This dissertation addressed the underrepresentation of African American women attaining doctoral degrees at universities across the nation. It also explored the McNair Scholars Program, and the role the program played in preparing African American female students for graduate school and completion of the doctoral degree. In line with the…

Institutional merit-based financial aid awards are widely utilized by enrollment management practitioners to attract and retain students desired by the institution and to increase net tuition revenue. While much research has been conducted on federal need-based aid and statewide merit aid, relatively few studies have been conducted on merit aid…

Merit aid is an increasingly important component of college scholarships, but policymakers are concerned that merit aid is often given to students who would enroll anyway. As a baseline we use a regression discontinuity (RD) framework to test an institution-level merit aid program at a public research university and find that the merit aid program…

We use the natural experiment of a state lottery scholarship to measure the effect of generous financial aid on graduation rates at New Mexico's flagship public university. During the study period, the scholarship program paid full tuition for eight semesters for any state resident earning a 2.5 grade point average in their first semester at any…

This report examines the value of SAT scores for determining merit-based scholarship decisions as well as admission to highly selective academic programs such as honors programs or colleges. Results show that the SAT is a highly effective tool for predicting students' chances of earning a first-year grade point average (FYGPA) of 3.00 or higher…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity and the college degree attainment of underrepresented racial minority (URM) students receiving a merit-aid scholarship. Using an institutional database from a highly selective public university, multiple statistical techniques were conducted to examine how degree…

Financial aid from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) provides exceptionally generous support to a college population similar to that served by a host of state aid programs. In conjunction with STBF, we randomly assigned aid awards to thousands of Nebraska high school graduates from low-income, minority, and first-generation college…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS), Louisiana's merit-based student aid program, was created via Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. Act…

This report presents a comparative overview of the main features of national student fee and financial support systems in European higher education in the 2020/21 academic year. It provides insights on whether any fees are charged to students in higher education, which students may have to pay such fees and how much. It also presents public…

The course withdrawal decision includes both monetary and time costs for the student. Institutional costs include the misallocation of scarce seats to noncompleting students. Understanding the course withdrawal decision process can aid advisors and administrators as they seek ways to improve retention and progression. This study uses 21,318 course…

Talented students from underserved backgrounds face many barriers to attaining higher education. Two of the most significant impediments are the low quality of primary and secondary schools they attend and the lack of access to top-tier universities providing sufficient financial aid and targeted support. Lower levels of educational attainment are…

This annual report shows how fee and support systems (including grants and loans) interact in higher education in Europe. It provides both a comparative overview and individual country sheets outlining the main elements of national systems. In particular, the publication describes the range of fees charged to students, specifying the categories of…

Despite increased attention paid to the advent and development of state merit scholarship policies (such as Georgia's Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) and some evidence that suggests differences in scholarship retention by socioeconomic status or other student characteristics, little empirical work has explored factors affecting…

Each year, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report, the 47th annual survey, represents data from academic year 2015-16, offering data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrating the…

Over the previous two decades, state lawmakers have made two fundamental changes to how they finance their public universities. They have shifted more of the costs of higher education to students and their families through higher tuition rates; and created new grant programs that are not solely based on financial need but require prior…