 101: Spending per Student (2015)

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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.

18. 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.)

19. 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

20. 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?

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