National College Access Network | Green Dollars, Not Red Tape
GREEN
DOLLARS,
NOT RED TAPE
Families need green dollars to pay for college, not red tape from the government preventing them from
accessing higher education. Students can no longer “work their way through college”1 and are missing
out on grants for fear of mountains of debt.2 Families need the new President to implement an equitable,
practical solution to financing higher education. This solution should concentrate resources where they
are needed most. NCAN recommends pursuing policies that allow families to afford their in-state public,
four-year colleges with a combination of the Pell Grant, Stafford loan, work study, and state financial aid.
What does affordable mean?
For all families, the amount remaining after these four sources are spent should be less than the federal
government says they can afford. For low-income families, these four sources should cover tuition, room/
board, and fees. How do we cut the red tape and provide the green dollars to make college an affordable
reality for all American families?
NCAN recommends these immediate three policy improvements:
Principles for Policymaking:
●● All individuals should
have the opportunity
to achieve their
educational dreams
●● Federal financial aid
programs should be
equitable
●● Financial aid programs
should support both
access to and success
in higher education
Fix FAFSA. Four changes
to FAFSA include:
1. Simplifying the FSA ID
2. Eliminating unnecessary
questions
3. Expanding the number
of DRT users
4. Decreasing verification
Keep the promise of the
Pell Grant program
a. Allow students the
flexibility to take courses
year-round
b. Tie Pell Grant to cost of
inflation so dollars grow
as economy grows
c. Fund the Pell Grant
program with
mandatory spending
Provide work
opportunities to
low-income students
who want them
a. Make the funds available
to those students who
need it most
b. Expand the publicprivate partnership to
serve more students
Many more students are eligible to receive financial aid than currently do, and many more opt out of
college entirely because they do not know that financial aid is available. These solutions can quickly address
the urgent, national priority to get financial aid to the students who need it the most.
1 Grant, Sarah. “You Can’t Work Your Way Through College Anymore.” Georgetown Center for Education and the
Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/you-cant-work-your-way-through-college-anymore-2/
2 Kantrowitz, Mark. “Reasons Why Students Do Not File the FAFSA.” http://www.finaid.org/educators/20110118nofafsareasons.pdf