The practice of providing financial aids to students and the education sector in the US can be traced by traced back to colonial times. Colonists played a significant philanthropic role in ensuring that many people could be educated. The US government followed the same trend when the country got independence. Currently, with the increasing cost of education in the country, millions of students apply for education loans and grants. The US Department of Education provides financial aids to millions of Americans with the aim of improving literacy and access to higher education. At the same time, Americans are increasingly becoming concern about student loan debt crisis, which is getting out of hand. A substantial number of students are not able to pay their loan debts. Thus, it is important to explore and analyze student financial aid, especially based on the information the Department of Education website.
Ease of Information Retrieval
A lot of information about student financial aid is available on the department’s website. The website contains almost all types of loans and grants that are available for students. For instance, students can easily retrieve information about types of loans such as a direct loan, Parent Plus Loan, and Pell grant. The website also has sufficient information about loan eligibility, repaying, and defaulting. Accessing information has a substantial role in the decision-making process. Failure to get sufficient and hinders the ability of people to make an informed decision (Long & Curtis, 2015) . Therefore, the department is doing a great thing by ensuring that students can easily access enough information about student financial program. However, students are forced to use many links to get more information about different elements of financial aids such as estimates of aids and loan servicers. Opening additional sites to get information may be tedious and time-consuming, particularly when a student is not able to get faster internet.
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Loans Available for Students
The first type of loan available for students is a direct loan, which is implemented through the Federal Direct Loan Program that offers low-interest financial aid to college and university students, including their parents. However, the direct loan is issued and managed by the US Department of Education (US Department of Education). Like many student financial aid, a direct loan is associated with many benefits such as flexible repayment option and low-interest rates. Also, direct loan gives students the option of consolidating loans. The second type of loan available for students is Pell Grant. Unlike direct loans, students are not required to repay Pell Grant, which is now accessed by many postsecondary students in various parts of the country. For instance, in the 2015-2016 financial year, about 15% of undergraduate students received Pell Grant. Although the direct loan is available to any post-secondary student, Pell Grant can only be accessed by students who have not earned an undergraduate degree. It is one of the loans that is issued and managed by the Department of Education (US Department of Education).
The third loan that is available for students is Parent Plus Loan (PPL), which is mainly available to parents of dependent undergraduates. The main aim of issuing PPL loan is to help deserving parents to get a loan for their students at a flexible interest rate and favorable terms and conditions. The loan is offered at a fixed rate of 7.6%, even though the government can change it after considering a lot of factors. Besides, the loan has strict eligibility requirements ( Hillman, 2015) . According to Hillman (2015), one of the challenges of student loans is that they are based on fixed limits. For example, direct loan borrowing is capped at $31,000, mainly for dependent students. As a result, the loans may sometimes address all the needs of students, leading for further challenges for learners.
Repayment Plan
Even though many financial aid programs are available for students; the primary challenge is repayment. The number of students who are defaulting is increasing, as many college graduates find it hard to get employed. The department requires all beneficiaries of student loans to repay unless they receive official cancellation or forgiveness from the government ( US Department of Education) . Students are required to repay their loans even if they fail to complete their education, cannot find a job, and unhappy with the education programs that they are pursuing. Students are likely to face many consequences when they fail to repay their loans. Student loan defaulters automatically become illegible for federal financial aid are blacklisted by credit bureaus ( US Department of Education) . Therefore, the loan repayment process is challenging for many students, especially those who are not able to get employment after graduating. The government does not have a clear loan repayment plan that can assist financial aid beneficiaries, leading to an increase in default rate.
Application Process Accessibility
The application of government financial aid is not tedious, especially when a student can access the government. Based on the information in the department's website, the first stake is for the students to create Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID account. The personal account gives students the opportunity to access all financial aids that are available easily. The student application loans are freely available on the internet for any interested applicant. The application process is not complicated or challenging, especially when a person has created an account with the FSA. Nevertheless, according to Hillman (2015), the process of applying for student loans can be challenging when there are a lot of requirements. Some students, therefore, need some during the application process.
Support for Applicants
The Department of Education has established some help desks for students who encounter challenges with their loan application, including repayment or any concerns or question. Students can use Federal Student Aid system that is designed to help in addressing any challenge faced by students facing difficulties with their financial aid. Nonetheless, students are forced to use the department's website to have their issues or problems solved. The use of social media to share and acquire information is increasingly becoming inevitable, primary among the young generation ( Westerman, Spence & Van Der Heide, 2014) . Thus, the department should use social media networks to support applicants with their questions or concerns.
Maximizing Access to Funds for the Students
The demand for student financial aid is rapidly increasing, as many students are joining college. As a result, it is vital for institutions and the government to maximize access to funds for students. Effective budgeting is one of the strategies that can be used to increase the accessibility of student funds ( Murphy & Katsinas, 2014) . To maximize the access to funds, institutional financial aid budget directors should ensure that available financial resources are adequately budgeted. At the same time, the directors should minimize the waste of financial resources.
Conclusion
Financial aid is essential in ensuring that many needy students can get college and education. With the world becoming more digitalized, the Department of Education should use its internet to increase the accessibility and utilization of information, which will enhance the effectiveness of student financial aids. However, the department should create an effective loan repayment plan to reduce the default rate. Also, the loans should be favorable to students, especially regarding the amount and repayment terms and conditions.
References
Hillman, N. W. (2015). Borrowing and repaying student loans. Journal of Student Financial Aid , 45 (3), 5-12.
Long, A. C., & Curtis, J. R. (2015). Enhancing informed decision-making: Is more information always better? Critical care medicine , 43 (3), 713.
Murphy, D. S., & Katsinas, S. G. (2014). Community college budgeting and financing demystified. New Directions for Community Colleges , 2014 (168), 17-27.
US Department of Education. (n.d.). Student Loans, Forgiveness . Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grants-college.html?src=image
Westerman, D., Spence, P. R., & Van Der Heide, B. (2014). Social media as an information source: Recency of updates and credibility of information. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , 19 (2), 171-183.
