On the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) sits a 66,000-seat stadium that bears the name of a college football hall of fame coach LaVell Edwards (1930-2016). While pursuing his doctorate, Edwards (1978) decided to focus his dissertation on college recruiting and significantly contributed to the forefront of student-athlete college choice…

Income gaps in college enrollment, persistence, and graduation raise concerns for those interested in equal opportunity in higher education. We present findings from a randomly assigned scholarship for low-income students at a medium-sized public 4-year university. The program focused solely on the first four semesters of enrollment and tied aid…

Assessing basic needs of students at colleges and universities is gaining traction across the United States. Our research examined the prevalence of food and housing insecurity at a land-grant institution and its implications on student success. Food insecure students have poorer health status, difficulty concentrating on their studies, lower…

Two distinct literature bases exist documenting the benefits of study aboard participation and state-adopted merit-aid policies. However, few, to date, have estimated the impact of merit-aid adoption on study abroad participation. Results from our study demonstrate the potential positive externality merit-aid policy adoption has on study abroad…

Community colleges are a critical access point to higher education for undocumented students, yet undocumented community college students often report feelings of "constrained inclusion" due to the limitations created by their citizenship status (Negrón-Gonzales, 2017). In this article, we review existing research on undocumented…

Sense of belonging has been used to gauge students' adjustment to and persistence within higher education. Social class is associated with sense of belonging and working-class students report lower levels than their middle- and upper-class peers. In this study, I examined how working-class students described their sense of belonging through a…

This paper is based on a qualitative research study conducted across urban and regional Australian universities. The aim of the project was to investigate the enablers and constraints faced by refugee background students transitioning from high school to university. A refugee is defined as a person who has been forced to flee his or her country…

We provide theory and evidence about how the design of college financial aid programs affects a variety of high school, college, and life outcomes. The evidence comes from an eight-year randomized trial where 2,587 high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. During high school, the program increased their college…

Few studies have examined the experiences of community college students who are or were in foster care. Consequently, relatively little is known about why young people in foster care choose to enroll in community college, what happens to those young people once they enroll, or whether they are receiving the supports they need to achieve their…

In an era of escalating higher education costs, students and families need to be aware of all of their options for financing college and how those financing options work. Financing remains one the top factors for choosing a college, especially for students with greater financial need. Those who do not receive the award packages and financial…

The California Community College system is the largest community college system in the United States, with a current enrollment of more than 2.1 million students on 116 campuses. Demographically, more than two thirds of students enrolled in the California Community College system are people of color and most qualify for federal and/or state…

The objective of this audit was to determine whether the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) overall information technology (IT) security programs and practices were effective as they relate to Federal information security requirements. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, the focus of the audit was solely on Departmental Systems. This year the focus…

Community colleges play an important role in providing access to higher education and promoting economic mobility, but student outcomes vary widely across institutions. Although community colleges have been largely excluded from recent federal accountability action, the potential re-regulation of Gainful Employment raises the question of whether…

This poll was conducted between December 14-December 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) In December, the public's positive views about the…

This poll was conducted between October 12-October 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) Parents' comfort with their children returning to school…