For the last two decades, dual enrollment has rapidly grown across the country. Previous studies consistently show that dual enrollment is positively associated with college enrollment, readiness, and persistence. However, descriptive statistics show that low-income students and racial minority students are underrepresented in dual enrollment…

In 2022, New Mexico joined the list of states that adopted a statewide promise program, offering tuition and fee assistance for eligible students to pursue higher education. The New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship (NMOS) differs from existing programs by including part-time and summer enrollment, academic and workforce degrees, and older adult…

The Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) program was designed to meet the unique needs of the State of Tennessee, while also incorporating the hallmark elements of existing merit-based aid programs in other states. This manuscript provides a snapshot of TELS recipients and their outcomes, including narrative discussion on the current…

This report examines state-funded loan forgiveness and conditional grant programs, designed to alleviate student loan debt and address workforce shortages in high-need fields. These service-contingent programs incentivize graduates to work in targeted occupations or underserved areas in exchange for debt relief.

In accordance with West Virginia Code §18C-1-1f, this report represents the seventeenth annual Financial Aid Comprehensive Report. It contains: (1) descriptions of and changes to West Virginia aid programs; (2) policy recommendations for West Virginia aid programs; and (3) longitudinal data about recipients of state financial aid. The Financial…

State financial aid grant programs are commonly categorized as either need-based, merit-based, or both, but their initial eligibility requirements include many more factors than just financial need and academic merit. A categorization of programs that accounts for all requirements would facilitate a more nuanced and precise understanding of state…

This report is prepared pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-7-178(g), which instructs the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to submit an annual report on the outcomes of the [Completion Grants] pilot program to the education committee of the senate and to the education committee of the house of representatives. In pursuit of its mission to increase…

Chapter 323, Laws of 2024 (Senate Bill 5904) extends and aligns the maximum timeframe allowed for students to receive three of Washington state's need-based financial aid programs--Washington College Grant (WA Grant or WCG), College Bound Scholarship (College Bound or CBS), and Passport to Careers (Passport or PTC)--from a maximum of five years to…

As college promise programs proliferate across the United States with noted intentions to promote access through increased affordability, it is necessary to understand the relationship between these programs and other forms of financial aid, including loans. Using federal, state, and program-level data, we leverage a natural experiment to estimate…

Experts from the RAND Corporation prepared this independent report on New Jersey's Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) program for low-income college students. TAG is the nation's most generous state-funded financial aid program on a per-resident-undergraduate basis. Currently, TAG distributes around $475 million in grants per year, and an award covers about…

Comprehensive Transition & Postsecondary Programs (CTPs) were created by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA, 2008). They support students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) who want to continue academic, career, or technical instruction in higher education to better prepare for competitive integrated employment and independent living.…

Communities with more college degrees have higher incomes, less reliance on social services, and greater economic growth. To ensure that Michigan's workforce has the skills needed for the modern economy, the state's leaders must build a financial aid system that helps families cover college costs. However, disjointed program designs, maintenance…

This brief communicates findings from Phase 1 of "State Responses to COVID-19 -- Implications for Outcomes-Based Funding and Promise Programs," a 50-state policy scan to determine how Promise Program policies are shifting in response to COVID-19 related budget fluctuations. Conducted between August and December of 2020, this 50-state…

In the latest addition to the National College Attainment Network's (NCAN) state policy resource library, we present a new report about how to simplify state financial aid programs. While maximum award amounts tend to grab headlines, the fine print can make all the difference in whether students can access and retain state aid. Those most impacted…

Washington State is experiencing a shortage of teachers in certain geographic and subject areas and an underrepresentation of certain groups in the teaching profession. To address these problems, the Washington State Legislature created the Educator Workforce Program (EWP). The EWP includes five programs that work in concert to address educator…