This report builds on the 2013 and 2014 Reports on Unmet Need and Student Success at Maryland Public Four-Year Institutions by providing data on six-year graduation rates for the students in the original 2008 entering cohort. For this report, both descriptive analysis and logistic regression were used to understand the relationship between…

The federal government plays an indispensable role in helping community college students pay for their education. It is hard to imagine today's community college campuses without needs-based federal student aid, such as the Pell Grant program and subsidized loans. There are, however, significant differences between community college students and…

With the notable shift from grants to loans over the past several decades, many researchers have argued the positive impact of financial aid on student college choice, enrollment, and persistence. However, literature indicates that students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to take loans to finance postsecondary education…

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) submits this report in response to the 2014 Joint Chairmen's Report, which requested an update to the 2013 MHEC report that examined impacts of financial need on student success. The charge included in the 2014 Joint Chairmen's Report was the following: "As part of the Access, Affordability, and…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the college choice experience of rural low-income students and how their potential use of student loans influenced their college choice decisions. In order to conduct this research study, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data source. Additional…

A college degree is often the key to jumpstarting a career. And data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) consistently show that workers who have a college degree earn more than workers who don't. Not surprisingly, a college education is increasingly popular. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for…

This is the fourth report in the Sallie Mae series "How America Saves for College," which launched in 2009. To understand how American families are planning for their children's education, the study captures data on parents' decision-making about savings, the use of savings vehicles, and the amount they save, as well as attitudes toward…

"A Closer Look at the Trillion: Borrowing, Repayment and Default at Iowa's Community Colleges," takes an unprecedented look at community college student borrowing and repayment behavior. The report uses data from all 16 community colleges in Iowa to examine the characteristics of borrowers and defaulters to help colleges and policymakers…

The author has spent much of his working life studying and promoting student loans. As a good liberal Democrat, he spent years arguing for the expansion of the old Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) which had its roots in Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. His professional life included stints working for one of the nonprofit FFELP…

Colleges, universities, and the communities they serve have always been concerned about students' abilities to pay and the systems of aid to support students' learning. This article reviews the history of aiding student in higher education. Early student- and institutionally-led programs are discussed along with initial philanthropic and…

The Federal Pell Grant Program was created to improve the access of low-income students to postsecondary education. Grant recipients enroll at a variety of educational institutions, including four-year colleges and universities, for-profit schools, two-year community colleges, and institutions that specialize in occupational training. Grants are…

College graduates and current students are swimming in a sea of debt. As of this writing, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt has been estimated at $960 billion. The Occupy Student Debt movement, inspired by Occupy Wall Street, has suggested that all student loan debt should be forgiven. As a starting point, members of the movement…

Sallie Mae has conducted an ongoing study, "How America Pays for College," annually since 2008. Through that study, the researchers are able to provide a clearer picture of how the typical American undergraduate is paying for college today. This report is the third in the "How America Saves for College" series conducted since 2009. Interviews took…

The designation "low income" is often assigned to students who are Federal Pell Grant eligible; however, family incomes for these recipients range from $0 to as high as $60,000 (Baum & Payea, 2011). Over 93% of all zero expected family contribution (EFC) students have a family income of $30,000 or less and constituted 67.4% of all…

Some colleges engage in unethical practices to balance their budgets, such as accepting "marginal" students who qualify for loans and government-backed financial aid but not providing these students with the services and programs they need to achieve success. Too many low-income students who are often first-generation students find…