Performance-based Aid, Enhanced Advising, and the Income Gap in College Graduation: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial

Date
2021
Authors
Erwin, C
Binder, M
Miller, C
Krauss, K
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Abstract

Income gaps in college enrollment, persistence, and graduation raise concerns for those interested in equal opportunity in higher education. We present findings from a randomly assigned scholarship for low-income students at a medium-sized public 4-year university. The program focused solely on the first four semesters of enrollment and tied aid disbursements to modest academic benchmarks and enhanced academic advising. Meaningful decreases in time to degree appear to be driven by students with the lowest academic preparation and family income. Treated students took out approximately 20% less in student loans during the duration of the program. Participants also indicated high satisfaction with the program’s model of enhanced academic advising.

Description
Keywords
Achievement gap; Counseling; Economics of education; Educational policy; Higher education; Postsecondary education; Econometric analysis; Experimental design; Experimental research
Source
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 43(1), 134–153. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373720979180
Rights statement
Under SAGE's Green Open Access policy, the Accepted Version of the article may be posted in the author's institutional repository and reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses.