Ethical issues in need- and merit-based financial aid in higher education institutions in the United States

Getting an undergraduate education is, for many, a vital component of future career success and economic stability. As the cost of such an education continues to rise, its affordability becomes more and more subject to the availability and size of financial aid packages. In their most simplified constitution, those include need-based and non-need-based (or merit) financial aid. Ample research has been done on the effects of different financial aid packages on higher education enrollment, retention, and graduation. This thesis aims to look at the financial aid issue from a much more ethical standpoint. Albeit more theoretical than most, it strives to explain the ethical dilemmas that occur at both the micro and macro levels of the financial aid process while still being practical enough to be of use in admissions and financial aid offices at undergraduate institutions across the nation.;Using the ethical theories of Aristotle and Kant, as well as a multi-dimensional ethical structure adjusted from an admissions process analysis and previous research done by experts in the subject matter, the thesis analyses the ethical issues involved in financial aid policy decisions from the perspective of the student, the institution, and the nation. It then looks at the practice of and ethical issues involved in enrollment management. Finally, the conclusion looks at the research and arguments developed to analyze higher education financial aid ethical policy recommendations.;This thesis asserts that Aristotle and Kant would both favor merit-based financial aid over need-based financial aid. Their theses are applied from a very theoretical and ideological point-of-view, so though insightful, they do not provide practical guidelines for financial aid decisions. However, using the multi-dimensional ethical structure (which includes analyzing the ethics of justice, critique, profession, community, and care), the thesis discerns more valuable results and provides the groundings for future ethical financial aid frameworks and policies. The thesis also finds that enrollment management practices do not pass ethical tests. The final chapter concludes by looking at the role of information in ethical decision-making, the shift in focus from need- to merit-based financial aid, and the issues in the current economical, political, and social climates. While ethical issues are never black and white in the real world, all players involved in postsecondary education decisions may benefit from a re-examination of the value of such an endeavor and a redefinition and re-evaluation of financial aid policies.