In order to avoid the congressional battle over financial aid programs, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) developed a “student risk index” that re-evaluates the federal approach toward student aid. The APLU sparked discussion on policy recommendations in an essay released on Wednesday.
With focal points around achieving balanced admission selectivity, adjusting student risk in institutional performance, and implementing satisfactory academic progress, APLU has identified federal aid as the key to increasing graduation rates. Each policy dissected the qualifications for eligibility of federal student aid.
Finding that there is a crucial need to both redesign eligibility criteria and offer incentives that promote student achievement has been the core behind APLU’s recommendations. Collectively, policy suggestions have revolved around the idea of a “student risk index,” which considers the hazardous effects that students experience upon entrance into their selected institution.
APLU President Peter McPherson explained, “For the near future, it will be a struggle to get commensurate increases in federal investment in student aid programs.”
McPherson claimed, “Tight budgets will provoke program changes, and either the academic community can help design them or await the verdicts of congressional budget fights.”
In redesigning the program, APLU investigated the impact of admission selectivity, noting the practice as a “double-edge sword.” For many institutions, especially among private, elite institutions, the practice of stringent selectivity has contributed greatly to its success. Upon more selectivity, institutions are able to tout themselves as competitive, encouraging students to work more diligently in order to be considered for admission. However, APLU identified this practice as threatening to student enrollment and, thus, completion.
Since enrollment numbers have represented a large population of first-generation college students who often endure limited finances, selectivity for that cohort of students can be misrepresented. According to the essay, emphasis on the admissions process should reflect the eligibility of students, which is relative to the particular challenges that students encountered.
