Need Blind in Need

by Peter Isbister


This year marks a crossroads for financial aid at Wesleyan. It is the final year of the Five Year Plan instituted by former President William Chase in 1992, which mandated a reduction of financial aid expenditures from 19.1% of the university budget to 17.5%. The plan was designed to restore Wesleyan’s financial stability. The university achieved the 17.5% goal, but the consequences were substantial.
In order to reduce financial aid expenditures while preserving Wesleyan’s commitment to a policy of need-blind admissions, loan levels rose at an unprecedented rate. In 1992, entering first year students were asked to borrow $13,850. For students entering in the fall of 1996, the standard four-year cumulative debt will be $21,675. At that level, loan payments will exceed 15% of students starting salaries after graduation. There is wide-spread consensus that further use of loan increases to accomplish a need-blind admission policy would not only be unwise, but would unfairly limit the career choices of students burdened by overwhelming debt. The questions facing the Wesleyan community in this turning-point year, then, are these: Can we afford to remain need-blind? What other tools can we use besides loans to finance a need-blind policy? If a need-blind policy is a top priority, what are we willing to sacrifice to maintain it?
In recent history, Wesleyan students have vigorously defended the need-blind admissions policy. Discussion of a shift toward a need-aware policy in 1992 generated protests and angry letters. There is still a feeling among many in the Wesleyan community that we must find a way to afford need-blind. "President Bennet is fully committed to maintaining Wesleyan’s need-blind policy," according to Barbara-Jan Wilson, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid.
Dean Wilson indicated that rather than modify Wesleyan’s steadfast commitment to need-blind, the university hopes to engage in a major capital campaign to double the financial aid endowment which currently stands at forty million dollars. Competing universities have opted instead for preferential packaging, wherein stronger candidates are offered a more appealing aid package, or merit based aid-giving aid on the basis of ability rather than need. These are both options for Wesleyan as well. But as long as Wesleyan resists them, they increase the burden on the university because a disproportionate number of students with need apply here. Other forces making it more difficult for Wesleyan to maintain need-blind are a lack of government funding, an increase in the number of students who need aid applying to university, and the university’s limited budget. At current levels, Wesleyan may well be asked to finance nearly two and half million dollars in student loans for the 1996-97 year.
Despite the obvious advantages, both to the university and to society, of a need-blind admission policy, there are costs as well. "All Deans of Admission want a need-blind policy," observed Dean Wilson, "I can just admit the best kids." As for society, a need-blind-policy seems to be at least a drop in the bucket towards closing the gap between the educational opportunities available to the rich and those available to the poor. The fact is, however, that as a community we must prioritize. It simply may not be possible to have the number of professors, the quality of housing, and the equity in admissions that we desire. It certainly won’t be attainable without a larger financial aid endowment than the forty million dollars Wesleyan currently enjoys. Reaching a workable compromise on the issue of priorities is the challenge of the coming years. "What will we, as a community, be willing to sacrifice?" asks Dean Wilson.
President Bennet is attempting to set the question of priorities in a larger context. He has convened a series of planning forums to discuss both academic and financial plans for the coming era of Wesleyan that, at least symbolically, begins with the class of 2000. These forums are an outgrowth of brief idea papers commissioned last year, that address such questions as curriculum, requirements, teaching style and university size. They will take place on alternate Tuesdays from 11:30 to 1 p.m. and are open to all students. Whether or not, and how completely, Wesleyan remains need-blind, will shape what kinds of students matriculate here, which in turn will influence what kind of university we become. It is important that students take an active role in shaping this discussion, as it will be the basis of the message President Bennet brings to alumnae when trying to raise money. The discussion is a complex one, and requires informed participants. "I often feel that students oversimplify things. It’s not all black and white," noted Dean Wilson. "All the idea papers are posted on the web," she added.
The purpose of need-blind admissions is to be able to admit the best students and create a racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse student body. The challenge to need blind at the end of the five year plan, is that there are still an endless number of interests in the university, many of them complementary to the goals of need-blind, that need and deserve funding, and limited funding available. The task of the class of 2000 is to enter into the fray.
Students for Financially Accessible Education-
A Student Voice


Amid all the confusion over the issue of financial aid policies, there is one student group that acts and speaks with a clear voice: Students for Financially Accessible Education, or SFAE. SFAE operates on two levels. The first is that it monitors the administration’s financial aid policy and lobbies on behalf of student interest, specifically with regards to such concerns as work study, summer earnings expectations and book allotments. Last year, SFAE produced a booklet detailing the hidden costs of attending Wesleyan such as lab fees, phone bills, music lessons, housing costs that exceed the allotment. The booklet should be widely available this year. Historically, SFAE has been an ardent defender of a need blind policy that meets students’ full need.
SFAE also administers an emergency loan fund that gives money to students who are at the risk of having to drop out of Wesleyan. The loan fund relies solely on private donations. It has been instrumental in keeping dozens of students in school.
Last year, many SFAE founders were among the graduating seniors. SFAE welcomes the support of the incoming class and any others who are interested. Stay tuned for meeting time and place.
The Financial Aid Oversight Committee (FAOC) is an advisory board comprised of administrators, faculty, and three students. The students are representatives of the student body and as such welcome your input.