2008-09 Financial Aid Report
Author: Nevada System of Higher Education
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Expenditures,Higher Education,State Colleges,Scholarships,Enrollment Trends,Grants,Educational Quality,Educational Finance,Student Financial Aid,Trend Analysis,Student Loan Programs,State Aid,Fees,Community Colleges,Undergraduate Study,Student Needs,Paying for College,Federal Aid,Student Employment,Work Study Programs,Racial Differences,White Students,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Asian American Students,American Indians,Pacific Islanders

The mission of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) is to provide higher education services to the citizens of the State at an excellent level of quality consistent with the state's resources. The information in this report is provided by the financial aid officers at each NSHE institution. Each fall, institutions submit a detailed expenditure report for each financial aid program administered. In addition to that information, trend analyses are conducted on a rolling five-year period. Comparisons to national data are made where appropriate, with source citations. During 2008-09, the NSHE Financial Aid Director met with institutional financial aid directors to refine common data definitions for each item in the expenditure report. The resulting changes to methodology resulted in minor differences in how aid is reported. These differences are noted where appropriate. The following points highlight some of the significant findings of this report: (1) Systemwide, $405.4 million in financial aid was distributed in 2008-09. After declining in 2006-07, total aid grew 24.5% in one year to its highest value ever, primarily due to increases in Pell Grants and loans; (2) NSHE financial aid awarded grew 37.3% over the past five years. For the first time in several years, Nevada financial aid growth exceeded the national growth rate. According to the College Board, nationally, total aid for the same time period grew 18.5%; (3) Between 2004-05 and 2008-09, registration fees increased 16.8% for lower division community college courses, 33.5% for upper division community college courses, 33.5% for state college undergraduate courses, and 42.4% for university undergraduate courses, compared to the overall 37.3% increase in financial aid over the same time period; (4) Unfortunately, the NSHE total unmet need (unfunded gap) across the System for 2008-09 was $155.4 million, 74% greater than the amount in 2007-08; (5) If one looks just at grants (aid not requiring repayment nor tied to service or employment) between 2007-08 and 2008-09, these increased at the greatest rate--47.4%. This is primarily due to the 22.7% increase in the number of Pell Grant recipients, as well as an increase in the average annual Pell Grant disbursement per student; (6) Between 2007-08 and 2008-09, the NSHE total number of students receiving financial assistance increased by nearly 8,000 students, while the total annual unduplicated headcount enrollment increased by only 1,343 students. Obviously, the percent of students receiving assistance increased, from 30.7% to 35.6%. Coupled with the 26.8% increase in FAFSA applications, this paints a vivid picture--more NSHE students are financially needy and applying for financial aid; (7) Despite the significant increase in grants to students, the percentage of need-based aid compared to other forms of financial aid continues to decline. For 2008-09, this decline can be attributed to the significant increase in non-need-based student loans; (8) Total student loans awarded increased 30.4% between 2007-08 and 2008-09. For last year, $188 million was the largest amount ever disbursed for student loans within NSHE; and (9) The Millennium Scholarship Program provides the greatest portion of state financial assistance, awarding $25.7 million to just over 21,000 NSHE students. Appendices include: (1) Cost of Attendance; and (2) Regents Higher Education Opportunity Award. (Contains 17 tables and 7 figures.)