The bill’s introduction coincided with release of a new report urging the department to remove most income questions on the financial aid form. The Institute for College Access and Success calls for linking the FAFSA to a family’s 1040 tax forms, a level of cooperation that would shorten the aid process not only for parents but also for colleges and universities.
“Students and parents would no longer face some of the most difficult, intimidating and error-prone questions on the FAFSA,” says Lauren Asher, author of the institute’s report, “Going to the Source: A Practical Way to Simplify the FAFSA.”
Such changes may address the growing problem of students who qualify for need-based aid but fail to apply for it. The institute says 1.5 million college students were eligible for Pell Grants but did not apply in 2004 — a figure that has doubled since 2000.
“The required income information can be extremely difficult for students from low-income families to track down, and parents are often reluctant to let their children see how little they earn,” says J.B. Schramm, founder of College Summit, a nonprofit organization that works to build college awareness in low-income schools.
Simplifying the FAFSA was one of several recommendations from last year’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education. The issue will get renewed attention today at a higher education summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by Spellings to examine the commission’s findings.
--Charles Dervarics
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