The financial aid pendulum swinging between need-based and merit-based aid is veering toward need-based, and that could result in more money for University students next year.
Go Grants, a type of state-provided financial aid, currently awards $1,000 a year for Louisiana resident full-time students who qualify for Pell Grants or financial need grants.
“Targeting Financial Aid for Improved Retention Outcomes” is a report by Noel Levitz and the American Institutes for Research that argues Go Grants should be spiked to $4,000, meeting 55 percent of a low-income student’s financial need.
The report, presented at last week’s meeting of the state’s governance commission for higher education, has sparked discussion about the necessity of increasing financial aid to retain students.
The Office of Budget and Planning reported last fall that 9,291 LSU undergraduate students received federal financial aid and 12,442 undergraduate students received state financial aid.
Jason Droddy, director of external affairs, said the idea is that students who need more money for college are more likely to drop out.
The report says the state’s current Go Grant expenditure is about $15 million and has a total retention rate of 67 percent in Louisiana. By giving students more money in the form of Go Grants, the report says retention rates will increase.
One of the current higher education discussions, Droddy said, is shuffling funds from students who receive large amounts of money to students whose retention rates could improve from the additional money.
A problem for the University could arise if the state decides to move funds away from TOPS funding and channel them toward need-based aid, Droddy said. But Louisiana’s large number of low-income students makes discussions about increasing financial aid necessary, he said.
“We will never, ever fight financial access to higher education,” he said. “We’d disagree with a poorly-drafted policy if we saw