December 14, 2001

A Move Away From Paper Version of Student-Aid Application Stirs Criticism

The paper version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid may soon be a relic, but some financial-aid officials think the Education Department is moving away from the form a little too quickly.

With more and more students applying for aid online, the department had asked college officials to cut back on orders for copies of this year's FAFSA, and many had done so. But the department also cut the already-reduced orders for some colleges by another third. The combined trimming