A quality education is the primary instrument of social and economic mobility in the United States. As open-access institutions, community colleges are the gateway to postsecondary education for millions of Americans. Many of these students would be unable to afford college without federal resources, such as student financial aid and tax credits.…

A study attempted to identify the college types that benefit most from federal student aid by examining how institutional quality, institutional mission, and average student costs of attendance covaried with students' average grant, loan, and work-study aid awards in 254 4-year public and 499 4-year private colleges and universities. (Author/MSE)