Re-Opening the Door to College: Solutions for Restoring Federal Aid to Those Who Need It
Event
With the current discussions of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act underway, a unique opportunity now exists to make a college education accessible to every academically-qualified person.
Federal and state financial aid have both recently undergone a shift from a focus on need-based aid such as grants to a greater emphasis tax incentives which are largely inaccessible to low- and moderate-income families, as well as loans and non-need based merit awards. One result of this shift and the continuing increases in college tuition is that the lowest-achieving rich students have as good of a chance of attending college as the smartest poor students.
The speakers will survey the current political landscape and offer their visions for an improved financial aid system.
Location
Participants
- Thomas Wolanin
Senior Associate, The Institute for Higher Education Policy - Richard D Kahlenberg
Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation and Editor, America's Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education - Krista Kafer
Senior Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation - Julie Strawn
Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy