Financial Aid Offices at the Breaking Point: Students Getting Less Face-to-Face Counseling
Students are getting less one-on-one assistance from their financial aid offices even as their financial aid professionals are working harder than ever. In the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) recent survey, 90 percent of financial aid administrators report that they have fewer resources available to provide critical student services including student loan repayment counseling.
Two in three financial aid administrators said their office was facing a “moderate” or “severe” resource shortage. Of those reporting shortages, nearly 90 percent said the shortage impacted their obligation to assist and counsel students. Approximately 80 percent of those facing shortages indicated that the shortages are not short term.
A majority of survey respondents cited complex regulations and a greater compliance workload as a major cause of the resource shortage. Over the last decade, there has been a 40 percent increase (in word count) of the federal regulations governing the student aid programs, NASFAA reports. “The sheer size and scope of federal regulations and other administrative burden has pushed financial aid offices to the breaking point,” said NASFAA President Justin Draeger.
