This research explores the competencies that financial aid officers need to be successful in their jobs. A survey of 30 competencies was distributed to 508 financial aid officers in the Western United States. Respondents were asked to rate 30 job competencies for their relative importance and frequency of use. Using exploratory factor analysis,…

Expectations of public institutions of higher education now include a growing number of competing goals. Financial assistance policies are expected to reward student talent, expand access to education, boost retention and graduation rates, and more. Yet research has not generally provided an empirical assessment of whether and how higher levels of…

Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first and most important step for students to receive their portion of the billions of grant aid dollars disbursed in federal student financial aid; however, every year many low income and community college students fail to complete the FAFSA. Over the past twenty years,…

Financial aid is designed to increase access to postsecondary education at all socioeconomic levels; however, college students are not always knowledgeable about personal finances or capable of making sound decisions regarding complex college and program choices, debt options, and long-term spending. This article reviews previous research on the…

Examines the total direct and indirect effects of receiving financial aid on persistence to degree using a subsample of 1989 freshmen from the Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey. Analysis shows that although simply receiving financial aid is unrelated to persistence, the effects of financial aid on persistence appear to depend on type and…

A survey of the Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators regional financial aid offices taken in 1985 is discussed. It shows wide variations in the demographic characteristics and backgrounds of student financial aid office employees, chiefly by job level. (Author/MLW)

A survey designed to obtain University of Oklahoma students' views of the Financial Aid Office as a student service, their knowledge of financial aid programs, and their suggestions of ways to improve existing services is discussed. The survey showed that improved education regarding financial aid programs and services is needed. (MLW)

The impact of student input characteristics and college environments on types and amounts of financial aid received by men and women are studied. A demographic description of federal student financial aid recipients can be valuable to policy makers in evaluating the degree of success in providing aid to target populations. (MLW)

A survey designed to identify financial aid administration strengths and weaknesses specific to New York is summarized. Survey questions focused on the work environment and the training needs of the state's financial aid community. Results cover profile of respondents, training needs, salaries, job-related characteristics, conferences attended,…

Little research has been done in relationship to non-faculty and non-student populations in higher educational settings. An investigation of the attitudes and perceived problems of financial aid directors in universities is described. A questionnaire sent to U.S. financial aid directors is discussed. (MLW)

A survey of applicants accepted by a major research university found that among the most sought-after applicants, academic scholarships and other forms of forms of financial aid were more likely to have influenced college choice, putting the institution with minimal non-need-based financial aid at a competitive disadvantage. (MSE)

A study of graduate and professional student within-year persistence, based on the 1993 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, compared three models of the impact of financial aid on persistence. It was found that financial aid significantly and positively influenced within-year persistence, with comprehensive aid packages having the greatest…

A survey of financial aid directors at all two-year colleges in four states measured differences between the administrators' desired and actual role functions. Analysis and implications of the results are presented. (MSE)

A study is reported that sought to determine the extent of utilization of federal student aid programs at proprietary schools, to assess the role of federal support for needy students enrolled at proprietary schools, and to evaluate the relationship of financial aid to the recruitment and training of students. (JMD)

A survey of 64 institutions investigated how the organizational structures of financial aid offices and institutional characteristics (e.g., staff size, sector, computer services) affect the efficiency of administering federal student aid programs. The questionnaire is appended. (MSE)