Federal financial aid in relation to rising tuition costs - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: Federal Financial Aid Federal Financial Aid in Relation to Rising Tuition Costs BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION HERE HEREDATE HEREFederal Financial Aid in Relation to Rising Tuition Costs As the costs of tuition skyrocket each year at most universities, the need for some students to offset these costs becomes paramount in relation to personal budget for education and the impact of tuition in the reduction of disposable or discretionary income. Additionally, some colleges and universities appear to offer this reimbursement as a means of lessening the financial burden on students and using leverage to ensure higher tuition rates by offering these programs.

Clearly, the use of the partial cost reimbursement program can help to ease rising tuition costs. It never seems that governmental intervention is desired in most businesses and likely colleges and universities are no different. Those who might argue against the partial cost reimbursement program might suggest that this is a form of price control (Hauptman, 1998) which would give governmental regulators considerable authority over university and college business. However, the evidence does not suggest that partial reimbursement of tuition costs is price control rather it is designed to lessen the burdens on tuition-paying students, especially those with lower-level income brackets.

Additional arguments related to price control might suggest that this would be a tactic to create a form of competitiveness between rival universities and colleges, at a time when consumer incomes are down, to give some universities with a higher financial portfolio an edge over less-affluent or cash-rich universities. From a microeconomic perspective, the activities of the college or university related to reimbursement programs might ensure a higher volume of interested students than those universities which do not provide partial cost reimbursements.

This would not be a value to the student if they were denied partial reimbursements to assist with day-to-day needs such as clothing and in-house meals. Partial cost reimbursement would also provide students with the necessary tools to succeed. Morris and Maisto (2005) offer a unique theory of human needs proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in which the needs of students start out at the most basic, such as food and water (physiological) and progress through a series of stages until they reach self-actualization, or the pinnacle of their human capacity.

Under this model, it is theorized that no individual can progress through self-development until basic fundamental needs are met. The partial cost reimbursement program, as modeled by Maslow’s theory, would provide students with a wide variety of physiological needs (clothing, shelter, food), thus giving them the motivation to succeed as positive, fulfilled students. These extra funds provided by reimbursement, for some students without a parent or guardian to rely on, could experience the only cash award distributed during their entire college or university semester.

Partial cost reimbursement appears to be primarily a psychological motivator for some and a competitive tool related to pricing for struggling colleges and universities. However, the overall benefits of this program are to alleviate the financial burdens of students and provide them with the cash necessary to remain focused on the goal of learning and absorbing lecture information. This program can ease rising tuition costs by leveraging higher tuition rates at schools and make very satisfied students in the process.

Those who might argue against partial cost reimbursement would be taking away from the emotional stability of struggling students who might come to rely on these funds to make personal lifestyle improvements amidst a complicated environment of limited cash resources and limited job opportunities in difficult marketplaces. If local campus jobs cannot be located, cash for immediate expenses and personal grooming items becomes paramount. Without the partial reimbursements, many students will likely continue to feel the pain of rising tuition costs.

ReferencesMorris, M. and Maisto, A. (2005). Psychology: An Introduction. 6th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall. Hauptman, Arthur M. (1998). “Student loans lead to rising college costs’. National Cross Talk.Retrieved 24 Mar 2009 from http://www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/ct0598/voices0598-hauptman.shtml