The University provided more financial aid in the form of grants and scholarships in the 2010-11 school year, a trend that helps ease student debt after graduation, administrators said.

The last time Jon King appeared before the Board of Trustees, he was heckled by angry students protesting tuition increases.

The number of financial aid applicants has risen consistently by almost 3,000 students each year from 2008 to 2011.

At Thursday’s Board of Governors budget and finance committee meeting, UNC-system President Thomas Ross’s tuition plan passed by a vote of 5-1. But the discussion surrounding the vote was still contentious, and its subject has the potential to change the character of UNC even more than the highest tuition increase would.

The largest-ever individual financial aid donation received by Duke University will promote diversity and access for prospective students in both the U.S. and abroad, administrators say.

Several UNC-system schools have decided not to participate in a federal financial aid initiative because administrators say it doesn’t offer many benefits to participating schools.

Last year, the amount owed for student loans surpassed credit card debt. That was troubling enough. But by the end of this year, student debt will have reached a new milestone: the $1 trillion mark.

Holden Thorp is trying to walk a straight line in the changing world of higher education. As the University’s 10th chancellor, he, like every other chancellor who has come before him, has had to balance present emergencies with a vision of UNC’s future. And he’s no stranger to emergencies.

Several departments on campus have fallen victim to years of budget cuts, but the University’s ability to provide financial aid has remained relatively unscathed.

Though lines of students weren’t spilling out the doors of Vance Hall this year, more students received work-study awards than in recent years.

The U.S. Department of Education is now making it a priority to put a stop to these scams, but many colleges have been dealing with this issue for years.

To avoid the headache that more than 1,000 students experienced last year, the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid has streamlined its work-study application process.

As state legislators deliberate measures to close a state budget shortfall of $2.4 billion, budgetary adjustments could benefit K-12 education at the expense of the UNC system and community colleges.

A legislative proposal to decrease state financial aid funding by $37.6 million for the 2011-2012 academic year could throw University aid packages into uncertainty.

Students who completed their FAFSA form and Financial Aid Profile by today’s deadline have an advantage over those who chose to procrastinate.

Seven years ago, the University established the Carolina Covenant program to overcome the weight college tuition can place on students beneath the poverty line.

If a Republican effort to reduce federal spending passes through the divided U.S. Congress, students in North Carolina could lose about $166 million in financial aid funding for the upcoming academic year.

Students who are married might qualify for more financial benefits, including improved need-based financial aid and in-state tuition. This does not immediately translate to in-state residency for UNC students. But married students do not have to include their parents’ income as their own on FAFSA forms, she said, which might help with financial aid.

As university budgets nationwide are cut and tuition increased, it is more important than ever to fill out the FAFSA form early, administrators say.

Students nationwide might see changes to the higher education system in the next few years, which could lead to loss of grants and federal student aid.With a new Republican majority in U.S. Congress, the Department of Education’s budget could get slashed and some of its power transferred to states.