Revised Standards for Financial Aid and Education Abroad Programs Released by CAS

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) has released revised standards to provide direction for financial aid and study abroad functional areas in higher education. CAS, composed of 39 collaborating professional associations representing over 100,000 professionals in higher education, recently approved the revision of its Education Abroad Programs and Services (EAPS) and Financial Aid Programs (FAP) Standards and Guidelines. These CAS publications and other materials can be ordered at www.cas.edu.

"I am pleased that NAFSA members contributed to the revisions of CAS standards for Education Abroad Programs and Services," said Caroline Donovan White, Senior Director of Education Abroad Services at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and CAS board member. "These revisions reflect the changing landscape of study abroad by including not-for-credit options; emphasizing collaboration with other campus units; and intentionally attracting and serving underrepresented students. These changes will help guide institutions as they grow their study abroad programs and prepare our students to compete in the global economy we live in today."

The new Financial Aid Program standards mark the first significant revision in more than two decades, and the revised standards represent the ways that the higher education and student debt landscapes have significantly changed in that time. Dorothy Mitstifer, revision committee chair, noted, "The new Financial Aid Program Standards were designed to address students in transition, financial aid practices, and financial counseling." She added, "The standards define advocacy responsibilities and ethical responsibilities, address the myriad of rules and regulations governing financial aid and the various institutional missions and characteristics, and encourage relations with other institutional and community functions and constituencies - all for the wellbeing of students."

CAS was established in 1979 to develop standards that promote college student learning and self-assessment for institutional effectiveness. The revised standards and guidelines for FAP and EAPS are available from the online store, as supplements to the most recent book published by CAS. The eighth edition of the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education was released in August 2012. The book of standards is the defining source of professional standards for many of the services provided to students in higher education. CAS publications and other materials can be ordered at www.cas.edu.