A Primer on Higher Education, Student Aid, and the Federal Budget Process

Abstract

While higher education scholars and financial aid practitioners are understandably concerned with the role of policy and finance, the relationship between student aid policy and the federal budget process deserves attention and synthesis.  In this article, we present an outline of the federal budget process and the ways in which it has been a vehicle for major student financial aid policy changes. We specifically describe the federal funding structure of Pell grants and student loans and describe how Congressional budget reconciliation process has resulted in recent policy changes in these programs.