Financial Aid History Made Yesterday

The latest reform of Harvard's financial aid policy comes at a pivotal moment in University history and is the most radical change since World War II.

Fifty years ago, aid was merit-based and offered only in proportion to gifts to the University from donors. Today, a combination of proceeds from the endowment and tuition pays for aid. The decision to add $2,000 to every student aid package coincides with cuts in federal funding. Ten years ago schools could expect the government to cover 20 percent of student aid, but today that figure has dwindled to 10 percent.

Harvard's announcement yesterday marks the fourth pivotal moment in the evolution of its financial aid.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 says the era of student support began with a single gift in the 17th century.

In 1643, Lady Molson, known as Ann Radcliffe before her marriage, donated 100 pounds for scholarships.

This bequest was the first in a long line of directed giving from aid-minded donors.

It was not until the 1930s, however, that Harvard formalized its financial aid policy through the institution of a national scholarship program.

Fitzsimmons calls this development the second crucial point in the history of financial aid.

The scholarship program codified Harvard's commitment to helping needy young scholars, and it nationalized the University by enabling students from across the country to attend.

Need--blind admissions-Harvard's policy of evaluating applicants without regard for their ability to pay tuition-emerged as the third major aid development in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Fitzsimmons says.

Secretary of the Faculty John B. Fox '59 says that although the University began using tuition revenue for financial aid in the 1950s, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that aid was "officially uncoupled from academic performance."

Fox describes the development of "JUM jobs," aid packages conceived by and named after Dean of the College John U. Munro, during the post-World War II years.

The tradition of offering support to students in the form of grants tied to work requirements, known as work-study, has endured with minor adjustments in the last 50 years.

Harvard foresees spending close to $90 million in aid this academic year-spending that is consonant with skyrocketing tuition. The price of a degree has quintupled since 1977 and continues to rise at about 4 percent per year.

But yesterday's announcement ushers forth a new phase in financial aid development--one that, in light of reforms at other leading universities last year, will help Harvard compete for the growing number of qualified applicants unable to pay full tuition.