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In November 2001, with funding support from Lumina Foundation for Education, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), in partnership with the American Council on Education (ACE), the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), initiated the "Changing Direction: Integrating Higher Education Financial Aid and Financing Policies" project to explore state-level strategies to better align financing and financial aid policies and support more informed decision making on issues surrounding financial aid and financing in higher education. These case studies of Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, and Oregon were designed to help equip policymakers and higher education leaders from all sectors more effectively address key public policy issues concerning the structuring of financing and financial aid to achieve goals of access to quality higher education. The overarching question the project hoped to address through the case studies and other project activities was: How can policymakers at all levels (most particularly those at the state level) more effectively integrate tuition, financial aid, and appropriations policies in ways that promote student participation and completion? The results of the states' work are linked back to the overall goals and objectives of the project in an effort to illustrate how the integration of public policies around financing and financial aid might be approached. The overview chapter highlights a number of milestones and accomplishments: (1) States engaged key leadership; (2) New policies developed by the states; (3) States sustained a discussion and laid the ground for further work; and (4) Special studies commissioned by the states. One of the central questions asked by case study authors in the final analysis is: within the context of the state, how important were the achievements of the technical assistance states? The "Changing Direction" project has provided a platform in these five states for a new conversation that helps policymakers and higher education leaders think creatively and constructively about the relationships among appropriations, tuition, and financial aid. They are looking at these issues in a more holistic, coordinated manner than they have in the past. Individual state case study reports provide greater detail and narrative on developments in the states. [For report of the second and third cohorts, see ED500787.]