This study examined the effects of unsubsidized federal Stafford loans on six-year degree attainment at 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S., and how these differentially impact students across income groups. For this, nationally representative data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS:04/09) and the Integrated Postsecondary…

Despite record student debt and the growing importance of graduate education, little is known about what drives graduate student borrowing. In response to that research gap, this study draws on several national data sources to analyze the patterns and predictors of education-related debt among graduate students specifically. Adjusted Wald tests…

This study analyzes factors associated with anticipated difficulty with repayment of debt accumulated during college using a basic model of credit risk that includes socialization processes influencing college student financial decisions. The empirical analysis uses data from the 2010 Ohio Student Financial Wellness Study. Results provide evidence…

In this paper, we leverage detailed, individual-level student data to understand the relationships between family finances, merit-based aid, and first-year student retention. With three cohorts of student data that comprise family financial status, institutional merit scholarships, and many of the other known correlates of student retention, we…

The double burden of spiraling costs and limited financial aid has prompted more college students to work more hours than ever. Yet, working more hours can be detrimental to students' academic success and persistence, and first-generation college students are at even higher risk. While institutions cannot control off campus employment students…

Increasing costs and discount rates and decreasing persistence have led to deteriorating net tuition revenue at many colleges and universities. The lack of clarity about the relationship between student persistence and incoming student characteristics was interfering with the development of optimal tuition discounting policy and required research.…

This study explored whether a predictive model of student loan default could be developed with data from an institution's three-year cohort default rate report. The study used borrower data provided by a large two-year community college. Independent variables under investigation included total undergraduate Stafford student loan debt, total number…

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of African-American enrollment at a private college. After a thorough literature review of college choice models, a set of quantitatively measured determinants were gleaned and identified for the statistical research and treatment. The set of predictors included high school grade point…

Online course delivery continues to grow as a viable means of providing increased educational access to more students, but low student retention rates remain a major challenge. In this study, key institutional characteristics that influence student retention in postsecondary education are analyzed. These are student-faculty ratio, graduation rate,…

This study was undertaken to (a) expand scholarship on the impact of undergraduate student loan borrowing level on the timing of initial entry to master's degree or first professional degree programs, and (b) to assist higher education policy makers and practitioners in serving the needs of students as they progress through the various stages…

Student retention rates in higher education have been a focus of study for decades, yet the problem of low student retention still exists, particularly among community college students. While student retention has not been empirically investigated among community college students in language courses, the specific problem of low course-level…

African American males face major challenges in retention and graduation from institutions of higher education. The 6-year graduation rate for African American males at 4-year public institutions and private nonprofit colleges is less than 40%. This figure suggests that persistence toward degree attainment is a problem. The purpose of this study…

Since Georgia's "Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally" (HOPE) Scholarship was initiated in 1993, more than a dozen states have adopted similar state-sponsored merit-based financial aid programs. One recent concern on merit-based programs has focused on their unintended adverse effect on students' choosing science and engineering as…

Student retention has been a significant issue in higher education for several decades. "Two-year colleges" tend to have lower retention rates than four-year colleges (Seidman, 2005, ). Low retention is a problem in both two-year for-profit and nonprofit colleges. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the predictors of retention…

This quantitative study examined how social capital and finances influenced community college students' intent to transfer to a four-year institution within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. Focusing on the community college students enrolled in a rural midwestern state, the authors employed a structural equation modeling…