For 34 years, the mission of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has been to Champion Hispanic Success in Higher Education. HACU fulfills its mission by: promoting the development of member colleges and universities; improving access to and the quality of postsecondary educational opportunities for Hispanic students; and…

A changing economy in Michigan means that education beyond high school, whether it's a degree or training for a specific skill or job, is more important than ever. But in Michigan, low- and middle-income families are seeing college costs continue to rise--for many, rising beyond their reach. Michigan has some of the highest public tuition levels…

Completing additional education after high school has nearly become a prerequisite for a stable career and middle-class income. Yet the total cost of higher education continues to climb, increasing 31 percent at public institutions and 24 percent at private nonprofit institutions in ten years. Consequently, student loans will remain a reality for…

Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducted original research on an often-overlooked group of students--parents with children--as they struggle to make ends meet while pursuing academic degrees and certificates. Student parents often face enormous financial barriers to academic success. They report high financial insecurity including…

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…

Discussions about college affordability often revolve around helping students pay their tuition and fees. But nontuition expenses, including food, housing, and other living expenses, make up a large portion of student budgets and contribute to increased student debt. These expenses can be a barrier to student enrollment and completion. Lack of…

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…

The "2023-2024 Louisiana High School Planning Guidebook" consolidates the policies and programs that are most relevant to high school educators as they plan for the upcoming academic year and prepare every student for college and career success. Ensuring every high school student is on track for success is but one of the educational…

The debate on the stringency of licensure exams for prospective public school teachers is on-going, including the recent controversial roll-out of the educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). We leverage the quasi-experimental setting of different adoption timing by states and analyze multiple data sources containing a national sample of…

In accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the OIG reports annually on the most serious management and performance challenges the Department faces. For FY 2024, we identified seven management challenges for the Department: (1) Implementing pandemic relief laws for elementary and secondary education; (2) Implementing pandemic relief…

The authors examined factors that affected the size of the freshman class at small liberal arts colleges after a decline of ten percent or more. Although top ranked national schools needed to do little, lesser ranked ones enjoyed a greater degree of recovery by offering larger amounts of financial aid and regional schools by awarding aid to more…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of flipping the classroom on final exam scores in a terminal general education college mathematics course for a diverse student population. We employed a quasiexperimental design. Seven instructors collectively taught 13 sections of each pedagogy (flipped/traditional). Six hundred thirty-two…

This study was a case study to explore the interventions being offered at one institution to support students from low-income backgrounds. The institution experienced higher than average graduation rates compared to low-income serving institutions with similar characteristics. The purpose of this study was to discover the institutional…

For thirty-three years, the mission of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has been to Champion Hispanic Success in Higher Education. HACU fulfills its mission by: (1) promoting the development of member colleges and universities; (2) improving access to and the quality of postsecondary educational opportunities for…

Many researchers collect online survey data because it is cost-effective and less time-consuming than traditional research methods. This paper describes Twitter chats as a research tool vis-à-vis two other online research methods: providing links to electronic surveys to respondents and use of commercially available survey panels through vendors…