1. Presentation Prepared for: The Illinois Board of Higher Education Higher Education Summit: “Dollars & Sense” November 9, 2005 Chicago, Illinois

2. 2 G About the Advisory Committee Access and Persistence for Students from Low- and Moderate-Income Families: Defining terms Identifying the problem Pinpointing causes Specifying solutions ACSFA Reauthorization Recommendations Overview of Presentation

3. 3 G Overview of the Advisory Committee Independent: created by Congress in 1986 Purpose: To advise Congress and the Secretary of Education on higher education and financial aid policy Primary Goal: To make recommendations that increase access and persistence for low- and moderate-income students An independent committee created by Congress to advise on higher education and student aid policy

4. 4 Defining Terms

5. 5 G Net price or work-loan burden at four-year public colleges is the best measure of access for students from low- and moderate-income families Cost of Attendance vs. Net Price Cost of Attendance or Published Price: tuition and fees + room and board + books and supplies + transportation + basic living costs Net price: cost of attendance – grant aid (what students and families actually pay) or family work-loan burden

6. 6 G Defining Terms College Costs vs. Student Costs “How much it costs colleges to operate and how much institutions charge for their product are linked only indirectly and inconsistently. When a college's costs go down, tuition does not typically drop with it. Ideas for reducing institutions' costs would not necessarily translate into savings for students unless colleges took steps to guarantee that result.” Dr. David W. Breneman, Dean Curry School of Education University of Virginia

7. 7 G Defining Terms Lowering Costs for Whom? “Slowing the spiraling published tuition levels is critical, but costs of attendance will always be too high to make college accessible to students from low-income families without innovative and generous programs of grant aid…any solution to the college affordability problem must involve reductions in the cost of quality education as well as increased and better-targeted subsidies for students with high-levels of economic need.” Dr. Sandy Baum Senior Policy Analyst, College Board Professor of Economics, Skidmore College

8. 8 Identifying the Problem

9. 9 G Factors Affecting Access and Persistence “… access and persistence behavior is very complex: a sequential process beginning before middle school with numerous factors involved, many of which are interrelated. These factors, of course, include: family income and background, including parents’ education; level of academic preparation; adequate counseling and mentoring; quality and timing of information; the delivery system, including application forms and processes; and, last but not least, financial aid.” Dr. Juliet V. García, President University of Texas at Brownsville Former ACSFA Chair and Vice Chair

10. 10 G Identifying the Problem ACSFA Focus: The Role of Financial Aid “The message … is not that financial aid is more important than family background, or parents’ education, or academic preparation, or counseling, or information. Rather, the message is that inadequate financial aid, at the margin, has undermined all of our efforts and the hard work of students in all of the other areas, and—all things being equal—will continue to do so. … The nation needs a comprehensive strategy and approach that addresses all the factors simultaneously.” Dr. Juliet V. García, President University of Texas at Brownsville Former ACSFA Chair & Vice Chair

11. 11 G Courtesy: Michael McPherson (2005) Identifying the Problem Enrollment Rate of High School Graduates by Income, 1975-2003

12. 12 G Identifying the Problem Percentage of 1992 High School Graduates Attending College in 1994, by Achievement Test and Socioeconomic Status Quartile Source: Access Denied, p. 13 Achievement Quartile SES Quartile LowestHighest 78%97% Lowest36%77%

13. 13 G Identifying the Problem Postsecondary Enrollment Rates of 1992 High School Graduates, by Family Income and Math Test Scores, at Four-year Public Colleges Source: Education Pays 2004, pg. 30 Courtesy: Michael McPherson (2005) TEST SCORES Lowest Income Level Highest Income Level Lowest Scores15%27% Middle Scores33%59% Top Scores68%84%

14. 14 Source: Postsecondary Education Opportunity Identifying the Problem Percentage of Students Who Earned a BA by Age 24 Family Income 19752003 Under $35,901 7%9% Over $95,040 38%95%

15. 15 Pinpointing Causes

16. 16 Pinpointing Causes Key Findings from Access Denied (2001) Large differences persist in enrollment rates by income Priorities have shifted to merit aid and affordability for the middle class High unmet need for low-income students has a negative impact on their enrollment patterns

17. 17 Pinpointing Causes State Grant Aid: Need vs. Merit Aid Source: Trends in Student Aid (2005) Courtesy: Dr. Sandy Baum Non need-based grants Need-based grants Non need-based grants

18. 18 Pinpointing Causes Contribution of Empty Promises (2002) Focused only on those low-income students who were college-qualified, high school graduates to isolate the effects of financial aid Refined the discussion of financial barriers to focus on net price or work/loan burden Calculated aggregate national losses from the access pipeline over the upcoming decade Measured the impact of financial barriers across the full access pipeline through degree completion

19. 19 Pinpointing Causes Key Findings from Empty Promises

20. 20 Pinpointing Causes Key Findings from Empty Promises

21. 21 Pinpointing Causes Key Findings from Empty Promises

22. 22 Pinpointing Causes Key Findings from Empty Promises

23. 23 Pinpointing Causes Losses Attributable to Financial Barriers

24. 24 Pinpointing Causes The Current Condition of Access: Work-Loan Burden and Net Price Net price or work-loan burden at four-year public colleges is rising steadily for students from low- and moderate-income families

25. 25 Pinpointing Causes The Current Condition of Access: Work-Loan Burden and Net Price In its publication, “What Every Student Should Know About Federal Aid,” the American Council on Education (ACE) illustrates that the financial aid package of the lowest income resident students at a state university can now include over $10,000 in annual work-loan burden: $2,300 in work and nearly $8,000 in loans per year.

26. 26 Pinpointing Causes The Current Condition of Persistence: Bachelor’s Degree Attainment by Income Large differences exist in bachelor’s degree attainment rates among college-qualified high school graduates by family income

27. 27 Pinpointing Causes The Cost of Public Four-year College as a Percentage of Family Income Source: Trends in College Pricing (2005) Courtesy: Dr. Sandy Baum 1992-1993 2003-2004

28. 28 Pinpointing Causes Percentage of Family Income Required to Pay for College at Public 4-year Colleges (2004) Source: Measuring Up: the State-by-State Report Card (2004) National Ranking (#1 = Best) All income levels Lowest Income Quintile Highest Income Quintile Michigan (#40)78.7%9.1% Illinois (#36)72.3%9.1% Indiana (#31)66.4%9.1% National (#29)68.6%8.2% Iowa (#28)63.3%9.7% Wisconsin (#4)49.9%7.4%

29. 29 Pinpointing Causes Work-Loan Burden and Net Price in Illinois Source:-

30. 30 Declining Purchasing Power of the MAP Grant: Change in Pell Grant and MAP maximum awards over the past ten years, adjusted for inflation Source: Illinois Student Assistance Commission Pinpointing Causes

31. 31 Pinpointing Causes Declining Purchasing Power of the MAP Grant: Percentage of average tuition and fees covered by the maximum announced MAP award Source: Illinois Student Assistance Commission

32. 32 Specifying Solutions

33. 33 Specifying Solutions Lowering Unmet Need and Work-Loan Burden Today, equalizing unmet need between low- and high-income students would require additional grant aid of over $4,000.

34. 34 Specifying Solutions ACSFA Recommendations ACSFA does not make recommendations to Congress or the Secretary of Education concerning budget levels or appropriations. It was created to provide independent, bipartisan, technical and objective advice, not to make judgments about legislative funding priorities. We transmitted our findings that: Record-level work-loan burden at public colleges will exacerbate income-related gaps in access and persistence, and Improvements in academic preparation, information, and counseling will not solve the problem.

35. 35 Specifying Solutions ACSFA Role in HEA Reauthorization and Reauthorization Recommendations Provide technical assistance to House and Senate staff across a broad range of student aid issues. Made two recommendations: To create a new access and persistence partnership; and To simplify student aid delivery, forms, and processes from middle school through degree completion.

36. 36 Specifying Solutions ACSFA Partnership Proposal Recommendation: Create an access and persistence partnership between the federal government, states, colleges, and private philanthropic groups. Purpose Implement a comprehensive strategy effectively aimed at all of the factors that affect access and persistence. Improve integration and coordination among existing programs. Objective: Provide low-income students with: Adequate grant aid to reduce work-loan burden Early assurances of financial access to four-year institutions Incentives to increase participation in early intervention programs

37. 37 Specifying Solutions ACSFA Simplification Recommendations The Student Aid Gauntlet Report One-year study from Congress Ten recommendations to simplify the application process and specific aspects of need analysis Examples of Key Recommendations: Create a comprehensive system of early financial aid information Simplify and streamline FAFSA on the Web

38. 38 Panel Discussion and Questions

39. 39 Contact Information Judith N. Flink Vice Chairperson of the Advisory Committee, Executive Director of University Student Financial Services, The University of Illinois jflink@uillinois.edu Nicole A. Barry Deputy Director nicole.barry@ed.gov Erin B. Renner Assistant Director erin.renner@ed.gov (202) 219-2099