From the ECS State Policy Database: Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Effective Oversight of the Tuition Assistance Program: Schools Can Avoid Disallowances by Ensuring Eligibility - This special report summarizes the findings of New York State's Tuition Assistance Program audits released since 2007. Those audits recommended repayments totaling $11 million to cover grants distributed to ineligible students. This report offers guidance on how to avoid common and costly errors related to eligibility, clarifies our audit protocols for school leaders, and recommends actions to strengthen the administration of this grant program. (State of New York, Office of the State Comptroller, March 2012)...

Stay on Track: Early Findings from a Performance-Based Scholarship Program at the University of New Mexico - This report presents early results from a program (VISTA) at the University of New Mexico that increases financial support available to low-income entering students who enroll for a minimum number of credits and maintain a minimum grade point average. Early findings, through one year, indicate that although VISTA had no effects on credits and grades during the first semester, effects did emerge after that point. (MDRC, 2011)...

41st Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid - This report provides data on state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the importance of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Please note row and column data in tables may not add to row and column table totals throughout the report due to rounding. (National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, 2011)...

Green Lights/Red Tape: Improving Access to Financial Aid at California's Community Colleges - This report examines wide variations in financial aid policies and practices at California's community colleges, which can have a major impact on students’ access to available aid. (Deborah Cochrane and Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle, The Institute for College Access & Success, December 2007)...

The Wisconsin Covenant - Wisconsin Governor Doyle recently proposed the Wisconsin Covenant to make college more accessible to low-income residents. This policy brief explains why this is an important goal and how the proposal should be designed to best achieve its objectives -- and at a reasonable cost. The authors offer three guiding principles for designing the Covenant to address the current system's problems and discuss specific strategies to increase the success of the policy. (Sara Goldrick-Rab and Douglas Harris, The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, May 2007)...