Think College Reports present descriptive data in narrative or tabular form to provide timely information to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for review and use. This report provides program- and student-level data reported by Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSIDs) during the…

This study examined demographic factors as predictors of parent involvement (engagement with school, support of learning, support of child) among parents of children that attended a school implementing a college access program. The authors also examined whether involvement predicted access of postsecondary education facilitators in parents, when…

This dissertation contains chapters that explore higher education policy issues related to student outcomes. In the first chapter, I examine the results of a controlled randomized trial of a brief, inexpensive phone call outreach to a sample of Pell eligible students at the University of Missouri intended to increase FAFSA filing, on-time FAFSA…

This study examined the obstacles former foster youth faced during their undergraduate years at two highly selective public institutions in Southern California and the supports they say their universities provided to help them persist toward graduation. Former foster youth graduate college at a rate much lower than non-former foster youth. Extant…

Why individuals choose not to sign up for social programs, particularly when the costs of sign-up are low and the benefits generous, is a crucial question for policy scholars. In this paper, we show that a substantial share of qualified middle school students fail to sign up for Washington State's College Bound Scholarship program, and this…

The purpose of this study was to find predictors of academic success, persistence, retention, and completion for students enrolled in community college developmental education mathematics courses utilizing an accelerated emporium model learning environment. Instructional practices have been shown to have a powerful impact on the desire and…

Much of the recent Chilean educational debate and reform has centered around issues of higher education cost, debt burden, and availability of grants versus loans. This quantitative case study of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile sought to understand the longitudinal contributions of combinations of types of financial aid to persistence of…

The primary purpose of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Campus-Based Aid Allocation Task Force was to examine the formula by which congressional appropriations for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Perkins Loan programs are distributed to schools,…

The United States tax code is full of provisions designed to encourage or reward specific behaviors, such as owning a home or saving for retirement. Tax benefits for higher education are no exception: Contributions to some college savings accounts grow tax-free, college tuition is often tax deductible, and some student-loan borrowers are able to…

Improving the college search process by making college costs more transparent to potential students and their families has been a primary focus of recent higher education policy efforts. But the importance of this information does not end at the university gates. In order to make prudent decisions about what to study, how many courses to take, and…

This white paper, examines state policies to improve affordability, encourage full-time enrollment, and incent timely completion of postsecondary credentials and degrees. The authors found that existing grant aid programs do not provide sufficient support to allow students with documented need to cover tuition costs and living expenses, nor do…

Private loans are one of the riskiest ways to finance a college education. Like credit cards, they typically have variable interest rates. Both variable and fixed rates are higher for those who can least afford them--as high as 13% in June 2014. Private loans are not eligible for the important deferment, income-based repayment, or loan forgiveness…

Why does tuition increase faster than inflation? And why does tuition continue to increase even when states increase their investments in public colleges and universities? These questions have perplexed policymakers and higher education consumers alike. Though tuition setting can be very complicated, one of the drivers for rising costs is price…

As of September 2013 about $94 billion--over 11 percent of federal student loan volume in repayment--was in default. Loan rehabilitation allows borrowers who make nine on-time monthly payments within 10 months to have the default removed from their credit reports. Department of Education (Education) contracts with collection agencies to assist…

Since 9/11, Saudi Arabia has made significant attempts to change its public image because of its alleged association with global terrorism. Given its charitable interests in promoting education as a tool for peace within the Arab region, it has established the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP), considered to be the most heavily endowed…