Changes in financial aid for college education are needed for the program to succeed, according to a prominent Latino education organization.
In a new report, Excelencia in Education proposes to allow students to change the financial aid formula for work-study, allow students to use financial aid for remedial courses and require that students file financial aid forms at the same time they apply to college.
“Effective financial aid policy means more than just money,” says Deborah Santiago, Excelencia in Education vice president for policy and research, according to an article at DiverseEducation.com. “It also means re-imagining aid to serve students well.”
While the new study, Using a Latino Lens to Reimagine Aid Design and Delivery, focuses primarily on the needs of Hispanic students, it also calls for a new terminology to describe much of today’s post-secondary population. Instead of “non-traditional” students, for example, the study calls for adopting the term “post-traditional student.”
While the term ‘non-traditional’ generally applies to students older than age 24 who may work full or part time, Santiago argues that the word has outlived its usefulness. “The term ‘non-traditional’ sounds like it’s an exception to the rule,” she says. “‘Post-traditional’ represents an evolution beyond traditional.”
More than 35 percent of students now attend college part time, including more than half of Latino students, the report notes.
To meet the needs of these post-traditional students, Excelencia in Education would undertake a variety of new steps through federal policy. One would be to require the students to complete the Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) when they file a college application.
Watch a video on Latinos and paying for higher education.
