More resident financial aid recipients at ISU

Among Iowa's three public universities, only Iowa State in the 2012-2013 school year saw more undergraduate resident students receive and accept financial aid than in the prior year, according to a Board of Regents report released this week.

The 'regent student financial aid study,” conducted in fall 2013, counted 23,870 full-time, resident, dependent undergraduate students who received financial aid during the prior academic term. That was down slightly - by just 86 students - from the 2011-2012 school year, according to the report.

Both the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa had fewer full-time resident students receive and accept aid last year.

UNI saw the biggest drop of 5.1 percent - or 324 fewer students - from the prior year with a total of 5,995. The UI saw a decline of 2.3 percent - or 156 students - from the prior year with a total of 6,587 students. That marked the second consecutive annual decrease for both schools.

Iowa State saw the only increase in full-time resident financial aid recipients - jumping 3.6 percent from the prior year - and it reported the largest total of the three universities, with 11,288 students receiving and accepting aid, according to the report.

That statistic correlates with the fact that Iowa State, according to Board of Regents statistics, has more undergraduate resident students than the other two universities - with 18,009 compared to 12,012 at the UI and 9,411 at UNI.

At all three regent universities in Iowa, every student who completes a federal student aid application is presented with a financial aid package that can include a combination of grants, scholarships, loans, work study and employment opportunities, according to the report.

Students often reject certain components of the package - like employment or loan options - resulting in unmet financial need. Unmet financial need occurs when accepted aid is below the expected family contribution toward the cost of attendance - including tuition, fees, books, room and board.

The average financial need that wasn't met by the accepted financial aid packages in the 2012-2013 school year was highest among applicants whose family income was below $15,000. That group had an average unmet need of $5,159, according to the report.

But, looking at the socioeconomic breakdown of all the aid recipients included in the study, the largest portion - 46 percent - had a family 'adjusted gross income” of $90,000 or more, according to the report. That group had their financial needs more than met to the tune of $8,339, on average.

Twenty-four percent of undergraduate resident aid recipients had a family income of between $60,000 and $89,000, 20 percent had a family income of between $30,000 and $59,000, and 11 percent had a family income less than $30,000, according to the report.

Of the students included in the financial aid study, the largest portion - 81 percent - received a loan, 67 percent received an institutional or private grant, 33 percent received a federal grant, 10 percent received work study funds, and 3 percent received a state grant.

The Board of Regents study aims to address its priorities regarding access, affordability and student success and to attain its goal of making the state's public universities affordable for 'all academically qualified Iowa residents.”

Mark Warner, UI assistant provost for enrollment management and director of student financial aid, listed several possible explanations for the UI's decline in undergrad resident aid recipients. For starters, he said, it is possible fewer undergraduate resident students needed financial help.

'Part of that might be that the economy is getting better,” Warner said.

Secondly, he said, more applicants might be rejecting part or all of their aid packages. And, he said, the UI had fewer undergraduate resident students in the 2012-2013 school year than in the 2011-2012 school year, paralleling the dip in aid applicants.

Warner said he doesn't necessarily view a decline as good or bad. But it could mean that some families no longer need additional resources to help pay for college. And, as far as loans go, a decrease could indicate a trend toward declining student debt.

'You could view it in a positive vein in that way,” he said.