WICHE: Redesigning State Financial Aid Programs to Promote Success and Affordability

^{April 15, 2014 | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education}

A new report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, "States in the Driver`s Seat: Leveraging State Aid to Align Policies and Promote Access, Success, and Affordability," recommends a new framework for the redesign of state financial aid programs that aligns governmental and institutional policies and utilizes financial resources in a way that boosts student attainment. This comprehensive "Shared Responsibility Model" (SRM) – a partnership between states, the federal government, institutions, and students and their families – has been designed to meet the financial requirements of those pursuing a higher education and promote postsecondary affordability. Specific policy proposals outlined in the report include adopting a SRM framework that aligns state appropriations and tuition-setting policies with financial aid investments, integrating aid provided by both the state and the federal government, offering incentives to students to complete their postsecondary goals as rapidly as possible, steering institutions to make choices that “double down” on the state’s investment in aided students, and renewing and reinvigorating a federal/state partnership to encourage states to take steps in their aid programs that lead to improved affordability and educational attainment.

To view the report, please visit: http://wiche.edu/pub/stateaid0414

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