Starting in 2015, New York State began offering college financial assistance to individuals who have experienced foster care at any point after the age of 13. Recognizing the unique needs of this student population and the desire to provide additional support, the Foster Youth College Success Initiative (FYCSI) was created to encourage and ease…

In 2016 Chile initiated a policy of free tuition for students from families in the lower half of the income distribution to improve access to and completion of higher education. The empirical effectiveness of the policy has not yet been completely demonstrated. This study analysed the difference in levels of academic performance of students…

This paper studies the causal impacts of public universities on the outcomes of their marginally admitted students. I use administrative admission records spanning all 35 public universities in Texas, which collectively enroll 10 percent of American public university students, to systematically identify and employ decentralized cutoffs in SAT/ACT…

Promise programs have grown in popularity as a way to provide college tuition/fees and other student supports in the hopes of increasing college access and success. This chapter presents results from a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation of the Lake Tahoe Community College Promise Program. Using rich administrative data and interviews with…

A functioning and equitable college transfer pipeline can help students to lower college costs, minimize student debt, and get credit toward a four-year degree. These benefits are crucial for students and families who pursue postsecondary education for upward economic mobility. However, in the face of a complex maze of policies and practices that…

In a 2023 report by the National Student Clearinghouse, the "some college, no credential" population stood at 40.4 million in 2021, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier. Of this population, more than half (21 million, 52%) were 25 or older at the time of their last enrollment. One solution to this reality is to reengage this population and…

Mississippi appropriates millions of dollars each year to the Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students (HELP) Grant to help college-ready, low-income students pay for college, but little is known about the effectiveness of the program. This dissertation in practice examines the impact of the HELP Grant by comparing the college-going…

This fact sheet focuses on how adult students in Michigan are accessing, affording, and completing postsecondary credentials. Adult learners are adult individuals, often considered to be aged 25+, who return to education, often at the high school and undergraduate levels. [This fact sheet was prepared with the Michigan Center for Adult College…

Introduction: The present work is based on the theoretical model "Expectancy Value" of achievement motivation, and from a socio-cognitive perspective. Its objective is to describe achievement behavior in the classroom context of students from different cultural backgrounds. Method: A post-hoc study was carried out with 310 participants…

The main purpose of the study is to investigate the academic performances of first-time freshmen vs transfers using affordability and the Heckman's model of self-selection. The method employed in this study is a quantitative research approach, which applies the regression analysis framework to test the main hypotheses that native students…

The aim of this study is to explore the existence of different segments of future university students on the basis of their university selection criteria and to analyse the extent to which the segments identified differ as regards the students' perceptions of the reliability of university communication tools. This has been done using 605 usable…

The rising costs of college attendance and the diminishing availability of viable funding sources cause students to incur debt in order to pursue postsecondary education. This dissertation in practice examines how one tribal education funding program contributed to the successful transition between high school and college for the enrolled members…

Despite decades of research and policy efforts, socioeconomic disparities in educational outcomes persist in the United States. In this dissertation, I examine these disparities, focusing on access to higher education during the later years and on academic achievement during elementary school. I explore the importance of family, neighborhood, and…

Background/Context: Access to education is seen as a critical aspect of personal success, with substantial implications for education systems and social well-being. In this context, the effectiveness of free college tuition is a hot topic in current higher education research (Bell, 2020), as there is no clarity on whether the benefits outweigh the…

This study explores the choices and experiences of undergraduates who transfer out of for-profit 4-year universities and matriculate into a public university. Interviews with students who moved from one of seven 4-year for-profit universities to a single public university during Fall 2021 indicated a combination of academic and financial factors…