Resolution of the AASFAA Executive Board

The Partnership Agrees With AASFAA Resolution

On July 7, 1997, the Executive Board of the Alabama Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (AASFAA) adopted a resolution opposing a program that takes money from the universities in order to fund scholarships. The Higher Education Partnership will release a press statement on this resolution.

Resolution of the AASFAA Executive Board

For over thirty years the Alabama Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (AASFAA) has been dedicated to providing financial aid services to Alabama students and parents. We are comprised of over 200 members who administer financial aid programs for all segments of higher education (public and private colleges and universities, technical and proprietary schools, and lending institutions) in Alabama. As financial aid professionals, we feel compelled to express our concerns regarding the proposed legislation for the establishment of a state-funded tuition scholarship program.

While we commend the Governor and the Legislature for their desire to establish a state tuition scholarship program, we respectfully request the following:

That a full feasibility study be first performed to determine the extent or the need for the cost for such a program.
That no tuition scholarship program be funded, in whole or in part, at the expense of the State's Educational Trust Fund. It is our belief that state appropriations should be aimed at the Institution in an effort to keep student tuition for all Alabama students as low as possible. Low tuition is the best way to guarantee higher educational access to all Alabama citizens. Funding a tuition assistance/scholarship program out of the trust fund will only result in Alabama educational institutions

having to increase tuition rates for all Alabama students in order to compensate for the loss in appropriation dollars. This increase will translate into a hidden tax in the form of increased tuition for those families who do not qualify for any program which is funded out of the trust fund.

That a thorough study be implemented to determine how many Alabama students would be affected by such a tuition scholarship program. The minimum data which should be collected included the following items: the number of students expected to graduate during 1998-99; the number of these students who meet certain ACT composite score requirements; and the number of these students who meet certain grade point requirements. Once these data elements are collected, projected costs can be made for a tuition ;scholarship program. A complete study should also include a determination of what federal and state programs currently exist for Alabama students and how and at what level they are currently funded.

AASFAA stands ready to assist in the above study and in the implementation of a state tuition scholarship which is well studied, properly funded, and administered in a manner which will best serve all deserving Alabama students.