Pubdate: Mon, 07 Oct 2002
Source: Tartan, The (PA EDU)
Copyright: 2002 The Tartan Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.thetartan.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2642
Author: Brad Grantz, Editor-in-Chief
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (HEA)
Cited: ACLU http://www.aclu.org

COLLEGES GRAPPLE WITH FEDERAL ANTI-DRUG EDICTS

Financial Aid Restriction Not A Problem Here, Says Enrollment

Crime may not pay, but it seems that lying does. If a college student has 
been convicted of a drug offense but says otherwise on his or her financial 
aid application, he or she may reap the benefits of more than $14,000 in 
federal loans for education.

This year, 30,000 students nationwide were denied federal grants, loans, 
and work-study under the anti-drug provision of the Higher Education Act 
(HEA), a result of a 1998 amendment of the HEA, according to a report 
published by the Department of Education. A conviction for the distribution 
or use of illegal drugs is currently the only crime that will prevent a 
student from receiving federal aid.

Carnegie Mellon administrators say the anti-drug provision has had nearly 
no effect on enrollment or financial aid costs at Carnegie Mellon.

Civil liberties groups and opponents of the drug war have criticized the 
legislation, calling it hypocritical and counterproductive. College 
students convicted of crimes such as rape and murder are still eligible to 
receive the more than $14,000 available for each federal aid applicant. 
Graham Boyd, the national director of the American Civil Liberties Union 
drug policy litigation network, says the law discourages and prevents low 
income individuals from receiving aid.

"Those already in danger of being pushed to society's margin will not be 
able to get federal aid to improve themselves," says Boyd.

In April, Yale University became the fourth and most prominent college to 
openly disagree with the federal law. After three years of student 
lobbying, administrators created a policy to reimburse students who lost 
federal aid due to a drug conviction for usage (as opposed to 
distribution), provided they complete a mandatory rehabilitation program.

However, less than 40 percent of 5,300 undergraduates receive federal aid 
at Yale compared to 48.5 percent of Carnegie Mellon's 5,500 undergraduate 
students. For the 2002-03 school year, only eight percent of CMU students 
who completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) did not 
qualify for government financial assistance. A policy contrary to the 
anti-drug provision will not cost a lot for Yale, which has a $10.7 billion 
endowment.

Vice president of enrollment Bill Elliott thinks that Carnegie Mellon 
cannot afford to emulate Yale's policy. To date, no student at Yale and 
only one student at CMU have been denied federal aid since the anti-drug 
provision was enacted.

While CMU debates a definitive answer to Elliott's fiscal concerns, 
director of Enrollment Services Linda Anderson says that in the meantime, 
the school will make up the difference in lost aid for students affected by 
the legislation.

"We will compensate an equal amount until we've had time to develop a 
University policy."

Anderson says the anti-drug provision was not an issue until this year when 
a student's funding was placed on hold because he had reported on his FAFSA 
a prior drug conviction. Through enrollment services, the student declined 
to comment.

A national contractor scans FAFSA forms and applications, checking the 
veracity of social security numbers and citizenship status. Applications 
are flagged if a student has answered "yes" to question 35 (drug 
conviction), or left it blank. Since there is no national criminal 
database, a "no" response will send the application through the system cleanly.

Anderson isn't particularly convinced of the provisions effectiveness. "Who 
will know [if someone lies]? There is no centralized database."

Under federal law, the University reviews and processes all financial aid 
requests from applicants. To calculate a family's expected contribution, 
enrollment checks the self-reported data against tax forms. The remaining 
cost of tuition is comprised of institutional and federal aid.

But how far must CMU go to determine the accuracy of the information 
reported on the form? Anderson says the school can use tax records to 
determine the family's contribution, but there is no way to ensure the 
accuracy of the rest of the form, namely question 35.

"The federal government has once again given us the task to ask a question 
to get information, and we're not required to verify the accuracy of the 
self-reported data," says Anderson.

The federal government does require schools to resolve "conflicting 
documentation." But Dean of Student Affairs Michael Murphy says that is too 
nebulous a phrase. If Campus Police cited a student for smoking marijuana 
in his or her dorm room, Enrollment Services would never know.

"That will certainly be part of the discussion. Our position has been that 
it is the responsibility of the individual to report that," said Murphy. He 
gave no timetable for the creation of a new policy.

Falsifying FAFSA answers is punishable by a $20,000 fine or up to one year 
in jail. Murphy says CMU has never contacted federal authorities about an 
applicant lying on the FAFSA.

Editor's Note: Andrew Johnson contributed to this story.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D