Access and Affordability: Refocusing Financial Aid in Maryland

The Maryland Higher Education Commission funded the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to review the state's financial aid programs and to make recommendations for improvement. To determine how to improve the content, delivery, and administration of financial aid in Maryland, AIR conducted a number of activities, including a literature review, conversations with experts from other states, focus groups and informal surveys of financial aid directors at Maryland colleges and universities, an informal survey of high school guidance counselors, and interviews with state legislators and educational administrators. Drawing on the information from these sources and document reviews, AIR identified seven areas of concern regarding the delivery of financial aid in Maryland: (1) the proliferation of financial aid programs; (2) adequacy and timing of funding; (3) administration of financial aid; (4) outreach to younger and nontraditional students; (5) graduate and professional education; (6) establishing a first-professional and graduate scholarship program for high-achieving students at historically black colleges and universities; and (7) outdated image. AIR developed 13 recommendations to address these identified areas of concern; these are included in this report. (Contains 6 exhibits and 49 endnotes.) (SLD)