Roundup: Week of March 19th - March 23rd

FAFSA Gets a Little Easier

The House and Senate introduced bills to drastically reduce the FAFSA from five pages down to two. Both bills would allow students and their parents to simply check a box on their tax forms to eliminate 22 of the more difficult tax questions on the current FAFSA. The requisite information would then be directly reported to the Department of Education from the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced Wednesday that the Department of Education is launching a "Fafsa4caster" that calculates students eligibility for federal financial aid prior to applying for college. Later in the year, the tool will be further developed to estimate a students total financial aid package, including institutional aid from various types of colleges.

Reports Critique Part-Time and Community College Programs in California

The California Postsecondary Education Commission released findings that part-time student enrollment decreased seven percent between 2000 and 2005 at the University of California and 2.8 percent at California State University. In a separate report, the Commission found that over half of Californias community college students exited the system without earning a degree or transferring to a four year institution between 2001 and 2005. The Commission suggested adding a greater variety of degree programs, more convenient administrative and counseling office hours, peer-support networks to assist part-time students, and better partnerships and articulation agreements with four year colleges and universities.

No More Loans for Davidson Students

Davidson College announced Monday it is eliminating loans from all need-based financial aid packages and replacing them with grants and work study. While a few elite private colleges and a handful of prominent public universities with much larger endowments have moved away from loans, Davidson is the first small liberal arts college to take this step. It will likely cost Davidson $3.5 million to eliminate their previous loan limit of $3,000 a year. The college has seen a drop in low-income applicants in recent years. When Harvard eliminated loans for its neediest students, applications from low-income students jumped, and Davidson is hoping for the same. College officials also expressed hope that more students will be able to choose lower salary careers after graduation.