Congressional Methodology Prices - Article Example

This is put through a table that determines how much parents are able to contribute to schooling. This is problematic because “many of the problems of the financial aid system result from an underlying problem: the fact that the Congressional Methodology prices college based upon present ability to pay, rather than based on some measure of permanent income” (Edlin,1993, p.154).I found this article especially informative because it describes the Congressional Methodology in detail. It is important for administrators to know how financial aid is determined.

The problem with calculating the ability to pay off of parents’ current income versus permanent income is not something I had acknowledged before. Student aid should be based on permanent parent income instead of present parent income. Some families have the inability to save for college because of expenses like high medical bills. Things like this need to be considered. The current method which determines present income for financial aid is not the best approach.Awarding financial aid on the basis of some estimate of permanent income offers the promise of removing horizontal inequities between families and also distortions that already do, or someday will, significantly reduce asset accumulation by parents intending to send children to college.

The debate should begin on how best to reform the Congressional Methodology and with it the financial aid system. This is truly an unfair system of determining needs and administrators need to know about it.This article examines several different views on higher education affordability. Not only does it focus on the perspective of the student, but also that of the state. This allows an understanding of both sides. The authors break down the factors of both affordability and policy. For affordability, the factors are state appropriations, tuition, and financial aid.

For policy, the factors are the economy, affordability to students, the state’s ability to pay, and the exactness of institutional finance.