Financial Aid and Persistence in Community Colleges: Assessing the Effectiveness of Federal and State Financial Aid Programs in Oklahoma

Abstract

Using a longitudinal, state-wide dataset, this study assessed the effect of financial aid on the persistence of full-time students in associate’s degree programs at the Oklahoma community colleges. Three financial-aid sources were examined: the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), Pell grants, and Stafford loans. Results indicate that these forms of financial aid, alone and in combination, were predictors of persistence measured in terms of the student progressing from 1styear status to 2nd-year status.The effect of financial aid, however, was moderated by ethnicity and income.

Keywords

student financial aid student persistence minority students low-income students Pell grants Stafford loans Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alon, S. ( 2005). Model mis-specification in assessing the impact of financial aid on academic outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 46, 109-125.

Baum, S. , & Ma. J. ( 2007). Education pays: The benefits of higher education for individuals and society. Washington, DC: The College Board.

Baum, S. , & Payea, K. ( 2003). Trends in student aid, 2003. New York : College Board. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 482057)

Bettinger, E. ( 2002). How financial aid affects persistence (Working Paper No.W10242). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Bragg, D.D. ( 2001). Community college access, mission and outcomes: Considering intriguing intersections and challenges. Peabody Journal of Education, 76, 93-116.

Braxton, J.M. , & Hirschy, A.S. ( 2005). Theoretical developments in the study of college student departure. In A. Seidman (Ed.), College student retention: Formula for student success (pp. 61-87). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Cellini, S.R. ( 2008). Causal inference and omitted variable bias in financial aid research: Assessing solutions. Review of Higher Education , 31, 329-354.

Chen, R. ( 2008). Financial aid and student dropout in higher education: A heterogeneous research approach. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 23, pp. 209-239). New York: Springer.

Choy, S.P. , & Berker, A.M. ( 2003). How families of low- and middle-income undergraduates pay for college: Full-time dependent students in 1999-2000 (NCES No. 2003-162). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

10.

Cofer, J. , & Somers, P. ( 2001). What influences student persistence at two year colleges ? Community College Review, 29(3), 39-55.

11.

Cohen, A.M. , & Brawer, F.B. ( 1996). The American community college (3rd ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .

12.

Curs, B.R. , Singell, L.D. , & Waddell, G.R. ( 2007). The Pell program at thirty years. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 22, pp. 281-334). New York: Springer.

13.

De La Rosa, M.L. ( 2006). Is opportunity knocking? Low-income students’ perceptions of college and financial aid. American Behavioral Scientist , 49, 1670-1686.

14.

Dowd, A. ( 2008). Dynamic interactions and intersubjectivity: Challenges to causal modeling in studies of college student debt. Review of Educational Research, 78, 232-259.

15.

Dowd, A. , & Coury, T. ( 2006). The effect of loans on the persistence and attainment of community college students. Research in Higher Education , 47, 33-62.

16.

Dynarski, S. ( 2002). The behavioral and distributional implications of aid for college. American Economic Review, 92, 279-285.

17.

Foote, E. ( 1997). Community colleges: General information and resources (ERIC Digest). Los Angeles: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED411929)

18.

Frerking, B. ( 2007, April 22). Community college: For achievers, a new destination . New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2007 , from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/education/edlife/bestccs.html?emc=eta1

19.

Gidjunis, J. ( 2004, October 12). Relatively few students complete main federal financial-aid form, report says. Chronicle of Higher Education . Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://chronicle.com/daily/2004/10/2004101201n.htm

20.

Glass, J.C. , & Jackson, K.L. ( 1998). A new role for community college presidents: Private fund raiser and development team leader. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 22, 575-590.

21.

Hagedorn, L.S. ( 2005). How to define retention: A new look to an old problem . In A. Seidman. (Ed.), College student retention: Formula for student success (pp. 89-106). Westport, CT: Praeger.

22.

Hagedorn, L.S. , Maxwell, W. , & Hampton, P. ( 2002). Correlates of retention for African American males in community colleges. College Student Retention, Research, Theory and Practice, 3, 243-263.

23.

Heller, D. E. , & Marin, P. (Eds.). (2004). State merit scholarship programs and racial inequity. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED489183)

24.

Hippensteel, D.G. , St. John, E.P. , & Starkey, J. B. (1996). Influence of tuition and student aid on within-year persistence by adults in 2-year colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 20, 233-242.

25.

Horn, L. , & Nevill, S. ( 2006). Profile of undergraduates in U.S. postsecondary education institutions: 2003-04, with a special analysis of community college students (NCES 2006184). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

26.

Jaccard, J. (2001). Interaction effects in logistic regression. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Johnson, L. G., Schwartz, R. A., & Bower, B. L. (2000). Managing stress among adult women students in community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 24, 289-300.

27.

Katsinas, S.G. , Alexander, K.F. , & Opp, R.D. ( 2003). Preserving access with excellence: Financing for rural community colleges. Policy Paper. Chapel Hill, NC : MDC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 478631)

28.

Kenton, C.P. , Huba, M.E. , Schuh, J.H. , & Shelley, M.C. ( 2005). Financing community colleges: A longitudinal study of 11 states. Community College Journal of Research and Practice , 29, 109-122.

29.

King, J.E. ( 2002). Crucial choices: How students’ financial decisions affect their academic success. Washington, DC : American Council on Education.

30.

King, J.E. ( 2004, October). Missed opportunities: Students who do not apply for financial aid (ACE Issue Brief). Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Retrieved August 11, 2009 , from http://www.cherrycommission.org/docs/Resources/Participation/Student_FinancialAidArticle.pdf

31.

Linsenmeier, D.M. , Rosen, H.S. , & Rouse, C.E. ( 2001, November). Financial aid packages and college enrollment decisions: An econometric case study (Working Paper No. 459). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, Industrial Relations Section. Retrieved July 27, 2009, from http://www.irs.princeton.edu/pubs/pdfs/459.pdf

32.

Long, B.T. , & Riley, E. ( 2007). Financial aid: A broken bridge to college access ? Harvard Educational Review, 77, 39-63.

33.

Makuakane-Drechsel, T. , & Hagedorn, L.S. (2000). Correlates of retention among Asian Pacific Americans in community colleges: The case for Hawaiian students. Journal of Research and Practice, 24, 639-656.

34.

Mendez, J.P. , & Mendoza, P. ( 2007). Governmental financial aid packages and minority student retention: the effects of Oklahoma’s Promise, Pell grants, and Stafford Loans (IHELG Monograph Series, No. 07-06). Houston, TX : Institute for Higher Education Law & Governance, University of Houston.

35.

Mendez, J.P. , & Mendoza, P. ( 2008). The impact of financial aid formulas on African American student retention. National Association of Student Affairs Professionals Journal, 11, 46-65.

36.

Mullin, C. , & Honeyman, D. ( 2007). Funding of community colleges: A typology of state funding formulas. Community College Review, 35, 113-127.

37.

Nora, A. , & Horvath, F. ( 1989). Financial assistance: Minority enrollments and persistence . Education and Urban Society, 21, 299-311.

38.

Oklahoma Senate Bill S. 156. 1992 Regular Session. (1992).

39.

Oklahoma Senate Bill S. 820, 2007 Regular Session. (2007).

40.

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (n.d.). Oklahoma’s promise. Retrieved August 7, 2009 , from http://www.okhighered.org/okpromise/

41.

Olivas, M.A. ( 1985). Financial aid packaging policies: Access and ideology . Journal of Higher Education, 56, 462-475.

42.

Paulsen, M.B. , & St. John, E.P. (2002). Social class and college costs: Examining the financial nexus between college choice and persistence . Journal of Higher Education, 73, 189-236.

43.

Perna, L. , & Titus, M.A. ( 2004). Understanding differences in the choice of college attended: The role of state public policies. Review of Higher Education , 24, 501-525.

44.

Phillippe, K.A. , & Patton, M. ( 2000). National profile of community colleges: Trends and statistics . Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service Document No. ED440671)

45.

Rendon, L. , Jalomo, R.E. , & Nora, A. ( 2000). Theoretical consideration in the study of minority student retention in higher education. In J. M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 127-156). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press .

46.

Romano, R. , & Millard, T. ( 2006). If community college students are so poor, why do only 16.9% of them receive Pell grants? Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 30, 321-337.

47.

Singell, L.D. ( 2004). Come and stay awhile: Does financial aid effect enrollment and retention at a large public university? Economics of Education Review, 23, 459-471.

48.

St John, E. , Paulsen, M.B. , & Carter, D.F. ( 2005). Diversity, college costs, and postsecondary opportunity: An examination of the financial nexus between college choice and persistence for African Americans and Whites. Journal of Higher Education , 76, 545-569.

49.

St John, E.P. , Musoba, G.D. , & Simmons, A.B. ( 2003). Keeping the promise: The impact of Indiana’s Twenty-First Century Scholars Program. Review of Higher Education , 27, 103-123.

50.

St. John, E.P. , & Starkey, J.B. ( 1994). The influence of costs on persistence by traditional college-age students in community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 18, 201-213.

51.

Swigart, T.E. , & Ethington, C.E. (1998). Ethnic differences in estimates of gains made by community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 22, 703-713.

52.

U.S. Department of Education. (2008a). Federal Pell grant. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/funding.html

53.

U.S. Department of Education. (2008b). Stafford loans (FFELs and direct loans). Retrieved on October 20, 2008, from http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp