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With the current discussions of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act underway, a unique opportunity now exists to make a college education accessible to every academically-qualified person.

Federal and state financial aid have both recently undergone a shift from a focus on need-based aid such as grants to a greater emphasis tax incentives which are largely inaccessible to low- and moderate-income families, as well as loans and non-need based merit awards. One result of this shift and the continuing increases in college tuition is that the lowest-achieving rich students have as good of a chance of attending college as the smartest poor students.

The speakers will survey the current political landscape and offer their visions for an improved financial aid system.

Participants

• Thomas Wolanin
  Senior Associate, The Institute for Higher Education Policy
• Richard D Kahlenberg
  Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation and Editor, America’s Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education
• Krista Kafer
  Senior Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation
• Julie Strawn
  Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy