Silber Financial Aid Proposal Would Distribute Funds Widely

Under a financial aid plan proposed Monday by John R. Silber, president of Boston University (B.U.), any upperclassman enrolled in a degree-granting program at an accredited institution would receive loans regardless of need, repayable in installments, once the recipient joins the work force.

Out of Nowhere

Under Silber's proposal, no one could default on loans, since payments would be withheld from paychecks like social security or would be paid by the self-employed as part of income tax, Samuel McCracken, assistant to the president of B.U., said yesterday.

Silber, who presented the plan in an address to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in Denver, called for an initial federal appropriation for the plan of $5.5 billion, based on current tuition costs for four million students, McCracken said.

No loans would exceed the cost of a student's tuition under the plan, and no interest would be charged on loans, McCracken said. Silber's proposal also calls for the addition of a service charge to the total amount of the loan to cover the cost of running and insuring the program, McCracken added.

Silber's plan presupposes a change in attitude towards financial aid on the part of administrators, since financial aid administrators currently treat students "as if they are their parents' children, as if they have no earning capacity," McCracken said.