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…

Families are now an undeniable part of prospective students' college search process. As American higher education stands at the precipice of profound demographic shifts, colleges and universities must reexamine how they engage not just prospective students, but their families as well. In collaboration with Ardeo and CampusESP, RNL collected and…

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,…

At a time when Wisconsin faces severe workforce shortages in several key sectors and demand for skilled workers has skyrocketed, enrollment in the state's colleges and universities has generally been declining even faster than the national trend. Enrollments in Wisconsin across all public and private institutions were falling even prior to the…

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…

In an era of escalating higher education costs, students and families need to be aware of all of their options for financing college and how those financing options work. Financing remains one the top factors for choosing a college, especially for students with greater financial need. Those who do not receive the award packages and financial…

Latino students are entering college at record numbers. Today, almost 3.8 million Latinos are enrolled in colleges and universities across the United States. Yet Latino students lag behind their White and Asian peers in attaining college degrees. The overall completion gap exceeds ten percentage points. What is causing this completion gap?…

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…