Washington – In order to make college more accessible and affordable for students of lesser economic means, the federal student aid system must undergo a radical redesign.
That was one of the key points made Tuesday during a policy briefing on Capitol Hill meant to highlight areas of student financial aid that are considered ripe for reform as Congress prepares to hammer out a budget for the next fiscal year.
Michael Dannenberg, Director of Higher Education and Education Finance Policy at The Education Trust, said policymakers cannot “tinker” or make “small changes” to achieve the dramatic reforms that are needed in student financial aid.
“We believe that there needs to be a comprehensive solution that’s multifaceted and deals with the interloping set of problems,” Dannenberg said during the briefing, hosted by the National College Access Network, or NCAN, as part of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation project called RADD, an acronym for Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery.
The Education Trust, like NCAN, is one of several grantees in the RADD project.
Dannenberg said one of the most urgently needed changes is the need to redirect the “billions of dollars” in student financial aid that he said currently go to students and families that do not need the money. As an example, he cited the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which he said is ill targeted because it can benefit families earning up to $180,000.
