Credit hour policies, or performance-based financial aid policies, have become increasingly popular among policymakers seeking to improve degree completion rates. In the Unites States, the college completion agenda has been bolstered by national calls from intermediary organizations and philanthropic foundations alike to raise the overall rate and…

While the Pell Grant covers a substantial proportion of college tuition for low-income students, it has covered only two full-time semesters per year and has not included any support for summer courses through most of its history. As research has shown that continuous enrollment throughout the year increases college persistence and completion, the…

We examine the likely implications of switching from a prior year (PY) financial aid system, the current practice in which students file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) using income data from the previous tax year, to prior-prior year (PPY), in which data from two years before enrollment is used. While PPY allows students to…

Online learning continues to grow at post-secondary institutions across the United States, but many question its efficacy, especially for students most at-risk for failure. This paper engages that issue. It examines recent research on the success of community college students who take online classes and explores similar comparisons using 656,258…

Given the major investment in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant, rising postsecondary access, trends in poor persistence and retention rates, and the ongoing accountability measures in higher education, it is critical to examine factors related to postsecondary performance and persistence of GEAR…

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of…

The analysis in this report examines the national gap and institutional-level gaps in graduation rates between Pell and non-Pell Grant recipients at nearly 1,150 four-year, public and private nonprofit institutions across the nation. The data show the national graduation rate for Pell Grant recipients attending institutions in the sample is…

The effect of service-learning courses on student growth was compared for 321 first-generation and 782 non-first-generation undergraduate students at a large urban university. Student growth encompassed both academic and professional skill development. The majority of students reported significant academic and professional development after…

The designation "low income" is often assigned to students who are Federal Pell Grant eligible; however, family incomes for these recipients range from $0 to as high as $60,000 (Baum & Payea, 2011). Over 93% of all zero expected family contribution (EFC) students have a family income of $30,000 or less and constituted 67.4% of all…

In 2006-07, the federal government awarded over $13 billion in Pell Grants to more than 5 million undergraduate students (U.S. Department of Education 2007). The goal of the Pell Grant program is to help students with financial need enroll in and graduate from college by providing them with a basic foundation of financial aid, to which they may…

A study that examined information on who receives aid from the major federal assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act is presented. The report is organized by program--Pell Grants, campus-based aid, and Guaranteed Student Loans. (MLW)

This summary presents data derived from the Survey of Federal Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: Fiscal Year 1989. The 15 federal agencies surveyed for the report provide virtually all funding for science and engineering (S/E) research and development (R&D) at universities and colleges, and the data presented in the…

In response to Congressional request, this report compares the treatment of student financial aid applicants from farm families and non-farm families under two need-analysis formulae. Both the need-analysis methodology for Pell Grants and the Congressional Methodology (CM) for other federal aid calculate ability to pay as a function of income and…

The aggregate financing of student aid by the federal government, state governments, and institutions over the past 25 years is discussed. Trends in the composition of aid delivered (grants, loans, and work study) are described. Over time comparisons in the numbers of recipients and aid per recipient are given by programs. (Author/MLW)

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study collected data for sample students from registrar and financial aid offices at postsecondary institutions. The data were collected for students enrolled in a postsecondary institution in fall 1986. Since substantial numbers of students are not enrolled in fall and are therefore not represented in the…