This article proposes a new paradigm to understand recent government policies that pose new barriers to student participation and divert students out of public higher education. We explain how the classic diversion paradigm, exemplified by Clark (1960) and Brint and Karabel (1989), is unable to account for this new form of student diversion. We…

The question of how states can best use financial policy to achieve their goals is very important for many higher education stakeholders. In this study, the authors use panel data for all 50 states over a 20-year period to examine how state appropriations, need-based grants, and merit-based grants affect student enrollment in college and whether…

In recent years, growing numbers of four-year institutions have implemented a new type of need-based financial aid policy directed toward low- and middle-income students. These initiatives--referred to here as Loan Replacement Grant (LRG) programs--greatly reduce or eliminate loans in student aid awards and replace them with grants. This paper…

This article highlights the problem of omitted variable bias in research on the causal effect of financial aid on college-going. I first describe the problem of self-selection and the resulting bias from omitted variables. I then assess and explore the strengths and weaknesses of random assignment, multivariate regression, proxy variables, fixed…

This study examined the effects of tuition on enrollment in public colleges and universities. The causal model included competitors' tuition, the wage premium for possessing a college degree, financial aid, and unemployment rate as additional independent variables. The data included institution- and state-level data information over five academic…

Using national data from various sources, this study investigates the influence of financial aspects of state higher education policy on college completion. It found that college completion is positively associated with total state grants as a percentage of appropriations of state tax funds for operating expenses of higher education and state…

Policy analysis issues in a recent study of quality control in the basic grant delivery system are reviewed, and the validity of the findings as reported is discussed. The study's design and implementation, derivation and presentation of findings, and relevance of the findings to the study's policy recommendations are examined. (MSE)

The effectiveness and efficiency of financial aid programs for providing equality of choice between public and private institutions are examined. (SF)

Comparison of five proposals to change state higher education tuition and aid policies suggests that tuition and aid must be explicitly linked for efficient and equitable results. However, it is extremely difficult to adopt explicitly linked policies. The findings support critics who warn that attempts to adopt high-tuition/high-aid policies will…

Discussion of doctoral education looks at current trends in demand and supply; previous patterns in the nationality of doctoral degree recipients (1985-94); expansion and contraction in master's and doctoral degrees awarded, by discipline group (1976-93); and structural features of doctoral education (competition, departmental control, student…