While previous research has examined usage patterns and impacts of the expanded U.S. Child Tax Credit (CTC), less is known about how families raising children with disabilities responded to the CTC. While it is well-established that these families face greater financial constraints than other families, their utilization of such public programs…

Indirect cost rates, also known as facilities and administrative (F&A) rates, are a critical yet often overlooked element of federally funded research. These rates help higher education institutions recover the real and growing costs of supporting research infrastructure expenses--including lab maintenance, compliance oversight, and grant…

Couch hopping is a significant feature of youth homelessness in the United States. Every year, half of youth ages 18 to 25 who experience housing instability report couch hopping--also known as couch surfing or doubling up. Emerging work suggests that in some intergenerational informal hosting arrangements, youth and their adult hosts can form…

Advocates of charter schools hold that the marketization of education compels all schools to be innovative in raising student achievement outcomes. Opponents of charter schools dispute whether the impact of charter schools on student achievement is statistically sufficient to justify taking resources from traditional public schools. Another…

This HEPI Report considers the strategies adopted by higher education institutions to support students affected by the cost-of-living crisis. It finds they are adopting a range of measures, such as supporting students with the costs of food and drink, providing means-tested and unconditional funding, subsidising student activities, and opening…

In order to thrive in college, students need general good health, sufficient energy, the capacity to focus on their studies, and the chance to actively participate in classes. Stress related to financial matters and mental health issues can disrupt the essential dynamics that contribute to achieving academic success. This brief examines data from…

The student loan payment pause ended two years ago as of September 2025, but borrowers were given a one-year "on-ramp" to resume payments. In April, the Department of Education announced that collections on student loans would start again. The California Policy Lab's prior work found that a large portion of borrowers were likely to…

This brief explores the unique financial circumstances of parenting students, a population that makes up nearly a quarter of all postsecondary students. We find that parenting students are more likely to report experiencing financial struggles, use public assistance more often, and are more reliant on credit cards. At the same time, parenting…

Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of food insecurity among female collegiate athletes. Participants: NCAA Division I female athletes attending a public university located in East Texas in 2018. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional online survey was employed to gather quantitative and qualitative data regarding food…

Nontraditional students in Nebraska colleges have lower graduation rates than traditional students. Approximately 40% of nontraditional students at a private college withdraw before completing a degree. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover barriers preventing nontraditional students from completing a degree. The conceptual…

The UK has been experiencing an extended cost-of-living crisis since 2021 and students attending universities have struggled with the impacts of rising prices. This article reports on findings from a study to explore local recruitment and retention issues in adult social care from the perspective of different populations of interest in the South…

The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a new proposed risk-sharing model that would require colleges to repay the federal government for a calculated proportion of their…

While the tuition fee system has had a large amount of political and media attention in the last two decades, far less attention has been paid to the student maintenance system -- the amount of funding students have access to for day to day living expenses. But for many students, this funding is of more immediate importance, and can have a major…

This exploratory study used the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to compare the financial well-being of families of adolescents with and without autism. Recognizing the gap in autism research, which predominantly measures financial well-being through household income, this study employed a multidimensional approach, including…

The California Community Colleges (CCC) College Attendance Survey was designed to understand the factors influencing prospective and previously enrolled community college students' decisions to attend a California community college in fall of 2023. This report summarizes the second administration of this survey in late summer/early fall 2023 and…