Outcomes of Recent Changes in Federal Student Financial Aid. Statistics in Brief.

This report presents the results of a survey of 808 postsecondary education institutions concerning effects of the 1992 Higher Education Act reauthorization on federal student financial aid. The survey was conducted in the 1994-95 school year through the Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS). The reauthorization legislation made changes in the number of aid applicants that institutions were required to verify, created a new unsubsidized loan program, increased loan limits, and changed needs analysis methodology. The survey found that institutional verification policies and the percent of applicants verified were generally not affected by changes in the law, probably because most institutions were already verifying more than 30 percent of aid applicants, as required by the new law. Most institutions reported increased borrowing in the subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford and Supplemental Loans for Students programs, with the majority ranking an increase in loan limits or changes in needs analysis methodology as the most important reason for the increased borrowing. (MDM)