Projects

Abstract: Proposed “free college” policies vary widely in design. The simplest set tuition to zero for everyone. More targeted approaches limit free tuition to those who demonstrate need through an application process. We experimentally test the effects of these two models on the schooling decisions of low-income students. An unconditional free tuition offer from a large public university substantially increases application and enrollment rates. A free tuition offer contingent on proof of need has a much smaller effect on application and none on enrollment. These results are consistent with students placing a high value on financial certainty when making schooling decisions.

Abstract:  In the United States, social welfare programs often have low take-up, where only a fraction of eligible beneficiaries receive the resources that they are eligible for. We examine this problem through the lens of Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), a state grant aid program that provides free community college to low-income students based on their childhood participation in Medicaid. To investigate TIP take-up, we conduct a large-scale mixed-methods study using comprehensive data on over one million Michigan public school students over 11 cohorts, and 55 interviews with program administrators, high school counselors, and financial aid staff. We find that while one third of Michigan high school graduates are eligible for TIP, its take-up rate is only 14 percent, limiting its impact on college affordability. Our results show that TIP take-up is higher for students who have early and consistent Medicaid enrollment, and for students in schools with a high proportion of TIP-eligible students. We identify key barriers that play a significant role in shaping take-up: the presence of administrative burdens, and the constraints faced by front-line administrators in alleviating these burdens when administrative responsibility for grant aid is fractured and ill-defined. Other safety net programs could experience similar challenges.

Abstract: Earnings inequality among college graduates has grown, and returns to a bachelor's degree (BA) vary substantially across colleges. We experimentally evaluate a program that shifted high-achieving, low-income students into higher-quality colleges. Students randomly offered a guarantee of four years of tuition and fees at the University of Michigan were 21 percentage points more likely to enroll at a UM campus. The offer shifted students across colleges rather than into college: most compliers would otherwise have attended less-selective four-year colleges. HAIL increased four-year BA completion by 4 percentage points, but had no effect on attainment after six years. It substantially increased degree quality: students offered the scholarship were 12 percentage points more likely to earn a bachelor's degree from a highly or most selective college. IV estimates indicate that students induced to attend a University of Michigan campus were 56 percentage points more likely to earn such a degree. The increase in college quality predicts earnings gains of 18 to 25 percent. Faster degree completion adds about another 1 percent to the present discounted value of lifetime earnings.

Abstract: Whether and how students pursue postsecondary education is both consequential and persistently correlated with family background. Existing theories of college choice and educational stratification largely overlook member of students’ social networks outside of parents and schools, and how students from families with limited incomes or with limited college experience tap their resources to make strategic decisions. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative interviews with high achieving high school seniors from families with limited incomes, I examine the contribution of older siblings to the educational decision-making of their younger siblings. I find that having a sibling navigate postsecondary education before them leads to information and resource sharing, hands-on support, and observation that makes for a more seamless transition for their younger siblings. I find support from older siblings distinct; siblings provide an honest perspective that is both recent and applicable to students’ circumstances. However, instability in an older sibling’s postsecondary pathway can reinforce the uncertainty students feel about their future. 

There are well-documented and growing gaps in college attendance and completion rates by income.  Students from families with low-incomes are less likely to go to college and often attend less selective institutions than their qualifications would allow, diminishing their educational attainment and long-term earnings, while increasing debt.  As a policy response, colleges and universities have tried to increase economic diversity, and several interventions have been promising. We implemented a large-scale, longitudinal qualitative study within a randomized, controlled trial (the HAIL Scholarship Study) to understand student decision making, and to explain the mechanisms that make the HAIL Scholarship intervention so successful. We have thus far conducted 137 in-depth interviews with students, and over 50 in-depth interviews with parents. We are currently conducting follow-up interviews (funded by the Russell Sage Foundation) with students 3-5 years into their transition to postsecondary education or work. 

In this mixed-methods evaluation, we are working to understand how the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), a state-run first-dollar free community college program for Michigan students experiencing financial hardship, impacts postsecondary outcomes for high school students from families with low-incomes. This project uses qualitative interviews, descriptive analysis of administrative data, and quasi-experimental program evaluation to understand program take-up, key stake-holder experience, and whether the program is effective at increasing access to postsecondary education (and why or why not). We are pairing analysis of administrative data with qualitative interviews with program implementation staff, school counselors, students, and parents. Through these interviews, we plan to unpack program take-up heterogeneity identified in the quantitative data analysis: what is working, what is not working, and who is facing barriers to access this grant funding. Further, we hope to understand what can be done to improve the state of Michigan's policy efforts to make college accessible and affordable for all students.