This study applies demand theory to investigate how college discounting practices impact student enrollment across income categories for members and affiliates of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The dependent variable for this study, student enrollment by income category, comes from the Student Financial Aid and Net Price…

For years, financial aid administrators and others have debated the nature and structure of need analysis. As it developed, need analysis was based on commonly accepted definitions and basic principles of economics. Beyond the fundamentals of need analysis, there also developed expertise about exercising professional judgment (PJ) in reviewing…

The purpose of this audit was to determine whether Federal Student Aid (FSA) was effectively implementing the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act's provisions pertaining to Federal taxpayer information (FTI) through the Student…

With community colleges struggling with the completion rates of their students, it is important to understand the social and academic integration of community college students and their relationships to retention and completion. Research focuses on the critical role of internal college actors such as faculty, staff, and students in these…

The U.S. Government Accountability office (GAO) recently released a report presenting new data on eligibility and uptake for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) among college students with low incomes. The report paints a stark picture that, despite high levels of food insecurity among college students, few are receiving SNAP…

State financial aid grant programs are commonly categorized as either need-based, merit-based, or both, but their initial eligibility requirements include many more factors than just financial need and academic merit. A categorization of programs that accounts for all requirements would facilitate a more nuanced and precise understanding of state…

The U.S. Department of Education's three-month delay in launching the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and the subsequent lack of continuous access, ambiguities in the form, and data reporting errors have resulted in a significant decline in form completions for 2024. The analysis in this report--a first-of-its kind study…

Summary: In spite of a large literature on the causal effects of financial aid, the impact of funding on college outcomes remains an area of ongoing research with important unanswered questions. Studying the impact of financial aid presents the ongoing challenge of how to identify causal effects, as aid receipt is rarely random and at least partly…

This article analyzes U.S. Department of Education data on appropriations on Pell Grants using the new Mission-Driven Classification (MDC) to disaggregate enrollment, finance, and need-based Pell Grant data by major public higher education sector and, within community colleges, by geography (rural, suburban, and urban) as well as by the presence…

Federal Student Aid Programs act as equalizers by removing income inequity as a barrier to college access and outcomes. However, the need-based aid morphs into merit-based at the end of the first year, as students must meet progression benchmarks to remain eligible for federal financial aid. The study examined Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)…

A postsecondary degree is widely promoted as a great intergenerational economic equalizer for individuals born into disadvantaged economic circumstances. Yet, there is little empirical evidence documenting the extent that this may be true and whether people from all racial and ethnic, and language backgrounds are benefitting equally. We provide a…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the primary sources of federal aid to support postsecondary education students. Title IV programs made over $118 billion in aid available to postsecondary students in FY2020 through Direct Loans and other forms of aid, including $27 billion in Pell Grants. The…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended), authorizes numerous federal aid programs that provide support to both individuals pursuing a postsecondary education and institutions of higher education (IHEs). The FAFSA Simplification Act (FSA; Title VII, Division FF of P.L. 116-260) makes significant changes to the underlying…

We examine changes in California's FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) applications during the COVID-19 crisis. There was little change in applications for high school graduates due to an early deadline for state aid. After the deadline--from early March to mid-August--FAFSA applications of potential college freshmen declined 14%,…

This report analyzes data from 2001-2017 to examine public four-year universities' spending on financial aid dollars--specifically between non-need-based and need-based aid. Our researcher found that these universities have spent nearly $32 billion of their own financial aid dollars on students who lack financial need, according to an analysis New…