Mandatory fees in higher education have increased substantially in recent years. These increases have changed the net cost of attendance for students from semester to semester. Coupled with these changes, we are witnessing an increase in students from diverse lived experiences who are traditionally unaware of costs associated with their…

An increased amount of energy and effort has been focused on higher education and degree attainment in the United States. President Obama has recently tied the Pell grants into the discussion as a central point in his proposed system of higher education accountability. However, the influence of the Pell grant on degree production has not been…

Tuition discounting is a tactic deployed by many private four-year institutions as a means for enhancing either tuition revenue or institutional image. This study examines associations between "socioeconomic diversity" and two aspects of institutional grants--"freshman discount rate" and "freshman grant recipient discount…

This ex post facto study examined the relationship between Pell Grant aid and persistence of for-profit four-year college students enrolled during 2003-04 through the next six years in the United States and Puerto Rico. This study examined the demographic dissimilarities in students based on age, gender, financial aid status and ethnicity of those…

The question of how states can best use financial policy to achieve their goals is very important for many higher education stakeholders. In this study, the authors use panel data for all 50 states over a 20-year period to examine how state appropriations, need-based grants, and merit-based grants affect student enrollment in college and whether…

In December 2012, the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) released a report outlining an unexpected set of conclusions. Citing data from the U.S. Department of Education's Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) study, the report found that, among students who earned bachelor's degrees during the 2007-2008 academic year (AY) and borrowed…

This study addresses university-industry interactions for both educational and industrial outcomes. The results suggest that while academic faculty who are affiliated with centers are more involved with industry than non-affiliated faculty, affiliates are also more involved with and supportive of students at the undergraduate, graduate, and…

Using the 2007-2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, this study tested positively the hypothesis that college students are either likely to acquire debt above the national median or work more than 30 hours a week in order to graduate from a four year degree within six years. These results resonate with the theory of academic capitalism,…

This quantitative research study used ex post facto data to analyze possible relationships between a discrete set of independent variables and academic achievement among provisionally admitted students at a public, four-year historically black university located in the mid-Atlantic United States. The independent variables were first-generation…

A survey concerning external funding for research for the 338 member institutions of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is summarized. Results indicate that institutions successful in obtaining outside funds tend to place more emphasis on graduate teaching and internally and externally funded research. (Author/MLW)

Muffo and Coccari (1982) analyzed data pertaining to the causes of variation in the number and amount of external funds for research. By using LISREL, a reanalysis of the study shows that the only significant indicators of funding are past success in securing funds and an emphasis on graduate education. (Author/MLW)

Variables that correlate highly with success in obtaining 1978 external funding for research among the 338 member institutions of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) were studied. It was found that AASCU institutions that have been successful in obtaining outside funds for research purposes do tend to place more…

A study investigated the factor(s) predicting success in receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) First Independent Research Support and Transition (FIRST) funding. Two analytical models were used with a variety of researcher, methodology, project design, and institutional characteristics as variables. No significant predictor variables were…

The effects of financial aid on persistence to Bachelor's degree were studied using data from the national longitudinal Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey for 1989-90 freshmen. The subsample of 3,188 students were enrolled full-time in four-year institutions; persistence was defined as attainment of the Bachelor's degree from the institution…

Overall enrollment trends (changes) in each sector (state-owned, state-related, community colleges, state-aided, and private colleges and universities) of Pennsylvania higher education over the last 10 years are examined and the conditions that impact on these changes are identified. The variables included for the analysis are divided into four…