This research examines the dual credit and early college program options for school districts planning high school and college collaborations. It utilizes a quasi-experimental design from existing data at a community college that has a well-established dual credit and early college program that offers the students the option of Pell in high school…

RAND researchers studied more than 450,000 recipients of New Jersey's Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) -- the nation's most generous state-funded grant program per state resident college student -- to explore whether getting larger amounts of grant aid led to higher graduation rates for students at varying income levels and attending two-year, four-year,…

In 2015, The Education Trust released "The Pell Partnership: Ensuring a Shared Responsibility for Low-Income Student Success." This analysis of over 1,000 public and private institutions revealed that while Pell grant recipients graduate at rates averaging 14 percentage points lower than non-Pell eligible students, many institutions do…

Colleges and universities are paying increasing attention to students' transition into post-secondary education, including the provision of support to freshmen through structured First-Year Experiences (FYEs). Although low- and-moderate-income students are participating in post-secondary education at increased rates, their performance remains…

This dissertation includes three chapters focusing on policies directly related to improving college access and success. The first chapter focuses on lifetime eligibility of federal and state financial aid policies. The Pell Grant plays a critical role in helping students across the US to afford undergraduate education. In spite of its importance…

Federal free-college policies are now at the center of the Democratic higher education agenda. Sen. Bernie Sanders helped move the idea into the mainstream during the 2016 presidential campaign, and other lawmakers have since worked to advance the policy in Congress. Joe Biden effectively put free college on the ballot in 2020 when he fully…

The degree to which students are able to make adequate repayments on their student loans and avoid default is of special concern for colleges. If too many former students go into default, the college will face sanctions by the federal government and lose eligibility to provide currently enrolled students federal financial aid, such as the Pell…

In today's economy, employers' demand for an educated workforce is steadily rising. Policymakers, education leaders, and communities across the country recognize the need to improve college attendance and success, but are constrained by the current budgetary environment. Meanwhile students themselves face mounting college costs, and financial aid…

In this study, the authors examined the impact of two interventions related to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on postsecondary outcomes of low- to moderate-income individuals. The two interventions were included: (1) providing an estimate of need-based aid compared against tuition costs for nearby colleges and assistance in…

The Federal Pell Grant Program is the nation's largest need-based grant program. While students' initial eligibility for the Pell is based on financial need, renewal of the award is contingent on their making satisfactory academic progress (SAP)--meeting minimum academic standards similar to those proposed in models of performance-based…

Since 1964, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program has provided funds to subsidize the wages of student employees, but it has never been studied directly. I use an instrumental variables difference-in-difference framework with administrative data from West Virginia to identify causal effects, comparing eligible and ineligible students across…

Book vouchers serve as one component of need-based financial aid packages at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), one of the nation's largest community colleges. This study compared the academic performance of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applicants in attendance at CSN during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years. A basic…

The extent to which colleges and universities provide opportunities for students from the most economically disadvantaged families is an important indicator of the potential for U.S. higher education to promote intergenerational mobility. Yet the measurement of "opportunity" for low-income students at the level of individual colleges and…

A study was done of the Lilly Endowment Educational Awards (LEEAs), one type of gift-aid for fulltime undergraduate Indiana residents. In particular the study addressed: (1) who receives LEEAs; (2) how Pell, State of Indiana, and LEEA formulas interact; (3) what happens when LEEAs are combined with all of the other types of gift-aid for a total…

The need for efficient and effective systems to deliver financial assistance to students and to administer the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program is assessed, and recommendations for improving delivery systems are provided. Attention is directed to the delivery of Pell Grant and campus-based assistance, the provision of information to current…