The recommendations put forth in this paper stemmed from a series of conversations, conducted over the course of 2019, with experts and stakeholders representing a range of perspectives and experiences within higher education and financial aid. The working group explored policy design details in depth and identified core areas of general…

The Cal State Student Association (CSSA) and The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) examine trends in college affordability for California State University (CSU) bachelor's degree recipients compared to its original analysis published six years ago. This new report finds that in 2021-2022, nearly two in three CSU bachelor's degree…

Educators are faced with increasing student loan debt, increasing costs of becoming a teacher, and stagnant teacher salaries. Research suggests that the structural elements of the student loan system, including systemic barriers, may act as deterrents, preventing access and opportunity, especially in the teaching profession. The profession needs…

This study highlights a critical case that can serve as a programmatic and conceptual model for institutional partnerships seeking to diversify the early childhood education (ECE) teaching profession with "homegrown" Latinx teachers. The case study explored the experiences of Latinx students in an ECE program at a regional, public 4-year…

The Appropriation Act directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to submit an annual report to the Governor and the chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees documenting the annual change in total charges for tuition and fees approved by the boards of visitors at Virginia public…

This mixed-methods study investigates the real and perceived barriers that African American male Edgecombe County high school students face when considering college enrollment to inform potential interventions to improve college enrollment of this market segment. Phase I of the study design included a survey of current, African American, male…

This research study attempted to understand the implications of a last-dollar, free community college program, otherwise known as a College Promise Program, and its ability to provide educational access, academic success, and degree attainment for the neediest of students. Three research questions focused on the relationship between eligibility…

This dissertation is a collection of three essays in Public Economics. The first chapter studies the optimal design of student loans as a lever to foster the inclusion of poor students in private colleges in Brazil. The second chapter delves into understanding the consequences of affirmative action as a tool to increase the participation of…

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which began in 2012 through an Obama executive order, provides individuals who entered the country illegally or overstayed visas as minors with work permits and protection from deportation. Of the approximately 11 million undocumented people in the United States, 690,000 hold DACA permits. They are…

This report aims to expand the window into federal student loan defaults beyond the event of default itself. It attempts to provide the most robust look to date of what happens to student loans "after a borrower defaults and why." Ultimately, this information should help policymakers evaluate the current set of policies related to…

The annual National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Tuition Discounting Study (TDS) measures tuition discount rates and other indicators of institutional grant awards to undergraduates attending private nonprofit (independent) colleges and universities. The "2017 Tuition Discounting Study" report, based…

In academic year (AY) 2018-2019, approximately 6,400 institutions of higher education (IHEs), enrolling about 26.5 million postsecondary education students, participated in the federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended). These IHEs ranged in sector, size, and…

The role of higher education towards social, economic and cultural development of our societies is certainly unquestionable from various aspects. In that sense, synergy and mutual dependence of higher education and society & vice-versa is a constant of modern times. However, one must acknowledge that all these aspects very often are highly…

The purpose of this study was to build a better understanding of the issues that students encounter during the summer that deter them from enrolling in the first semester of college in the fall. In Study 1, responses to a short survey were examined, and 4 critical factors were identified as deterring students: lack of college-bound identity, life…

Making college accessible to all includes making it affordable to lower-income families. A growing policy strategy at the state level is to provide individual students with need-based financial aid to offset tuition and living expenses. This strategy inherently presents challenges in choosing which income levels are eligible to receive aid,…