37th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid, 2005-2006 Academic Year
Author: National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP)
Date: 2006-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: National Surveys,State Aid,Student Financial Aid,Grants,Undergraduate Students,Graduate Students,Expenditures,Financial Support,Student Loan Programs,Merit Scholarships

Each year, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report, the 37th annual survey, represents data from academic year 2005-06. Data highlights of the survey include: (1) In the 2005-2006 academic year, the states awarded about $8.5 billion in total state funded student financial aid, an increase of about 7 percent in nominal terms from the $7.9 billion in aid awarded in 2004-2005 and an increase of about 3 percent in constant dollar terms; (2) The majority of state aid is in the form of grants. In 2005-2006, just under 3.6 million grant awards were made representing about $7 billion in need and nonneed-based grant aid, an increase of about 5 percent from the $6.7 billion in grants awarded in 2004-2005. Of the grant funds awarded in 2005- 2006, 73 percent was need-based and 27 percent was nonneed-based, the same percentage as seen in 2004-2005; (3) Funding for undergraduate need-based grant aid increased $223 million nationwide from about $4.7 billion in 2004-2005 to more than $4.9 billion in 2005-2006, an increase of almost 5 percent; (4) Seven states (California, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas) collectively awarded more than $3.3 billion in undergraduate need-based grant aid, accounting for about 65 percent of all aid of this type; and (5) States provided more than $1.4 billion in nongrant student aid, including loans, loan assumptions, conditional grants, work-study, and tuition waivers. Loans and tuition waivers accounted for 69 percent of nongrant funds awarded. Forty-six reporting entities identified state-funded undergraduate programs with awards based solely on need, while 31 identified programs with awards based only on merit. Exclusively need-based aid constituted 49 percent of all aid to undergraduates, exclusively merit-based aid accounted for 20 percent, with the rest, 32 percent, accounted for by other programs and by programs with both need and merit components. The amount of undergraduate aid awarded in 2005-2006 through programs with a merit component increased to about $2.6 billion. This compares to $3.6 billion awarded to undergraduates through programs based only on need. Washington DC, South Carolina, Georgia, New York, and Indiana, provided the greatest amount of grant aid on a per capita basis and the largest amount of aid per capita for the population between ages 18 and 24. South Carolina, Georgia, New York, Kentucky, and New Jersey provided the most undergraduate grant dollars compared to undergraduate full time equivalent enrollment. South Carolina, Vermont, Georgia, West Virginia and New York had the highest proportion of total expenditures for state-funded grants compared to appropriations for higher education operating expenditures. (Contains 14 tables and 6 figures.) [For &quot;36th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid, 2004-2005 Academic Year,&quot; see ED527267.]