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Full-Text Articles in Education

Get Skilled, Get A Job, Give Us More: An Early Review Of G3, Melissa R. Colangelo, Melanie Graham, Bhavika Sicka Apr 2024

Get Skilled, Get A Job, Give Us More: An Early Review Of G3, Melissa R. Colangelo, Melanie Graham, Bhavika Sicka

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

If community colleges are to remain relevant, they must be future-oriented, and responsive to demographic and labor force shifts. The Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back initiative (G3) was implemented during the 2021-22 academic year to retain economically disadvantaged students, improve community college completion, and help students graduate into productive jobs with the ultimate goal of boosting Virginia’s economy. G3 is an attempt to make postsecondary education and workforce development systems in Virginia more capable and successful in preparing Virginians for available jobs. The aim of this policy review is to examine the current details of the …


“I Don’T Even Know What That Is”: Deprivation, Censorship, And Responsibility In Administering The Pell Grant In Prison, Erin L. Castro, Cydney Y. Caradonna, Mary R. Gould Mar 2024

“I Don’T Even Know What That Is”: Deprivation, Censorship, And Responsibility In Administering The Pell Grant In Prison, Erin L. Castro, Cydney Y. Caradonna, Mary R. Gould

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The violence of incarceration creates greater responsibility for higher education administrators in supporting students who are in prison. Using focus group data with incarcerated students and formerly incarcerated alumni who participated in or are actively participating in Second Chance Pell, we explore their perceptions and understandings of the Pell Grant and eligibility for the Pell Grant, including lifetime eligibility used limits. Through a lens of Witnessing, we argue that deprivation and censorship of information negatively influence students’ access to accurate and timely information about federal student aid and their ability to fully participate in the process. Accordingly, college and university …


Selling Graduation: Higher Education And The Loaning Of Liberation, Annie Pocklington, Elizabeth J. Flanagan, Christopher Bodenheimer Knaus Apr 2023

Selling Graduation: Higher Education And The Loaning Of Liberation, Annie Pocklington, Elizabeth J. Flanagan, Christopher Bodenheimer Knaus

Essays in Education

While the costs to attend college continue to rise exponentially, a bachelor’s degree is held up as required for economic stability within the U.S. and across the globe. With drastic disparities in earning potentials after graduation reduced by racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, and related structural disparities, the value of a degree continues to be questioned, especially for historically marginalized communities. As the loan industrial complex continues to profit off of students, President Biden has offered $10,000 in student loan relief for some borrowers, though this action has been blocked by federal courts and is currently on hold. Whether Biden’s …


Indebted To My Education: Examining College Graduates’ Perceptions Of Student Loan Repayment, Vincent D. Carales, Mauricio Molina Mar 2023

Indebted To My Education: Examining College Graduates’ Perceptions Of Student Loan Repayment, Vincent D. Carales, Mauricio Molina

Journal of Student Financial Aid

In this paper, we examine college graduates’ perceptions of entering student loan repayment and how they navigated this process. Findings highlight the importance of helping students make informed borrowing decisions, particularly as they begin repaying their student loan debt. Policy makers wishing to hold institutions accountable for keeping college affordable while enhancing financial aid policy will gain further insight.


Predicting International Student Enrollment By Institutional Aid: A Random And Fixed Effects Approach, Daniel C. Posmik Sep 2022

Predicting International Student Enrollment By Institutional Aid: A Random And Fixed Effects Approach, Daniel C. Posmik

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Since the fall semester of 2016, first-time international student enrollment (ISEft) has declined at U.S. colleges and universities. This trend disrupts a steady upwards trajectory of ISEft rates. Previous research has demonstrated that various political, social, and macroeconomic factors influence the number of international students studying in the U.S. Exploiting data from the Common Data Set (CDS), I focus on the role financial aid plays as an enrollment predictor for international undergraduate students. A fixed effects model reveals that financial aid is strongly and significantly predictive of ISEft, yielding a 1.8% enrollment increase per 10% …


Is The Early Promise Of Money Enough? Examining High School Students’ College Knowledge And Choice In A Promise Scholarship Program, Tangela Reavis Jun 2022

Is The Early Promise Of Money Enough? Examining High School Students’ College Knowledge And Choice In A Promise Scholarship Program, Tangela Reavis

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This study is part of a randomized control trial examining the results of a promise scholarship program, the Degree Project (TDP). Half of the ninth graders in one Midwestern urban school district were notified about a $12,000 promise scholarship offer if they met certain GPA and attendance requirements (2.5 GPA and 90% attendance). This analysis draws on interview data to understand students’ financial knowledge over four years (grades 9-12). The study examined how treatment students (those who were offered the scholarship) and control students (those who were not offered the scholarship) explained and understood the methods they intended to use …


Fafsa And Beyond: How Advisers Manage Their Administrative Burden In The Financial Aid Process, Meredith S. Billings, Ashley B. Clayton, Rachel Worsham Jun 2022

Fafsa And Beyond: How Advisers Manage Their Administrative Burden In The Financial Aid Process, Meredith S. Billings, Ashley B. Clayton, Rachel Worsham

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Access to financial aid is crucial in ensuring that students can afford college. Students must file the FAFSA to access federal financial aid and usually the FAFSA is also required for state and institutional aid (U.S. Department of Education, n.d). Prior research has shown, however, that the FAFSA is complicated and burdensome to complete and often acts as a barrier instead of an entry point to college (Bettinger et al., 2012; Bird & Castleman, 2016; Dynarski & Scott-Clayton, 2006, 2008; Dynarski et al., 2013). Given these barriers in accessing aid, some high schools employ college advisers or other school staff …


How To Win Dissertation Arguments And Influence Readers: Reflections On Conducting Focused Ethnographic Research Online, Saralyn Mckinnon-Crowley Jun 2022

How To Win Dissertation Arguments And Influence Readers: Reflections On Conducting Focused Ethnographic Research Online, Saralyn Mckinnon-Crowley

The Qualitative Report

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a radical and rapid change in qualitative research. My planned in-person dissertation research shifted almost overnight to an online-only setting. Methodologically, I had to adapt my research quickly into an Internet-friendly format. I adapted focused ethnographic methods for use in online spaces in my research. Using vignettes and reflections on the dissertation experience, this essay offers a behind-the-curtain look at the work required to gain access to an online research site and tips for conducting online qualitative research.


The Lasting Effects Of The Pandemic On Graduate And Professional Education, Robert Kelchen May 2022

The Lasting Effects Of The Pandemic On Graduate And Professional Education, Robert Kelchen

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The coronavirus pandemic caused a shift in the American higher education system. Many institutions switched from in-person to virtual platforms. Since graduate and professional students are more likely than undergraduate students to enroll in a hybrid or online program, they were less affected by the transition to online education. However, the decrease in undergraduate enrollment during the pandemic further squeezed institutional finances showing a decline in international graduate enrollment in the United States. As universities place additional scrutiny on program finances, departments will face pressure to reduce the number of assistantships that are not supported by external grants and contracts, …


Centering The Marginalized: The Impact Of The Pandemic On Online Student Retention, Joshua Travis Brown, Joseph M. Kush, Frederick A. Volk May 2022

Centering The Marginalized: The Impact Of The Pandemic On Online Student Retention, Joshua Travis Brown, Joseph M. Kush, Frederick A. Volk

Journal of Student Financial Aid

During the pandemic, much of the focus of administrators and scholars has been on its impact on residential students and the sudden shift to online instruction. While justified, researchers have yet to focus on online students—who often represent marginalized communities in higher education—to ask whether they were impacted by factors related to the pandemic other than the modality shift. In this study, we examined how the first-year retention of online students was affected during the pandemic, and whether it differed from first-year residential students who transitioned online. We examined records of two student cohorts (Fall 2017 and Fall 2019) from …


The Impacts Of Covid-19 On The Experiences Of Students With Basic Needs Insecurity: Evidence From A National Survey, Allyson Cornett, Carla Fletcher May 2022

The Impacts Of Covid-19 On The Experiences Of Students With Basic Needs Insecurity: Evidence From A National Survey, Allyson Cornett, Carla Fletcher

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected college students’ basic needs, financial security, academic success, caregiving responsibilities, mental health, and more, according to the Fall 2020 Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) conducted by Trellis Company. Researchers surveyed 37,936 students at 62 two- and four-year colleges and universities from October to November 2020 and found 53 percent (n=20,095) indicated one or more forms of basic needs insecurity (BNI). This brief examines data from students with BNI with a special lens on their mental health, familial responsibilities and finances, employment, and financial security. These results highlight the disparate impacts of the pandemic among basic …


Who Do College Students Turn To For Financial Aid And Student Loan Advice, And Is It Advice Worth Following?, Casandra E. Harper, Lisa Scheese, Enyu Zhou, Rajeev Darolia Oct 2021

Who Do College Students Turn To For Financial Aid And Student Loan Advice, And Is It Advice Worth Following?, Casandra E. Harper, Lisa Scheese, Enyu Zhou, Rajeev Darolia

Journal of Student Financial Aid

In this article, we examine the sources of information that college students turn to as they make decisions related to financial aid and student loans. Based on interview data from 25 undergraduate students from one public, four-year institution, our results reveal a great amount of variation in the number and nature of sources on which students rely. Across nearly all cases, students believed their access to assistance to be insufficient. This was true even for students with parents who attended college—commonly considered to be a high-quality source of support for students, when available—as students often found their advice outdated, confusing, …


Hidden Inequality: Financial Aid Information Available To College Students With Disabilities Attending Public Four-Year Institutions, Emily L. Perlow, Ryan S. Wells, Mujtaba Hedayet, Jenny Xia, Heather Maclean, Emily Ding, Angela Mccall Oct 2021

Hidden Inequality: Financial Aid Information Available To College Students With Disabilities Attending Public Four-Year Institutions, Emily L. Perlow, Ryan S. Wells, Mujtaba Hedayet, Jenny Xia, Heather Maclean, Emily Ding, Angela Mccall

Journal of Student Financial Aid

College students with disabilities often encounter systems and processes that do not serve them well. Financial aid, structured in ways that can be particularly burdensome to students with disabilities, is one such system. This study used web-based content analysis of the largest public four-year institution in each state to explore how institutions explain and provide information and resources related to financial aid and whether they are equitable, consistent, and useful for students with disabilities specifically. The findings suggest that available information most often does not assist students in understanding how their disability-related needs can be supported or hindered by financial …


Factors Associated With Parent And Student Debt Of Bachelor’S Degree Recipients, Robert Kelchen Oct 2021

Factors Associated With Parent And Student Debt Of Bachelor’S Degree Recipients, Robert Kelchen

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Parent PLUS loans are a growing concern due to their limited income-driven repayment protections and their potential to maintain longstanding racial wealth gaps. Previous research has examined factors associated with student debt burdens of college graduates, but no research has examined factors related to parent borrowing for college. In this brief, I use newly-released College Scorecard data to explore student and institutional characteristics associated with federal student loans and Parent PLUS loans of two recent bachelor’s degree cohorts. I find meaningful differences in how certain characteristics are associated with student and parent debt, particularly gender, family income, and institutional selectivity.


Money Matters: Factors Associated With Receipt Of Financial Aid Among Youth Who Have Experienced Foster Care, Jacob P. Gross, Jennifer M. Geiger, Greg King, Samuel King Aug 2021

Money Matters: Factors Associated With Receipt Of Financial Aid Among Youth Who Have Experienced Foster Care, Jacob P. Gross, Jennifer M. Geiger, Greg King, Samuel King

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Despite high aspirations, youth formerly in foster care may face significant barriers (e.g., academic preparedness, adult mentoring) to obtaining a postsecondary credential. Better understanding the relationship between affordability and postsecondary access for youth formerly in foster care (YFFC) merits attention from researchers because finances often present a barrier to success for this population of students. This exploratory study asks the question: What factors influenced whether YFFC received financial aid and do those factors change over time? Using event history analysis and national longitudinal on foster care and youth outcomes, we explore what factors impact whether a YFFC receives financial aid.


(De)Glossing Financial Aid: Do Colleges And Universities Actually Use Financial Student Aid Jargon?, Zachary W. Taylor, Laura Manor Jun 2021

(De)Glossing Financial Aid: Do Colleges And Universities Actually Use Financial Student Aid Jargon?, Zachary W. Taylor, Laura Manor

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Decades of research has suggested that completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be a complex, difficult process for postsecondary students and their support networks. However, no extant research has informed federal student aid practitioners and researchers as to what federal student aid jargon terms institutions of higher education actually use in their application instructions to complete the FAFSA. To fill this gap in the research, this study adopts a distributional linguistic approach to analyze a random sample of federal student aid application instructions published on institutional websites (.edu) over three years (2017, 2018, and 2019) to …


School Finance, Race, And Reparations, Preston C. Green Iii, Bruce D. Baker, Joseph O. Oluwole Apr 2021

School Finance, Race, And Reparations, Preston C. Green Iii, Bruce D. Baker, Joseph O. Oluwole

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

In this article, we explain why and how school finance reform should be a part of a reparations program for Black Americans. This article proceeds in six parts. Part I explains how Black-white school funding disparities occurred during the separate-but-equal era. Part II discusses how these funding disparities have occurred in the aftermath of the Brown decision. Parts III and IV explore why school desegregation and school finance litigation, respectively, have failed to remedy these gaps. Part V lays out a reparations framework that state legislatures could adopt to provide restitution to schools and taxpayers harmed by state policies creating …


Completion Grants: A Multi-Method Examination Of Institutional Practice, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Travis York, Clare Cady, Christy Baker-Smith Feb 2021

Completion Grants: A Multi-Method Examination Of Institutional Practice, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Travis York, Clare Cady, Christy Baker-Smith

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Public universities are intent on increasing degree completion for many reasons. A stronger policy focus on completion and interest in removing students’ financial hurdles has led to a rapid proliferation of completion grant programs. This paper reports on a mixed method implementation study of completion grant programs at seven broad- and open-access universities. Drawing on case studies of completion grant programs and student surveys, we examine the work of the administrators and professionals who create and implement these programs. As it can diminish program efficacy and increase inequality, we pay particular attention to administrative burden for staff and students. We …


Does The House Always Win? An Analysis Of Barriers To Wealth Building And College Borrowing, Katherine E. Fletcher, Matthew B. Fuller Feb 2021

Does The House Always Win? An Analysis Of Barriers To Wealth Building And College Borrowing, Katherine E. Fletcher, Matthew B. Fuller

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The racial differences in student loan debt must be interpreted through a lens of wealth building inequality. Black individuals in particular are negatively affected by official and unofficial policies that create barriers to building wealth. Financial aid policies then exacerbate this inequality with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula that protects the majority of family assets from being used as required educational contributions. Using the 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS:12) , we examined differences in student loan debt based on wealth building barriers (students’ access to banks, father’s education, and mother’s education). Our ANOVA models show cumulative loan …


Estimating The Spillover Effects Of The Tennessee Promise: Exploring Changes In Tuition, Fees, And Enrollment, Elizabeth Bell Feb 2021

Estimating The Spillover Effects Of The Tennessee Promise: Exploring Changes In Tuition, Fees, And Enrollment, Elizabeth Bell

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Tuition-free college policies have gained momentum since the implementation of the Tennessee Promise, which provides financial aid to students pursuing two-year post-secondary degrees in Tennessee. While previous research has addressed the effects of similar programs on student outcomes, scholars have yet to thoroughly investigate potential spillover effects of Promise policies on colleges that are ineligible for Promise funds. In this paper, I leverage a difference-in-differences design to explore changes in enrollment and tuition and fees at institutions eligible and ineligible for Tennessee Promise funds. First, I find that in-state enrollment increased significantly at public Promise eligible institutions (mainly public two-year …


Next Gen Fsa—Stay In The Fight!, Mark Brown Jan 2020

Next Gen Fsa—Stay In The Fight!, Mark Brown

Journal of College Access

No abstract provided.


Clicking In The Dark: Are Student Financial Aid Websites Accessible For Students With Disabilities?, Zachary W. Taylor Jan 2020

Clicking In The Dark: Are Student Financial Aid Websites Accessible For Students With Disabilities?, Zachary W. Taylor

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The United States (U.S.) Access Board, a branch of the federal government responsible for advancing the inclusion of people with disabilities into U.S. society, recently amended Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On January 18th, 2018, the final Section 508 amendment required all Title IV institutions of higher education in the United States to conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) at the Level-A and Level-AA thresholds. As students with disabilities are often minoritized from the U.S. higher education system, this study explored the web accessibility of institutional .edu financial aid websites (n=450) to learn if …


Changes In Hbcu Financial Aid And Student Enrollment After The Tightening Of Plus Credit Standards, Matthew T. Johnson, Julie Bruch, Brian Gill Jun 2019

Changes In Hbcu Financial Aid And Student Enrollment After The Tightening Of Plus Credit Standards, Matthew T. Johnson, Julie Bruch, Brian Gill

Journal of Student Financial Aid

We analyze changes in financial aid and student enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that occurred after the U.S. Department of Education increased the credit history requirements necessary to obtain Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). We use institution-level data to examine financial aid and enrollment changes in the first two academic years affected by the new credit standards (2012-13 and 2013-14). The results show that PLUS loans declined substantially at HBCUs in 2012-13, and the decreases were not fully replaced by other types of federal financial aid. HBCUs also experienced larger declines in enrollment than other institutions …


College Didn’T Prepare Me For This: The Realities Of The Student Debt Crisis And The Effect It Is Having On College Graduates, April Perry, Cassandra Spencer Jun 2018

College Didn’T Prepare Me For This: The Realities Of The Student Debt Crisis And The Effect It Is Having On College Graduates, April Perry, Cassandra Spencer

The William & Mary Educational Review

Student loans are like a dark cloud looming above 41 million Americans (Perna, Kvall, & Ruiz, 2017). Through young adults’ personal accounts and relevant literature, we aimed to explore how student debt has altered the lives of college graduates and what can be done to educate students before they graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. To provide context, we first discuss a brief history of student loans and address what we know from the literature about the burden of student debt. Next, we address the factors that contribute to the student debt crisis and the effects of …


Nudging Students Beyond The Fafsa: The Impact Of University Outreach On Financial Aid Behaviors And Outcomes, Benjamin L. Castleman, Katharine E. Meyer, Zachary Sullivan, William D. Hartog, Scott Miller Nov 2017

Nudging Students Beyond The Fafsa: The Impact Of University Outreach On Financial Aid Behaviors And Outcomes, Benjamin L. Castleman, Katharine E. Meyer, Zachary Sullivan, William D. Hartog, Scott Miller

Journal of Student Financial Aid

A growing body of research indicates that proactive outreach from high schools and college access organizations about college preparation tasks, and specifically focusing on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), results in increased college enrollment. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the role of colleges and universities in this outreach and outreach relating to additional financial aid barriers that students face while applying to college, such as the CSS PROFILE form. In this article we investigated, through an inter-university collaboration, the effect of sending targeted, semi-personalized text messages to students during the college application process about …


Uncovering Barriers To Financial Capability: Underrepresented Students’ Access To Financial Resources, Brenda Eichelberger, Heather Mattioli, Rachel Foxhoven Nov 2017

Uncovering Barriers To Financial Capability: Underrepresented Students’ Access To Financial Resources, Brenda Eichelberger, Heather Mattioli, Rachel Foxhoven

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Financial aid is designed to increase access to postsecondary education at all socioeconomic levels; however, college students are not always knowledgeable about personal finances or capable of making sound decisions regarding complex college and program choices, debt options, and long-term spending. This article reviews previous research on the need for financial literacy training among underrepresented students and the barriers caused by inadequate access to financial services and information. Studies reviewed explore (a) the abilities of underrepresented students to make informed financial decisions; (b) the disadvantages faced by minority and first-generation students compared to their more advantaged peers; and (c) the …


Federal Pell Grant Eligibility And Receipt: Explaining Nonreceipt And Changes To Efc Using National And Institutional Data, Brent J. Evans, Tuan D. Nguyen, Brent B. Tener, Chanell L. Thomas Nov 2017

Federal Pell Grant Eligibility And Receipt: Explaining Nonreceipt And Changes To Efc Using National And Institutional Data, Brent J. Evans, Tuan D. Nguyen, Brent B. Tener, Chanell L. Thomas

Journal of Student Financial Aid

In examining national data on Federal Pell Grant eligibility in the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), we were puzzled to discover that many students who appear to have eligible Expected Family Contributions (EFCs) do not receive the award. We use institutional data from a large public university to understand and enumerate changes from initial Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) EFC to final Pell Grant EFC and explore why EFC changes occur. We determine that the nonreceipt of Pell Grant observed in NPSAS is likely due to NPSAS not reporting final Pell Grant EFCs. We examine how the …


Leveraging Guided Pathways To Improve Financial Aid Design And Delivery, Maria Luna-Torres, Melet Leafgreen, Lyle Mckinney Aug 2017

Leveraging Guided Pathways To Improve Financial Aid Design And Delivery, Maria Luna-Torres, Melet Leafgreen, Lyle Mckinney

Journal of Student Financial Aid

To address low completion rates, postsecondary leaders are championing a “guided pathways” approach that puts students on a prescribed route towards graduation. Designing solutions to address low completion rates is complex; in addition to academic roadblocks, insufficient financial resources coupled with a complicated financial aid system can intensify barriers to completion, especially for students whose continued enrollment is highly dependent on financial aid. Without a comprehensive approach that specifically addresses financial aid funding shortages, students will continue to struggle to complete their programs of study. Opportunities exist to redesign the financial aid system so that the current guided pathways movement …


The Distributional And Cost Implications Of Negative Expected Family Contributions, Robert Kelchen Apr 2017

The Distributional And Cost Implications Of Negative Expected Family Contributions, Robert Kelchen

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Eligibility for many federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs is determined by the expected family contribution (EFC) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which functions as a tool to ration scarce aid dollars. The lowest possible EFC under current rules is zero, but this obscures a wider distribution of family resources that would be partially uncovered if the EFC formula were not truncated at zero and negative values were allowed. In this paper, I estimate negative EFCs using student-level data from nine colleges and universities between the 2007-08 and 2011-12 academic year. I find a large …


In The Right Ballpark? Assessing The Accuracy Of Net Price Calculators, Aaron M. Anthony, Lindsay C. Page, Abigail Seldin Aug 2016

In The Right Ballpark? Assessing The Accuracy Of Net Price Calculators, Aaron M. Anthony, Lindsay C. Page, Abigail Seldin

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Large differences often exist between a college’s sticker price and net price after accounting for financial aid. Net price calculators (NPCs) were designed to help students more accurately estimate their actual costs to attend a given college. This study assesses the accuracy of information provided by net price calculators. Specifically, we compare NPC estimates of financial aid to actual aid packages for a sample of low-income, first-time college students at seven postsecondary institutions which all utilize the federal template NPC. We find that NPC estimates of grant aid correlate highly with actual grant aid on average, but variation in individual …