Impacts of Free Application for Federal Student Aid Simplification on State Financial Aid

• In Event: Investigating the Complexities of State and Federal Financial Aid Systems

Abstract

To date, there has been little predictive modeling of how FAFSA simplification will affect specific subpopulations of students, both in regard to Pell grant eligibility/awards and state financial aid eligibility/awards. Through a grant-funded partnership SHEEO and NASSGAP, we use data from the 2017-18 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC) to explore and assess the stated aims as well as the unintended consequences of the FAFSA Simplification Act. The two primary goals of our study include: to assist state higher education agencies in predicting how federal and state financial aid eligibility will change nationally and in their state; and to identify unanticipated challenges associated with simplification. Our findings have implications for both federal and state financial aid policy.

Authors

• Rachel Anne Burns, State Higher Education Executive Officers
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dustin Weeden, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
  Presenting Author

• Thomas Harnisch, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
  Presenting Author