We use the natural experiment of a state lottery scholarship to measure the effect of generous financial aid on graduation rates at New Mexico's flagship public university. During the study period, the scholarship program paid full tuition for eight semesters for any state resident earning a 2.5 grade point average in their first semester at any…

Nebraska Revised Statute § 85-1416(2)(c) requires the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education to prepare biennially the "Tuition, Fees, and College Affordability Report." This report studies the public policy issues relating to tuition and fees for students attending Nebraska's public postsecondary institutions. It also…

In 2018, the University of Wisconsin-Madison launched "Bucky's Tuition Promise" (BTP), a financial aid program covering four-years of tuition and fees for students from families with incomes below a specified adjusted gross income (AGI). This study identifies how BTP affects first year retention, four-year graduation rates, and…

The Fall 2023 Enrollment Fact Book details current fall enrollment data including on- and off-campus enrollment by ethnicity, gender, residency, degree program level, and program category.

This research brief highlights key similarities and variations in California's College Promise Programs. It describes the current program structures and provides reflections on how program characteristics relate to equitable student access and outcomes. This is the second in the CCPP brief series that sheds light on various aspects of the College…

West Virginia's three state-funded medical schools enroll more medical students per capita than any other state in the country. Due to the large number of medical student seats, most qualified West Virginians have the opportunity to complete their medical education in the state. In the academic year of 2024-2025, 38 percent (157) of the 418…

Scholarship on college choice largely focuses on how students search for colleges but less is known about how colleges recruit students. This article analyzes off-campus recruiting visits for 15 public research universities. We Web-scrape university admissions websites and issue public records requests to collect data on recruiting visits.…

We investigate whether and how Achieve Atlanta's college scholarship and associated services impact college enrollment, persistence, and graduation among Atlanta Public School graduates experiencing low household income. Qualifying for the scholarship of up to $5,000 per year does not meaningfully change college enrollment among those near the…

Using detailed admissions data made public in the SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC cases, we examine how racial preferences for under-represented minorities (URMs) affect their admissions to Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill. At Harvard, the admit rates for typical African American applicants are on average over four times larger than if they had been…

Undocumented college students in the United States encounter a number of structural barriers to postsecondary education success, including disparate in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policies across the country. Texas, the first state to establish ISRT benefits for undocumented college students, has been a site of tension respective to this issue…

In Spring 2022, the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) conducted a statewide survey of high school seniors on their college decision-making. A report on the decision-making processes of 4-year college-goers was published previously, illustrating those students' focus on cost, location, and academic reputation in…

Over the past three decades, while most community college students aspired to a four-year degree, only about 30% successfully transferred. Despite thousands of transfer agreements, understanding which institutions, programs, disciplines, and states engage in these partnerships remains limited. Analyzing 16,452 active agreements among community…

Over the past three decades, while most community college students aspired to a four-year degree, only about 30% successfully transferred. Despite thousands of transfer agreements, understanding which institutions, programs, disciplines, and states engage in these partnerships remains limited. Analyzing 16,452 active agreements among community…

Background/Context: Public colleges and universities have sought to recruit and enroll more students from outside their home state in an effort to both enhance institutional prestige and generate additional revenue from the higher tuition rates than nonresident students generally pay. A body of research has shown that nonresident students tend to…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to…