Federal financial aid in relation to rising tuition costs Essay

Federal financial aid in relation to rising tuition costs - Essay Example It never seems that governmental intervention is desired in most businesses and likely colleges and universities are no different. Those who might argue against the partial cost reimbursement program might suggest that this is a form of price control (Hauptman, 1998) which would give governmental regulators considerable authority over university and college business. However, the evidence does not suggest that partial reimbursement of tuition costs is price control rather it is designed to lessen the burdens on tuition-paying students, especially those with lower-level income brackets. Additional arguments related to price control might suggest that this would be a tactic to create a form of competitiveness between rival universities and colleges, at a time when consumer incomes are down, to give some universities with a higher financial portfolio an edge over less-affluent or cash-rich universities. From a microeconomic perspective, the activities of the college or university related to reimbursement programs might ensure a higher volume of interested students than those universities which do not provide partial cost reimbursements. This would not be a value to the student if they were denied partial reimbursements to assist with day-to-day needs such as clothing and in-house meals. Partial cost reimbursement would also provide students with the necessary tools to succeed. Morris and Maisto (2005) offer a unique theory of human needs proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in which the needs of students start out at the most basic, such as food and water (physiological) and progress through a series of stages until they reach self-actualization, or the pinnacle of their human capacity. Under this model, it is theorized that no individual can progress through self-development until basic fundamental needs are met. The partial cost reimbursement program, as modeled by Maslow’s theory, would provide students with a wide variety of physiological