Yale Policy Needs More Attention

Yale officials announced last week that the university would award financial aid to students previously denied federal funds because of a clause in the 1998 Higher Education Act.

The new policy breaks away from the 1998 law that temporarily bars any student convicted of drug-related offenses from receiving federal financial aid funds.

The funds could be restored after the student completes a drug rehabilitation program approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

But Yale has decided to replace the federal money with university-based loans and grants if the students attend a university-approved rehabilitation program.

The new policy applies only to students convicted of drug possession.

Yale is only the fourth college in the nation to fight the federal act's Drug-Free Student Aid Provision.

In many respects, Yale's decision to take a stand against the Higher Education Act is a bold move.

By not automatically refusing to award aid to students because of a drug possession conviction, Yale is promoting its mission to serve as many students as possible.

With the cost of attending Yale reaching $36,400 during the 2001-02 school year, the loss of federal funds could have a big impact on a student's ability to pay.

In creating this new policy, Yale appears to be making sure that a loss of federal aid does not cripple a student's ability to pay for college.

But Yale officials have not been forthcoming with what the source of these alternative funds will be and that is a cause for concern.

If Yale dips into its endowment funds to award aid to students convicted for drug possession, that leaves less money for students who have obeyed the law and deserve the funds.

Now, if Yale intends to start a new fund designed specifically for this new policy, then there is no cause for debate.

But a decision on the matter has not been announced.

Yale officials refused to comment on the policy Thursday.

Yale administrators also said that they will not withhold financial aid funds from students who do not report the convictions on their financial aid forms.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid specifically asks applicants if they have been convicted of a drug-related offense.

The FAFSA is required to receive federal funds.

Under the Higher Education Act, any student who skips the question on the FAFSA is automatically denied federal subsidized loans and could face prosecution.

But in deciding not to penalize students for withholding the information, Yale officials could be diminishing the impact of the law.

When used properly, the Higher Education Act can serve as a deterrent to drug use by threatening to punish students where it hurts the most -- the wallet.

According to The Associated Press, about 47,000 of the 10.5 million FAFSA applicants might be denied federal aid this year under the act.

But if Yale students feel that there will be no significant recourse for their actions because of alternate sources of financial aid, that threat goes away.

Yale must also consider what precedent the new policy could set.

Under most university honor codes, giving misleading information to college officials is considered a violation that should be punished.

Failing to report a drug conviction on the FAFSA should fall under this category and ought to be punished as well.

Instead, the Yale policy seems to honor that dishonesty.

On first glance, the Yale policy appears to have many good intentions.

But until Yale officials are more forthcoming about the details of the plan, there is no way to tell what impact the policy will have on the institution and its students in the future.

Columnist April Bethea can be reached at adbethea@email.unc.edu.