In one of the largest increases in two decades, state spending on student aid rose by 12.6 percent nationwide in the 1999-2000 academic year.
In Virginia, student aid increased about 6.7 percent in the 1999-2000 academic year. However, this only marked the latest addition to a series of rises in student aid spending. From 1994-1999, spending increased by 41 percent.
Officials released the results April 17 as part of a survey conducted by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.
According to the survey, 38 states, including Virginia, reported spending more on student aid in 1999-2000 than in the previous year.
Much of the increase in student aid may be because of recent economic prosperity.
We are "lucky we've had a good economy," said Yvonne B. Hubbard, director of financial aid to students.
Growing emphasis on the benefits of a college education also may be partly responsible for the increase.
"More and more, we start seeing college as another step as opposed to an unusual step," Hubbard said.
Most of the increases in Virginia were in the area of need-based aid, even though merit-based aid was responsible for much of the student aid rise nationally.
"Affordability, that's the primary drive," said Lee Andes, financial aid manager for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
"I really hate to see the state getting involved in merit when it can't meet 100 percent of need," Hubbard said.
Virginia does not have any aid programs that are solely based on merit, Andes said. Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) recently proposed a merit-based program, the New Century Scholarship Program, but the legislature did not pass the proposal.
But Virginia does have some aid alternatives that are not entirely based on need.
The Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program is a "need-based program that looks for some merit," Andes said.
Students must qualify for the program based on need. However, if they have certain merit standards, they might qualify for higher amounts of aid, he said.
The Tuition Assistance Grant program extends non-need-based aid to in-state students who attend private Virginia colleges, he said.
Undergraduates benefited most from the increases in aid around the country and in Virginia. Nationally, graduates received less than 1 percent of need-based aid and 6 percent of merit-based aid. Graduate aid rates in Virginia have remained "stagnant" in recent years, Andes said.
States want to "make sure students get their undergraduate degree," NASSGA president Cheryl Maplethorpe said.
Once students get to the graduate level, states let students "fund themselves," Maplethorpe said.
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