ACUP examines issues surrounding need-blind admissions

University would need to make a financial commitment of $3 million to $8 million a year to achieve need-blind policy

The theory and practice of need-blind admissions policies among Brown's peers and the cost of implementing such a policy at Brown were discussed at the April 3 meeting of the Advisory Committee on University Planning (ACUP).

Institutions with need-blind policies do not consider a family's ability to pay when making admissions decisions, Michael Bartini, director of financial aid, told the ACUP members. Brown attempts to do the same, admitting students until its financial aid budget is tapped out. From that point on, fully qualified students are admitted only if they are also able to pay. The need-aware portion of the process usually affects less than 10 percent of an admitted class.

But, Bartini said, many need-blind institutions practice what is called gapping: The students who are admitted are given financial aid packages that do not meet their need. If students and their families cannot make up the difference, the students cannot attend.

Brown, however, currently meets 100 percent of an undergraduate's financial need, a practice that Brown administrators agree would continue once the University becomes need-blind. "We do it 100 percent or not at all," Bartini said.

Approximately 37 percent of current Brown students receive financial aid packages that included University scholarships, and the University's commitment to student aid continues to be the fastest-growing element of the budget. During the 2000-01 academic year, Brown will increase its spending for student aid by 6.8 percent, to $42.6 million.

Becoming need-blind would mean the percentage of students receiving financial aid would increase from 38 percent to as high as 46 percent, Bartini said, and the University would need to make a financial commitment of between $3 million and $8 million a year. Bartini described some of the factors that would affect these numbers, including:

Competition in the marketplace. Will other institutions change their financial aid policies in the future? How will that affect Brown?
The economy. The economy and stock market are robust now, but a family's contribution toward a tuition bill would certainly be affected if a parent loses a job or other assets. Such changes would require Brown to increase its financial aid budget.

Bartini said that over the past few months, a committee has discussed Brown's options for pursing a need-blind policy, but has set no date for implementation. "All of us want to be [need blind]," said Provost Kathryn Spoehr, who chairs ACUP, but there are differences of opinion about how fast the University can implement such a policy while meeting other strategic goals. That's a role the ACUP members can play, she said. "You're a good way to get the opinion of people on campus."

The other item on the ACUP agenda was an update on restructuring the University's economic and administrative models, presented by Donald J. Reaves, executive vice president for finance and administration. Reaves offered a number of options to pursue, including outsourcing services like the Brown Bookstore or Faculty Club, increasing undergraduate student enrollment, assessing appropriate cost allocations to University-affiliated entities, exploring year-round operations on campus, and red-tape and paperwork reductions. He also forwarded an extension school, distance-learning programs, and partnerships with industry and government as potential sources of new revenue.

ACUP's next meeting will be April 10 from 3-4:45 p.m. in University Hall. On the agenda are faculty and staff benefits structure, a museum update, the capital budget and capital projects.