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Rethinking Student Aid

Developing policy recommendations for financial aid reform

The Rethinking Student Aid study group of policy experts, academic researchers, and higher education professionals was convened to design a federal financial aid system that increases enrollment and success rates for low- and moderate-income students. Led by co-chairs Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst at the College Board and professor of economics at Skidmore College, and Mike McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation, the group spent two years studying the current system and discussing ways to make it more accessible to students and more effective in achieving national goals.

“We believe that the most important purpose of student aid is to expand the educational opportunities available to those young people and adults who face financial barriers to college enrollment and success.”
—Rethinking Student Aid Study Group

The study group's final report, "Fulfilling the Commitment: Recommendations for Reforming Federal Student Aid," offers a coherent agenda for improving the effectiveness of the federal aid system in order to reduce the enrollment and graduation rate gaps between affluent students and those from less privileged backgrounds.

Fulfilling the Commitment: Recommendations for Reforming Federal Student Aid Download the study group's reports:

As a follow-up to the report, the study group has launched a series of public discussions on campuses across the nation to consider financial aid issues and the report recommendations, laying the foundation for eventual adoption of related legislation. Research is also being conducted with students and parents to examine their experiences with and perceptions about the financial aid system. Download a one-page overview of this initiative (.pdf/797K).

The Rethinking Student Aid project is supported by the Lumina, Spencer, and Mellon foundations, in addition to the College Board.

Statements of support

In the short time since the release of "Fulfilling the Commitment: Recommendations for Reforming Federal Student Aid," the report has generated an outpouring of support from K-12, higher education and government leaders. Some examples:

"The California State University supports a national dialogue about the proposals in the report from the Rethinking Student Aid study group chaired by Sandy Baum and Mike McPherson. The study group put aside institutional and political interests and generated a comprehensive, thoughtful and creative set of recommendations that could contribute significantly to the national conversation on student aid. The study group's recommendations, based upon extensive research, place students first and factor into the national discourse important ideas that could not only enhance existing student aid policies but create new policy directives that promote broadly needed public objectives not advanced currently. There are some very bold ideas in the report. It is important to be patient and thoughtful in discussing the set of proposals. Many of the programs in question in today's environment have been around for decades and may not be as effective as we would like them to be in meeting the challenges faced by students and their families today. The proposals are designed to simplify the financial aid application process, to target more federal financial aid to low- and middle-income students, to help ease the debt burden for students, to provide a savings plan that empowers families of all incomes to view college as an option early in life, and to provide incentives for states and universities that support expanding public access and enhancing student success and collegiate completion rates. I look forward to participating in this national dialogue and encourage my colleagues to join me in this important conversation."
—Charles B. Reed, chancellor, California State University

“The College Board study group has provided a great service to the higher education community. Most of us have tried to improve the impossibly complex federal financial aid system by tinkering around the edges. Baum, McPherson and their colleagues, however, have taken the right approach — to rethink the entire approach to financial aid. The changes in American higher education no longer fit the paradigm of the 1960s that continues to drive policy and practice today. It’s time to move to a 21st-century system, and the study group has given us an exceptionally good first step to get us there.”
—David Longanecker, president, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

“We know that many Americans who have the academic qualifications needed to succeed in college never make it there, and we know that the nation pays a heavy price for our failure to reach them. The reforms recommended by the Rethinking Student Aid study group would make federal student aid simpler and more predictable and would inspire families to start thinking about their children’s college education from an early age. These are important steps in the right direction and they deserve our support.”
—Catharine B. Hill, president, Vassar College

Read additional statements of support.

Related initiatives

The study group is conferring with policymakers, financial aid and admissions professionals, guidance counselors, college access specialists, higher education associations, and other researchers. The group is also meeting with the College Board's membership and drawing from the work of other College Board Advocacy projects:

View a list of study group members and researchers (.doc/38K).

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