Congress has recently passed important legislation to make college more affordable, but these gains will go for naught if the government does not start playing a bigger role in requiring universities to be more transparent about their costs, writes Stephen Burd of Higher Ed Watch. If college costs do not become more transparent, then many schools could easily wipe out historic gains for students by simply raising tuition or diverting need-based aid toward wealthier students.
By Stephen Burd
Higher Ed Watch
Now that Congress has approved a substantial increase in need-based, federal financial aid, it is important that students, families, and policymakers learn more about how colleges are spending their own institutional financial aid dollars. It would be disappointing if the new infusion of need-based, federal financial aid had the unintended consequence of encouraging colleges to either cut their own institutional financial aid budgets, reduce their rate of growth, or shift dollar-for-dollar their own institutional financial aid resources toward non-need based, "merit" aid programs.
Currently, the federal government collects very little information from colleges about institutional aid practices. College leaders have been resistant to efforts secure greater sunshine in the area. They warn against unnecessary government intrusion in their affairs. Of course, they tend not to mention all the benefits the government, make that the public, provides them -- not the least of which are the very valuable benefits they receive as a result of their tax-exempt status.
We at Higher Ed Watch think that government and the public has an interest in knowing the degree to which institutions of higher education may be acting in ways that counter public policy goals. For example, to what extent are schools engaging in financial aid leveraging – that is, taking money that would normally go to admitted, but financially needy students, and instead giving it to admitted, high achieving high school students who overwhelmingly come from wealthy families. Such practices may thwart the federal government's public policy goal to increase access to college for those who need the most financial help.
To read more, please visit our site, HigherEdWatch.org