Author : Kevin Crockett
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 13 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (16 download)
Book Synopsis Can Financial Aid Improve Student Success at Louisiana's Community Colleges? by : Kevin Crockett
Download or read book Can Financial Aid Improve Student Success at Louisiana's Community Colleges? written by Kevin Crockett and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report, the authors investigate the relationship between levels of financial aid and student success in Louisiana community colleges, with a focus on Pell Grant recipients. They measure success by whether a student earned a certificate or an associate's degree within three years of enrolling as a first-time full-time student or transferred to a four-year Louisiana university within the same timeframe. In this study, the authors use student unit record (SUR) data that have been merged with detailed information on student financial aid awards. This report is a companion to the authors' earlier study of the effects of grants and scholarships on student retention in Louisiana's four-year regional state university campuses. In that study, they concluded that by more effectively targeting its scholarships and grants (what we call "Gift Aid"), Louisiana could increase student retention while saving almost $400,000 per year. As this community college study is about to show, strategically targeting financial aid to increase the success of community college students appears to be far less likely to succeed. Findings from the current study show: (1) As the number of developmental courses in which a student enrolls increases, student success decreases; (2) Pell Grants do not overcome differences in success rates across income levels among students with equivalent academic preparation; (3) The level of community college students' Need Met With Gift Aid is weakly associated with completion; and (4) Higher levels of Need Met With Gift Aid are not associated with greater student success for students who took more than one developmental course. Comparison of Full-time and Part-time First-time Louisiana Community College Students Enrolled Fall 2006 and Fall 2007 data table is appended. (Contains 6 tables, 1 chart, and 6 footnotes.).