By Michele Richinick

Following Harvard’s footsteps, colleges and universities around the nation have been increasing their financial aid substantially for middle- and higher- income students. Northeastern, however, is not able to take the same initiatives, said Philomena Mantella, vice president for enrollment and student life.

On Dec. 10, 2007 Harvard announced it will begin to require families earning $120,000 to $180,000 yearly to pay, on average, no more than 10 percent of their income for tuition, which is based on a sliding scale. Other colleges and universities, like Princeton and Amherst College, made similar decisions soon after, according to local media reports.

Despite Northeastern’s substantial endowment, it does not approach the multi-billion-dollar level of other institutions like Harvard, Mantella said.

“We are very aware that financial aid is an important issue for students and their families,” Mantella said. “To that end, we have increased financial aid over the past several years, and are aggressively working on fundraising and development initiatives that will enable us to provide more aid for our students.”

Mantella also said that it is important to note that the university does not believe in a “one size fits all” approach to financial aid.

“Each student and each family situation is different, and parental income is not the only factor impacting a family’s ability to pay for higher education,” Mantella said. “We take a holistic approach that takes into account all relevant information impacting a student’s opportunity to attend Northeastern.”

Harvard’s announcement also said the financial aid packages will include the replacement of loans with grants. The university will no longer consider home equity when determining a family’s assets to calculate the cost of a family’s payment for tuition and room and board.

Although Northeastern’s endowment has grown substantially during the past several years, it is unlikely that Northeastern would be able to offer the type of tuition subsidization Harvard has proposed, said Rob Ranley, Student Government Association (SGA) vice president for financial affairs.

Northeastern’s budget for the next fiscal year will not be finalized until mid-March. In that process, the administration and the board of trustees will consider how much tuition needs to be increased, if at all, based on the modifications to the budget and the sources of income available to the university,” Ranley said.

According to The Washington Post, schools like Harvard, Princeton and the universities of North Carolina and Virginia have given low-income students generous financial aid packages in recent years.

“I think that [the colleges] should have the same system for everyone,” said Whitney Pray, a freshman journalism major. “If low-income families need even more help then they can apply for financial aid.”

Despite Northeastern’s current inability to follow Harvard, officials in the financial aid office said they were aware of the dangers of high tuition costs.

“We always are very conscious of an increase in tuition. The decision to change tuition is also looked at very closely with changes in financial aid policy. This is an attempt to make Northeastern as affordable as possible for all students,” Mantella said. “We are working diligently to make a Northeastern education more affordable for students.”

Three years ago, Harvard waived all costs for families earning $40,000 or less a year, and Harvard’s new standard will cause the family contribution to decline from 10 percent of income to zero, according to local media reports.

“I know that we (SGA) are always looking for ways to make the university more affordable to students, and something we have been working on is increasing the availability of need/merit-based scholarships,” Ranley said. “This was the top priority for students that emerged when we surveyed for the budget priorities this past fall, and it is something that is up for consideration. We just need to do some logistical work.”

Ranley said he has become involved with the process of building relationships with alumni to solicit donations, potentially for scholarships.

“We are in the very beginning stages of the whole process, but if done properly, and with enough student support, it is something that has the potential to create a substantial amount of funding for financial aid and individual scholarships,” Ranley said.