Study On Student Financial Aid System In American Higher Education

Higher education is expanding very rapidly. In1990s, funds shortage has become a universal problem. After the presentation of"cost-sharing"theory, the policy of cost-sharing by individuals has been tried out in many countries.With the tuition fees increasing more rapidly, the equality and efficiency of financial aid policy have been drawing much concern of the public. Along with the arrival of the popularizaion of higher education, many governments attach great importance to it.Under the support of federal government, American financial aid system in higher education has undergone years of development. American financial aid system in higher education is an integration of various concepts and diverse financial aid ways. It is the mixture of various concepts, criteria and financial aid methods that keeps the funds in steady flow into the cause of student financial aid . Thus the popularization process of American higher education still keeps a rapid tendency of progress.This paper mainly applies case analysis and investigative, comparitive and historical research methods. It is theoritically based on the policies of student financial aid system in American higher educaion. It starts with the financial aid programmes in University of California to study the successful mode of American financial aid system—multiple aid mode. At first this paper looks back on the development of American financial aid system. Then it summarizes and analyzes the characteristics of this mode through the concrete financial aid scheme in UC and explores and analyzes its possible development. American government has established a various aid mode, which is formed up by the federal government and state government as a core, and the universities and other social organizaions as the participators. And these modes have carried out marked effect. The methods of aid are composed mainly of scholarship, grant, all kinds of loan, work-study program and so on. The paper chiefly expounds the above contents at great length. Apart from them, it reviews the development of financial aid in China and analyzes the problems. This paper is meant to provide corresponding reference for completing the Chinese student aid system.American financial aid system gives us the following enlightenments: containing various ideas; paying close attention to the funds proportion; giving full play to each aid body's function; establishing effective operating system referring to the financial aid package.