Financial Aid Offices Burdened With Compliance, Seek Federal Relief

“Paperwork related to regulation is impairing the ability of financial aid staff to help college students,” Campus Technology reports.

“That’s the conclusion in a report aptly named, ‘2015 Administrative Burden Survey,’ produced by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). The organization surveyed its members, all working as financial aid administrators in colleges and universities.

Based on information from the 2013-2014 award year, about three in four respondents indicated that the amount of aid disbursed had increased and nearly six in 10 said they believe the number of aid applicants had increased. In spite of those increases, three-quarters of respondents said their staff size has either remained constant or declined in the past five years.

Forty-seven percent reported either a moderate or severe shortage of resources. Almost across the board, the most common resource constraint cited was a lack of counseling staff. “