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