Summarizes prior studies with a focus on untangling how changes in student financial aid policy have influenced changes in opportunity. Also recommends new strategies for lowering student loan debt, increasing federal and state cooperation in providing adequate need-based grant aid, and developing policies that target debt forgiveness for…

This study used the "workable persistence model" to assess the effects of financial aid on persistence of full-time resident undergraduates within the Indiana State postsecondary system. The analysis provides support for state-provided, need-based financial aid programs, and finds that student financial aid is adequate to equalize persistence…

This case study examined the effects of student financial aid on within-year persistence at an urban public university in the 1990s. Results indicated that aid packages remained adequate at this university. It appeared that state and institutional grants played an increasingly important role in maintaining affordability in this new context of…

A study of the effects of tuition discounting practices on European-American and African-American college students (n=42,793) found that differences in student price response to tuition helps explain differences in persistence rates in the two groups. African Americans were found to be substantially more responsive to tuition than were European…

A study investigated the effects of changes in institutional aid strategies on student persistence, exploring the implications of increased reliance on loans at a private university. Increases in grants and loans appeared to improve student persistence. However, students' increased loan burden should be considered. The study also suggests that new…

Analyzes the influence of student aid on enrollment decisions of all accepted applicants at four institutions. Student aid was negatively associated with first-time enrollment, indicating that, in most cases, the amount of aid available was insufficient relative to the cost of college attendance. This suggests that institutions need to study their…

This literature review suggests that student aid is an effective mechanism for promoting equal educational opportunity and that the erosion in federal grant dollars has influenced an erosion in minority group access to higher education. Research findings on equal opportunity components including access, choice of school, persistence, choice of…

Analysis of data from the 1987 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study indicated: (1) within-year student persistence was influenced by tuition amount; (2) tuition charges were negatively associated with within-year persistence in both public and private colleges; and (3) grant aid was positively associated with persistence in private colleges…

Analysis of final college major choice by 3,893 students of the high school class of 1980 found that major choice was influenced by social background, high school achievement, high school major choice, and college and that debt burden was not significantly associated with major choice. (Author/MSE)

It is argued that public investment in student financial aid should be evaluated based on tax revenue returns resulting from the expenditure. A model for estimating tax revenue returns from gains in educational attainment attributable to student aid is developed, and impact of aid on access and persistence is examined. (Author/MSE)

The evolving influence of student financial aid on year-to-year persistence for three student cohorts, the high school classes of 1972, 1980, and 1982 are examined. A comparative analysis of the National Longitudinal Study and High School and Beyond Survey is presented. (Author/MLW)

A study tested a model for assessing the impact of financial aid offers on 2,558 accepted students' college enrollment decisions. The analysis demonstrates that financial aid strategies have a substantial influence on enrollment and the systematic analysis of student enrollment decisions can help institutional administrators refine their financing…

A study investigated the influence of tuition charges and financial aid packaging to adult undergraduate students on within-year persistence. Results indicated that adult undergraduates are more likely to be from disadvantaged backgrounds and more responsive to tuition rate than traditional college-age students, and that adults enrolled in public…

It is suggested that well-designed and executed institutional research on the effects of student financial aid can help resolve ambiguities about policy and provide useful information for institutional financial planning. Models and methodologies for conducting such research using existing data sources are outlined. (Author/MSE)