Following allegations that Dickinson and 110 other institutions of higher education were illegally misleading students applying for federal financial aid, the college has amended its online instructions for financial aid aid applications.

In a Feb. 3 letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Reform alleged that 111 colleges and universities, including most of the Ivy League, were in violation of federal law by failing to clearly distinguish between the processes for applying for federal aid and institutional aid.

After the letter was published in national media outlets, many institutions amended their instructions for aid applicants. Changes made to Dickinson’s online instructions for aid applicants now reflect the differences between the two forms. Richard Heckman, director of the Office of Financial Aid, said that his office did not intend to mislead students and parents with the original instructions.

“Our previous online overview was intended to make the application process as simple and linear as possible, on the assumption that applicants and families applying for financial aid would want to apply for all available forms of assistance,” said Richard Heckman, director of the Office of Financial Aid. “We certainly didn’t intend to ‘mislead’ anyone.  After seeing the article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, we immediately reviewed our online information.”

Text on the College website from January did not specify the difference between the CSS PROFILE and FAFSA forms.

“Applicants for admission who are interested in applying for financial aid must submit the CSS profile form to the College Scholarship Service by the appropriate admission deadline… the FAFSA must also be filed as soon as possible after January 1,” the instructions read.

After reviewing the online instructions with legal counsel, the Office of Financial Aid decided to clarify their language.

“In discussion with the college’s attorney, we determined that the information on our website was not as clear as it could be in distinguishing between applying for federal financial aid and applying for need-based grant aid from Dickinson,” said Heckman.

“Applicants who wish to apply for federal financial aid only need only complete the FAFSA,” the current website reads. “Domestic applicants who wish to apply for need-based grant aid from Dickinson must submit the CSS profile… Applicants applying for federal or state aid only (not Dickinson need-based assistance) do not need to apply to complete the CSS Profile.”

Heckman hopes that these recent modifications to the instructions and continued attention to the matter will absolve the College of all prior allegations.

“Several national associations (National Association of Financial Aid Administrators and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities) have met with Congressman Cummings on behalf of the institutions mentioned in the letter,” said Heckman. “We trust those meetings will resolve any lingering concerns.”

In 1992, amendments to the Higher Education Act prohibited colleges and universities from requiring students to submit any form other than the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) in order to be considered for federal student aid. In addition to requiring aid applicants to submit the FAFSA, however, many universities employ the College Board’s fee-based CSS PROFILE form to determine eligibility for institutional aid.

The Congressional committee alleged the failure of many schools to clarify the difference between the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE could lead students to submit unnecessary, costly forms when they only wished to apply for federal aid.

“These institutions appear to be establishing additional requirements for students to complete costly financial aid forms… to be considered for any aid,” the letter reads. “Congress banned this practice in 1992 because it creates undue hurdles for students seeking financial aid.”