Long Testifies Before Senate HELP Committee

Professor Bridget Terry Long testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) on Thursday, November 14. The topic of the full committee hearing is Ensuring Access to Higher Education: Simplifying Federal Student Aid for Today’s College Student. Long will be joined as a witness by Kim Cook, executive director of National College Access Network; Judith Scott-Clayton, assistant professor of economics and education at Columbia University; and Kristin Conklin, founding partner of HCM Strategists.

To read complete testimony of all witnesses and to watch video of the proceedings, visit the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions website.

A summary of Professor Long's testimony follows:

Chairman Harkin, Senator Alexander, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today. My testimony aims to provide information about the current state of college access and what more could be done to improve the system.

The State of College Access and Barriers to College Enrollment and Success

• There are major and persistent gaps in college access by family income and race.
• Rates of college completion also differ by family income and race.
• Most barriers to college access and success can be grouped into three major categories.
• Cost and affordability
• Academic preparation
• Lack of information and the complexity of the college admissions process and financial aid systems

Improving College Access and Success: What Do We Know from the Evidence?

1. Financial Aid Matters for College Access
2. Financial Aid is also an Important Determinant of Degree Completion
3. All Aid Programs are Not Equally Effective: When designing an aid program, information  and simplicity are important
4. The Financial Aid Application Process Can be a Major Barrier for Students and Information Alone is not Enough

The Context Today: What More Could be Done?

• While there have been recent improvements to the FAFSA, these efforts do not fully address the needs of many students, and there is still significant room for improvement
• There is increasing evidence that college can be a high-risk investment.
• The college decision process is only becoming more complicated.
• The Need Analysis Calculation does not reflect accurately the financial situations of many college students

Ways to Improve the Effectiveness of our Financial Aid System

1. When Designing Aid Program, Learn from the Example of Effective Policies
2. Proactively Disseminate Clear Information with Families Early and Often
3. Use and Enable Multiple Pathways for Families to Complete the Aid Application Process
4. Minimize the Burden on Families when Completing the FAFSA
5. Improve How Aid and College Information is Reported
6. Pilot an Expansion of the Work Study Program at Colleges Serving Many Low-Income Students