Colleges that advertise need-blind admissions often provide inadequate financial aid packages to admitted students, according to a recent survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, reported by Inside Higher Ed. The trend known as "gapping" involves granting admitted students less financial aid than the college admits they need to attend. The study found that of the 93 percent of public institutions and 81 percent of private institutions that claim to have need-blind admissions, only 32 percent of public and 18 percent of private institutions claim they meet the full financial needs of admitted students. The NACAC report also suggests that 63 percent of private and 15 percent of public institutions use "differential packaging," in which colleges provide more attractive financial aid packages -- more grant aid or lessened loan obligations -- to students most desired by the schools, Inside Higher Ed reported. The study also reported an increase in institutional funds allotted for merit-based aid from a previous NACAC survey conducted in 1994.
The Lebanon Municipal Airport, currently a self-sufficient business, may soon have to incorporate its operations into the regular city budget, pending a decision to be made at the Lebanon City Council on Wednesday, the Valley News reported Sunday. Its operations have accumulated over $1.2 million in deficits it owes as debt to the city of Lebanon, with 2008 marking the ninth consecutive year in which the airport's revenues have not covered its expenses. The Council may repeal a city ordinance passed in 1993 that states that the airport be a self-supporting enterprise and that its profits go to the city's general fund. Interim Airport Manager David Gobin told the Valley News that he is working on cost-cutting measures, as the airport budget request for 2009 is already 2 percent less than the amount requested in 2008.
Students and guidance counselors cited high tuition costs and insufficient financial aid as the two biggest factors affecting the enrollment of college-qualified students into four-year institutions, a recent study by the Institute for Higher Education found. Of the 1800 students polled, approximately 1000 had not enrolled in a two- or four-year college. Over 80 percent of students who did not pursue postsecondary education said the availability of grant or scholarship aid was "extremely" or "very" important to college enrollment decisions. Of those students who did not enroll in college, 15 percent applied to a college or university, 12 percent applied for financial aid and 10 percent took the SAT. All students surveyed met a minimum standard of college qualification -- having at least a 2.5 grade point average, having studied a college preparatory curriculum and having completed at least one high-level mathematics course.
