Although United States (U.S.) community college enrollment rose in 2023, the sector has contracted by 37% since 2010, representing millions of students. As a result, community college practitioners should ensure that individuals understand financial aid information to apply for aid and access community colleges. Here, this study gathered federal…

Administrative burden, or the frictions individuals experience in accessing public programs, has implications for whether and which eligible individuals receive aid. While prior research documents barriers to accessing federal financial aid, less is known about the extent to which state aid programs impose administrative burden, how administrative…

This study describes students' experiences applying for and maintaining financial aid at a community college in Southern California. Through individual interviews and focus groups, we examined the interaction points between students, institutional actors, institutional policies, and state/federal policies. We theorize that interactions between…

After decades of frustration with increasingly complex college financial aid policies, a nationwide shift toward "free college" programs has gained momentum. New York State joined the free college movement in 2017, when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his goal to make public higher education tuition-free for most students during his…

Background/Context: There is a misalignment in contemporary society between the assumption that all high school graduates can and should attend college and the lack of funding and support to make that happen. This is especially apparent at community colleges that enroll disproportionally low-income students, who deal with a variety of obstacles…

Verification is a federally mandated process that requires selected students to further attest that the information reported on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is accurate and complete. In this brief, we estimate institutional costs of administrating the FAFSA verification mandate and consider variation in costs by…

Verification is a federally mandated process that requires selected students to further attest that the information reported on their FAFSA is accurate and complete. In this brief, we estimate institutional costs of administrating the FAFSA verification mandate and consider variation in costs by institution type and sector. Using data from 2014,…

Austin Community College's (ACC) Student Money Management Office conducted a text messaging scavenger hunt to engage ACC students in financial-aid-related education and programming, including when to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and how to ensure Satisfactory Academic Progress. Results demonstrated that 268 students began…

Applying to college and securing financial aid are complex processes that can be barriers to college enrollment, particularly for individuals not entering directly after high school. These adults can seek out support from various organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education-funded Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs), which operate…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on examining proposals to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Following opening statements by the Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and…

In 2009, President Obama called for a simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), resulting in the average family completing the FAFSA in 20 minutes. Yet, during the 2013-2014 college application season, nearly 900,000 Pell Grant-eligible high school graduates did not complete the FAFSA, leaving $2.9 billion in Pell…

This appendix is a supplement to the report "Possible Ways of Increasing College Access Among Adults from Underserved Backgrounds: A Study of College Transition Text-Based Messaging." It provides additional information about the study of Text Ed--the messaging strategy evaluated for its ability to increase college enrollment and Free…

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…

Recent research suggests that the college application process itself prevents access. This paper reports results from a large school-based experiment in which application assistance is incorporated into the high school curriculum for all graduating seniors at low-transition schools. Over three workshops, students were guided to pick programs of…

College students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children make up more than one in five U.S. undergraduates. Colleges need basic information about the experiences and outcomes of the student parents they serve, since these students face distinct challenges, including high rates of economic insecurity and significant time and caregiving…