Flores participates in federal panel discussion on student financial assistance

Stella M. Flores participates in a federal panel discussion on student financial assistance

topics: Higher Education, Education Reform, Communities, Leadership, Policy and Organizations

Brent Meredith - June 19, 2008

Peabody's Wyatt Center Rotunda was the setting for a recent panel discussion on the impact of the current financial climate on low- and moderate-income student's ability to access assistance for higher education. Stella M. Flores, assistant professor of public policy and higher education, participated in the roundtable's first session, which examined how deteriorating economic conditions may affect institutional financing, state appropriations, charitable giving, grant aid from all sources, as well as work and loan funds.

The panel was hosted by the U.S. Department of Education's Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which functions as a non-partisan source of advice to Congress and the Secretary of Education on higher education and student financial aid.

The committee recently released data that show millions of college-qualified high school graduates encounter significant financial barriers that may worsen considerably over the next decade. The report projected a loss of between 1.4 and 2.4 million bachelor's degrees this decade alone, despite rising academic preparedness.

"The current instability in the American economy has many families worried about whether the financial resources needed to send a child to college will be available in the coming years," said Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development.

Flores, whose work investigates the impact of state and federal policies on college access and completion for low-income and underrepresented populations, noted that first-generation middle-income families and racial minorities are often hardest hit.

"First-generation middle-income families as well as racial minorities and immigrants are the most vulnerable groups in today's economy, and some of them may lose their new 'middle-income' status without continued access to higher education," Flores told the panel.

She also pointed out that many racial minorities may not even be eligible for some forms of assistance, such as student loans, based on weak credit histories or their immigration or citizenship status, and they are among the least likely to benefit from merit-based aid. She attributes much of this growing disparity to the rapidly changing demographics many states have seen in recent years, including the increase in immigration in the South. The study of this change was a key factor in her decision to move to Tennessee and join the Peabody faculty.

"States are different, and state profiles are very different than they were during the recession in 1990. Immigration in the South has changed drastically since that time," Flores said. "These states have never seen rates of immigration like this before. It's a new economy in the South, and how it affects the nation is something we need to look at."

A second session focused on additional steps that federal and state institutions and private parties should take to ensure student access and success move forward.

In addition to Flores, other panelists included Brett Lief, president, National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs; John Nelson, managing director for health care, higher education and infrastructure, Moody's Public Finance Group; Charles S. Lenth, vice president for policy analysis and academic affairs, State Higher Education Executive Officers; Hazel O'Leary, president, Fisk University; David Gregory, vice chancellor for administration and facilities management, Tennessee Board of Regents; Richard G. Rhoda, executive director, Tennessee Higher Education Commission; Philip R. Day, Jr., president and CEO, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators; and Patrick M. Callan, president, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

A live Web cast of the event was streamed for those unable to attend, and a video recording can be viewed on Vanderbilt University's News Network here. More information on the Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance is available at www.ed.gov/ACSFA.