Editorial: Streamlining aid

When a coalition of 29 college and university presidents recently formalized uniform standards for determining how much financial aid undergraduates should qualify for, they took a significant step forward in streamlining the financial aid system and, hopefully, in making higher education more affordable for needy students.

The uniform standards will go into effect this fall, and the schools that follow them, including Duke, will now use the same formulas for computing need. That is a change from the current, often confusing system in which schools can vary widely in their assessments of how much a family can pay - its "demonstrated need." Now, a family's demonstrated need will be the same at Duke as it is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University or any one of the other 29 schools in the 568 Presidents' Working Group. For parents, it means simpler, less confusing applications, and for students, it means being able to compare financial aid packages on the same footing.

At the same time, the new standards still leave room for competition among universities, which can and will offer differing packages to meet a family's demonstrated need. For example, Princeton University, with the largest endowment per student in the country, can afford to meet that need entirely with grants, while the same student at Duke might require loans. This competition ensures that financial aid will continue to increase, to the benefit of students.

Of course, students should express concern whenever a group of powerful institutions collude to establish uniform standards. There is certainly a danger that with standards being adjusted at many schools some students will actually receive less financial aid under the new plan. Duke administrators have promised this will not happen for their undergraduates, and hopefully that will bear itself out in the long run. Still, long-term studies will need to take place to ensure that in the end this plan is benefiting students.

This should also not be the end of the working group's plans. It has pledged to continue examining the demonstrated need standards, but it should also aim higher and examine other ways to streamline the financial aid process. There is little reason to have two forms for financial aid - the FAFSA for the U.S. Department of Education and the PROFILE for the College Board - and college presidents should do anything they can to make financial aid more efficient. Depending on the success of the initial standards, the group should also try to bring other schools into its coalition.

A responsive financial aid program is essential to creating a competitive, diverse student body, and the University has greatly helped that cause through the 568 Presidents' Working Group.