Giving Compass' Take:

• In the 2017-2018 school year, state schools increased grant aid by almost $950 million, and research shows there was also growth in need-based assistance that year as well.  

• How does need-based aid vs. merit-based aid help or hinder recruitment?  What are the ways that funding and assistance programs can help inform retainment strategies? 

• Here is a startup that helps students navigate college financial aid. 

States doled out $13.6 billion in student aid in the 2017-18 academic year, up from $12.8 billion in 2016-17, according to an annual survey from the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP).  Grants accounted for about $11.9 billion, or 87%, of the aid. The remaining $1.7 billion went toward loans, conditional grants, work-study, tuition waivers and other nongrant student aid.  Grant aid grew by 8.6% year-over-year. About three-fourths of grants were need-based.

States increased their undergraduate grant aid by nearly $950 million in the 2017-18 academic year, marking the largest yearly increase in the past decade, according to NASSGAP.

Need-based aid grew by about $590 million for the year. Aid not based on financial need increased by nearly $357 million. When adjusted for inflation, the 2017-18 academic year is the sixth-straight year that grant aid has increased, the report notes.

The College Board's latest annual report on student aid trends bolsters some of these findings. In it, the authors note 27 states weighed students' financial circumstances when awarding at least 95% of their grant aid in 2017-18. On the other hand, 13 states allocated less than half of their grant aid based on need.

New Jersey led states in need-based undergraduate aid, giving out $1,569 per full-time student, compared to the national average of $667, the NASSGAP report found. New Jersey was followed by Washington, California, Indiana, New York and Virginia.

Growth in state need-based aid has helped offset a decrease in the share of federal need-based aid, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators points out.

However, states have also been increasing their merit-based aid, which is a form of non-need-based support.

Colleges generally use merit aid to draw more students to their campuses, including those from out of state who often pay more than their in-state peers. Yet many researchers agree this type of aid may take away funding for need-based programs and contribute to higher tuition prices, according to Ithaka S+R's analysis.

Read the full article about increase in state-aid to college students by Natalie Schwartz at Education Dive.