Borrowing has become increasingly central to U.S. students' college financing choices. However, concerns about indebtedness may serve as a barrier to attaining a college degree for many students, particularly women and Black and Hispanic students. This study explores the determinants and heterogeneous impacts of debt aversion, or aversion to…

In response to the high cost of textbooks and other course materials, "Inclusive Access" automatic billing programs allow the cost of a discounted eTextbook and/or courseware to be automatically added to a student's tuition bill at the time of course registration. Touted for their ability to lower costs and provide students with access…

Students' access to family help with paying for college tuition and living expenses varies by family resources, structures, and relationships, and can affect later outcomes and the extent to which students rely on various forms of financial aid. This study analyzes an originally collected dataset at two regional public four-year universities in…

Prior research demonstrates the important role that financial considerations play in prospective students' decision making when applying to and enrolling in graduate school. Racially/ethnically minoritized students, in particular, face persistent challenges during the graduate application and enrollment process. Capitalizing on a natural…

Building on the extant literature on recruitment and retention within the field of STEM and undergraduate education, we sought to explore the recruitment and retention experiences of racially and ethnically minoritized students enrolled in graduate level assessment, measurement, and/or evaluation programs in the United States. Using a mixed…

Promise programs, or place-based tuition-free college policies, have become increasingly popular among policymakers looking to expand postsecondary attainment. In this article, we examine Tulsa Achieves, a widespread, albeit understudied type of promise program that covers the balance of students' tuition and fees after other aid is exhausted at a…

Researchers interviewed higher education professionals, asking: How do professionals working in higher education equity and access sectors, both public and private, assign responsibility for improving access, and what solutions do they propose? Informed by Kingdon's multiple streams framework and Guajardo et al.'s theory of change in action,…

A student's academic success depends on many factors, including aptitude, effort, personality traits, and social and financial situations. This analysis examines the impact on academic performance in the short-term and long-term, measured by course grade and grade point average, respectively of grit, ethnicity, gender, financial stress, and being…

Parent PLUS loans are a growing concern due to their limited income-driven repayment protections and their potential to maintain longstanding racial wealth gaps. Previous research has examined factors associated with student debt burdens of college graduates, but no research has examined factors related to parent borrowing for college. In this…

Urban public universities play a critical role in the higher education missions of access and success of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations. Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) also attract similar scholarly attention to understand the impact of these institutions on marginalized and underrepresented racial…

This study examines the association between educational loans and college graduation rates, with a focus on differences by race and ethnicity. Data come from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Results from the event history analyses indicate that educational loans are positively related to college graduation rates, but only up to a…

A free higher education policy was implemented in Ecuador in 2008. This article analyzes whether the effect of this policy has contributed to eliminating access barriers through the evaluation of a set of socioeconomic, demographic variables, and others related to educational policies concerning the admission process implemented in 2012. It is…

This study uncovers how 15 Latina-identified first-generation college students draw from mestiza consciousness to develop coping strategies for navigating multiple worlds of family, community, and higher education. The findings suggest that Latina-identified first-generation college students develop mestiza consciousness by (a) (un)consciously…

This article will examine Asian women's experiences of financial support in higher education. The article is based on 30 in-depth interviews with Asian women who were studying at a "new" (post-1992) university in the South East of England. Women identified themselves as Muslim, Hindu and Sikh. The findings reveal that women's religious…

This study explored the perspectives of medical students from first-in-family (FiF) university backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews focused on steps into, and experiences of medical education, and effects of student identity on social networks. Twenty FiF medical students from one English medical school took part in qualitative interviews. Data…