Each year, NASSGAP completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created and will continue to create uncertainty in all facets of everyday life, exacerbating current challenges -- and generating new ones -- for every sector of the economy, including postsecondary education. As the pandemic continues, postsecondary education faces increasing pressures as concerns about health and…

We examine the impacts of being awarded a Cal Grant, among the most generous state merit aid programs. We exploit variation in eligibility rules using GPA and family income cutoffs that are ex ante unknown to applicants. Cal Grant eligibility increases degree completion by 2 to 5 percentage points in our reduced form estimates. Cal Grant also…

The intention of the program is that conditioning additional financial aid on certain behaviors will lead students to increase their effort towards their studies, which in turn will lead them to perform better in their classes in the short-term and progress through their degree requirements at a quicker rate in the medium-term. The program is…

The outcomes states gain from investing in postsecondary financial aid programs remain hotly debated, leading to great interest in developing programs that are both cost-effective and productive in helping states meet goals. In the 2012-13 academic year, states collectively provided approximately $11.2 billion in financial aid to students enrolled…

The Pittsburgh Promise is a scholarship program that provides $5,000 per year toward college tuition for public high school graduates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who earned a 2.5 GPA and a 90% attendance record. This study used a difference-in-difference design to assess whether the introduction of the Promise scholarship program directly…

According to many higher education experts, merit scholarship screening methods discriminate against a disproportionate number of underrepresented minority (URM) students. The screening methods, however, favored individuals with the highest achievement test scores and above-average GPAs. The assumption in the common selection model is that test…

After passage of Proposition 209, the University of California began searching for race-neutral admissions criteria that would allow it to minimize drops in enrollment of under represented minorities. Concern for under represented minorities led to several changes in admissions policies, most notably the introduction of comprehensive or holistic…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the nation, the states, and colleges and universities began to grapple with the challenges of globalization, changing demography, the implications of the digital era, and of a less expansive public sector. Although not a transformative period for higher education, the decade saw significant innovations in…

J. Michael Thompson is the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at the University of Southern California. J. Michael has worked in higher education for more than 30 years in a variety of roles at small private and mid-sized and large public universities, and now at USC, a large private university. He has…

This report summarizes evidence of a decline in government financial aid to students attending independent colleges and universities that have made contributions to the state by providing the state economy with competent professionals, and by offering educational opportunity to members of ethnic minorities. However, a state policy commitment to…