Obama continues push for reforms of higher education announcing FAFSA changes

Continuing his push for reforms of higher education, President Barack Obama gave a speech Wednesday at North High School in Des Moines, Iowa, on making the financial aid process faster and easier for college-bound students.

“The bottom line is is that no young person in American should be priced out of college,” Obama said. “They should not be priced out of an education.”

Under the Obama administration, the federal government has increased scholarships, reformed the student loan system, created new tax credits for working families with college students, and capped federal student loan payments to 10 percent of a family’s income.

In hopes of helping more people afford college, The Obama administration recently announced changes to the federal student financial aid form, or FAFSA. The form used to take an hour or more to fill out, but now should take twenty minutes. By making it less complicated and time-consuming, Obama believes that more students will submit the form and have the opportunity to take advantage of the financial aid that the federal government might offer them.

“Students’ ability to complete the application and understand their aid eligibility earlier is a positive development,” said Cindy Deffenbaugh, assistant vice president and director of financial aid.

Another change that will start in the 2017-2018 school year is earlier availability of the FAFSA form. This should allow students and their families to know sooner how much financial aid they qualify for and be able to better evaluate their options.

Currently at University of Richmond, 67 percent of undergraduate students are receiving aid, with the average package being $34,640, according to Richmond's website. In the 2014-15 school year the university awarded a total of $69 million in grants and scholarships.

Through Richmond’s need-based aid program, Richmond in Reach, full-time undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents receive 100 percent of their demonstrated need. About 40 percent of the students at the university demonstrate need and receive an average financial aid package of $43,000. One in 10 students are also currently receiving a merit based scholarship, according to the universities website.

The Obama administration recently also released College Scorecard, a website aimed at helping students better pick the right school for them. The website combines data including costs, value, and job placement, with the idea being that if students pick the right schools for their budgets and futures, then they will be better able to get jobs and pay off loans after graduation.

Because many of the federal changes have not yet been implemented, Deffenbaugh said she was unsure about the effects on the university.

“It is too soon to predict how these changes will affect Richmond,” Deffenbaugh said.

Contact news editor Helaine Ridilla at helaine.ridilla@richmond.edu