| Kalena Cortes
Syracuse University
The effect of changes in federal student aid-packaging on the educational choices of low-income and minority students
This research project will study how changes in the federal student aid program have affected the educational outcomes of low-income and minority students in comparison to their counterparts at colleges and universities. While there have been various studies on related topics, such as the effects of tuition on attendance (Manski and Wise, 1973; Leslie and Brinkman, 1988; McPherson and Shapiro, 1991; Kane, 1994; Dynarski, 2003), the impact of changes in the financial aid policies of one particular university on its enrollment (Linsenmeier, Rose and Rouse, 2006; Van der Klaauw, 2002), and the effects of merit aid on attendance (Kane 2003; Dynarski, 2003), we know little about how changes in federal student aid-packaging over time have affected the educational outcomes of low-income and minority students. This project aims to address this policy research gap, specifically by undertaking three interrelated questions. (1) Have changes in student aid-packaging affected college enrollment of low-income and minority students over time? If so, have these changes reduced the higher education choices available to low-income and minority students? Put differently, at which type of institution (e.g., two-year versus four-year public institutions) do low-income and minority students predominantly matriculate? (2) Have changes in student aid-packaging affected part-time versus full-time college enrollment of low-income and minority students over time? (3) Have changes in student aid-packaging affected college retention and graduation of low-income and minority students over time?
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