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With the flagging economy hitting home for more and more families, local colleges are seeing an increased demand for student financial aid, a trend affecting institutions of higher learning across the country.
Not only are applications for aid rising, but more students are seeking adjustments to their aid packages as they experience sudden financial downturns.
Colleges are doing what they can to help students remain in school. That includes adopting longer payment plans, as well as increasing institutional assistance to students on top of the state and federal funds they receive.
Dwight Horsey, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of financial aid at Millersville University, said MU has seen an 11 percent increase in financial aid applications from 2008-2009.
That jump — from 8,865 to 9,842 — has also been accompanied by more appeals, he said, special circumstances in which students already receiving financial help ask for more.
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, 65 percent of higher education institutions reported at least a 10 percent increase in such appeals over last year.
Appeals are prompted by a combination of factors, Horsey said.
In some cases, one or both parents have lost jobs or had their work hours cut, he said.
In other cases, the students themselves haven't been able to find employment, Horsey said.
And the amount requested in appeals varies widely, he said. "Some [students] need $500, some need $5,000."
Millersville relies on state and federal money for its financial aid, Horsey said, and while federal aid is up a bit, state assistance is down. The university does have some "hardship funds" for emergencies, he said, "but not much."
In addition, some families would take out private loans to pay college expenses, but those are harder to get because lending requirements are stricter, he said.
Natalie Lascek-Speakman, director of admissions marketing and recruitment at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, said a large percentage of PCA&D students already get financial aid. What she has seen, though, is a decrease in the number of families seeking private loans.
"They're not wanting to take on as much debt," Lascek-Speakman said. "Borrowing big amounts of money doesn't sit well with families anymore."
Millersville University is trying to be creative in this difficult environment, Horsey said. For example, students awarded work at MU can have the money they would earn converted into a loan that goes toward tuition or related costs, he said.
Also, payment plans can be spread out, Horsey said.
Despite this, there are students who now can't afford to stay in school full time — or at all, he said. What some do is enroll part time at Millersville, or take classes at a community college, Horsey said.
Paul Cramer, Elizabethtown College's vice president for enrollment, said a student's aid package at E-town comes from one or more of the following: need-based grants and loans from the state; need-based grants, loans and work study from the federal government; and need-based grants and merit-based scholarships from the college.
He said there is less state aid money than in the past, and marginally more federal funds. Eighteen percent of full-time students at Elizabethtown now receive federal grants, while 14 percent did so in 2008, Cramer said.
Meanwhile, the number of E-town students filling out a reduced-income form rose from 55 in 2008 to 130 in 2009, he said.
In addition, requests for financial aid reviews have about doubled over last year, Cramer said. The college has significantly increased the amount it contributes toward financial aid, he said. That money is coming from other areas of E-town's budget, Cramer said.
Justin Draeger, vice president of public policy at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said the Obama administration is encouraging colleges and universities to help how they can when appeals arise.
Institutions always had the authority to adjust financial aid packages because of hardship, Draeger said, and the message they're getting is to "make sure students and their families are being taken care of."
For the Class of 2013, Franklin & Marshall College accepted more students applying for financial assistance than it normally does, said Sara Shapiro Harberson, F&M's vice president for enrollment management and dean of admission.
As a consequence, freshmen are receiving more aid than any incoming class in the school's history, she said.
But there's also been increased demand among other students, Harberson said. For example, the number of returning students seeking financial help for the first time has gone up, Harberson said. That's also true for the number of students who initially declined to apply for assistance and then changed their minds, she said.
Also, more students already getting financial aid are appealing for more, Harberson said. F&M has received three times as many appeals as it typically does, she said.
In some cases, families are seeing their incomes cut 30 or 40 percent by job losses or other economic hardships.
Financial aid packages at F&M consist of grants, loans and on-campus employment or some combination thereof, Harberson said.
More students are receiving federal Pell Grants this year, she said. The college's contribution to financial aid also has jumped, she said: Freshmen are getting almost $2.5 million more in institutional grants than in 2008.
The college is aggressive in reaching students who have financial problems and helping them before they're forced to drop out of school, Harberson said.
"For the first time, institutions realize we have to do a whole lot more," she said. "We're not just sitting back and waiting."
Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
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