For 15 years, Sallie Mae has surveyed college students and parents of undergraduate students about their attitudes toward higher education and how they're paying for it. "How America Pays for College" explores education funding sources--from family income and savings to scholarships, grants, and borrowed funds--and evaluates trends in…

This study explores high school families' understanding of college financing. The research examines what college-bound students and parents know about financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), scholarships, and student loans. The report evaluates perceptions, exposes common misconceptions, and gauges how prepared high…

Each year, only 60% of high school graduates in Washington transition to postsecondary education within one year. Family engagement is a critical part of the college search and transition process. Families are often involved in campus visits, financial planning, and the shifting of norms and responsibilities when a student begins their higher…

House Bill 21-1010 tasked the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to convene a workgroup dedicated to identifying obstacles to increasing the diversity of Colorado's educator workforce and to develop recommendations for meeting the challenge. This report is a result of the workgroup's…

The purpose of my phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the impact of family involvement and engagement on the persistence of first-generation Latinx students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designated university. Grounded in Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth (CCW) model, I explored the ways CCW assets learned from…

Low student completion rates have increased pressure on college and university administrators across the country to raise retention and graduation rates and have forced the review of many practices on campus. This qualitative study aimed to examine the effects of financial aid on higher educational persistence among African American males.…

This study examines the relationship of expected family contribution (EFC) with student success for 427 freshmen students enrolled at Belhaven University in the Fall of 2016 and 2017. Success is measured by grade point average (GPA) and credit hours completed during the student's freshman year. These two critical factors are used to determine a…

Research has indicated that family social class, college readiness, and college affordability are factors for post-secondary barriers (Freeman, 2005). The term family social class refers to sociocultural aspects, behaviors, knowledge, and lifestyles into which one is socialized by one's family (Bourdieu, 1979). Bordes-Edgar et al. (2011) define…

The theme of the Equity Indicators for 2024 is confronting the realities and exploring feasible solutions related to the paradoxical and unequal higher education system. As the figure shows, higher education in the United States is increasingly the major agent of overcoming poverty and of attaining upward mobility toward the so-called…

This research considers Pell grant restoration for incarcerated people for the field of higher education in prison. Using the original data, we outline the limits of Pell funding in the prison context by surfacing persistent funding challenges that the Pell grant alone cannot address and may exacerbate. By providing the necessary investments to…

In 2008 it was certain that the Great Recession would represent--for this generation--the singular reordering of higher education. As a result, it was assumed that colleges and universities would be forced to become vastly more efficient places by graduating more students with high-value certificates and degrees. Despite significant cuts to higher…

Promise programs are an increasing popular solution to improving college affordability, reducing educational inequities, and promoting economic development. Promise programs are distinct from other forms of financial aid because they emphasize residency in their eligibility criteria, where students must live and/or attend school in specific…

The federal government provides financial assistance to individuals for higher education expenses in two major ways: tax benefits and traditional student aid (loans, grants, and work-study assistance). Since 1997, education tax benefits have become an increasingly important component of federal higher education policy. In 2021, 11 higher…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid and substantial increase in unemployment and to uncertainty about future job prospects. Despite this increased uncertainty, parents' expectations that their children will pursue postsecondary studies remained high during the lockdown--91.7% of children whose parents were surveyed in May or June 2020 were…

Over the last 30 years, college tuition has skyrocketed. From 1988 to 2018, tuition at public four-year institutions rose 213%. In response to the exponential surge in the cost of higher education, policymakers have focused increasingly on proposals to expand financial aid and loans, and canceling the vast sums of debt that college students have…