A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Objective 3.2. Postsecondary students receive the financial aid and support services they need to enroll in and complete their educational program.

Key strategies for FY 1999

• Student financial assistance. Department student aid programs will support nearly $51 billion in grant, loan, and work-study assistance to 8.8 million postsecondary students:
  • A $7.6 billion request for Pell Grants would increase the maximum award by $100 to $3,100 and provide grants to more than 3.9 million students.
  • A $900 million request for Work-Study would increase the number of recipients by 75,000 to more than 1 million.
  • A $619 million request for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants would support grants of up to $4,000 for more than 1 million students who receive Pell Grants or demonstrate exceptional financial need.
  • The request for Perkins Loans in conjunction with the revolving fund would maintain current levels of low-interest loan support for 788,000 students.
  • The Federal Family Education Loans and Federal Direct Student Loan programs would support 9.1 million loans to postsecondary students totaling an estimated $33.9 billion.
  • In addition to the $51 billion in student aid awards, an estimated 5.5 million students would receive $4.2 billion in HOPE Scholarship credits in 1999, while an additional 7.1 million students would benefit from $2.5 billion in Lifetime Learning credits.
  • A $20 million request for the new Access and Retention Innovations program would provide critical data on the effects of different student aid packages on postsecondary access and retention needed to better understand and, possibly, help redesign the student aid programs.

• Support services for postsecondary students.
  • The $583 million request for TRIO would enhance the Student Support Services and McNair programs, which are designed to encourage individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete college and pursue graduate studies. The request would fund services to an estimated 182,000 disadvantaged postsecondary students.
  • Implement recommendations of on-going evaluations to improve the TRIO and Title III programs.
  • Improve monitoring of higher education programs through redesigned performance reports and disseminate information regarding effective practices.

Coordination

• Work with the Treasury Department.
  • Consult with the IRS regarding publications for students and schools regarding steps needed for taxpayers to claim the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits.
  • Consult with the Treasury Department on the setting of student loan interest rates.

• Consult on reauthorization. Initiate discussions with interested groups and organizations regarding the upcoming passage and then subsequent implementation of the reauthorized Higher Education Act.

Programs supporting this objective

Selected performance indicators and charts

The percentage of borrowers with student loan debt repayments exceeding 10% of their income will remain stable or decline over time. (Goal 3, indicator 6)

Indicator background and context. In general it is believed that educational debt in excess of 10 percent of income will negatively affect a borrower's ability to repay his or her student loan and to obtain other credit.

Continued strong funding support for the Federal Pell Grant and other student aid programs, successful implementation of the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits, greater availability of flexible repayment options, and better debt counseling for borrowers are expected to prevent any further increases in the percentage of borrowers with student loan debt repayments in excess of 10 percent of their income.

Data source. 1986 and 1990 data, Survey of Recent College Graduates; 1993 data, Baccalaureate and Beyond Study. In the future, the Department will obtain debt burden data for a representative sample of all borrowers, not just recent college graduates.

Graduation rates for all students in four-year and two-year colleges will improve, while the gap in completion rates between low- and high-income and minority and non-minority students will decrease. (Goal 3, indicator 7)

Indicator background and context. Aiding students in completing their postsecondary educations is at least as important as helping them to enroll.

Funding increases for the student aid and support service programs are expected to reduce both financial and non-financial barriers that may prevent students, particularly low income students, from completing their postsecondary educations.

Data source. Beginning Postsecondary Student Study, 1990/94; next update, 2002.

Verification/validation of performance measures: Performance data obtained through independent surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics are subject to strict methodological standards. Data on the performance of the TRIO programs will be verified by comparing information from independent evaluations conducted by the Planning and Evaluation Service with that reported by grantees on their annual performance reports.

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[Objective 3.1]

[Objective 3.3]