“Is It Bad I Don’t Know this Yet?”
At-Promise College Students, Financial Aid Knowledge, and Retention
Keywords:
college students, financial aid, at-risk students, technology, COVID-19, policyAbstract
This study describes how at-risk students articulate their knowledge of federal financial aid policy during COVID-19. We interviewed 14 students who were on financial aid warning, a status defined by federal financial aid policy regulations, to examine what students understand about their financial aid standing and the criteria to keep their funding. Findings suggest students were often confused about financial aid eligibility criteria, even though they confidently expressed incorrect information about financial aid policies. Moreover, students were uncertain about how to connect with institutional financial aid resources and did not understand that financial aid advising extended beyond their first semester. This study fills multiple gaps in the literature and articulates how institutions can improve students’ understanding of financial aid policy through multiple modes of communication, intentional interventions, and clearer policies. Implications for research, policy, and practice are addressed.
References
Ardoin, M. S. (2013). Learning a different language: Rural students' comprehension of college knowledge and university jargon. [Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University]. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1459431858
Asher, L. (2007). Going to the source: A practical way to simplify the FAFSA. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509350.pdf
Bandura, A. (1977). Social-learning theory. Prentice-Hall.
Bettinger, E., Long, B. T., & Oreopoulos, P. (2009). Increasing postsecondary enrollment among low-income families: A project to improve access to college information and financial aid: The FAFSA H&R Block experiment. Harvard University.
Braxton, J. M., Doyle, W. R., Hartley, H. V., Hirschy, A., Jones, W. A., & McLendon, M. K. (2013). Rethinking college student retention. John Wiley & Sons.
Burd, S., Fishman, R., Keane, L., Habbert, J., Barrett, B., Dancy, K., . . . Williams, B. (2018, June). Decoding the cost of college. New America. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/policy-papers/decoding-cost-college/
CAL-PASS Plus. (2024). Actionable Data on Education. CAL-PASS Plus. https://www.calpassplus.org/Home
Cox, S. (2019). Satisfactory academic progress: The impact of communications and connections on student perceptions and progression. [Doctoral dissertation, Wingate University]. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2305531091
DesJardins, S. L., Ahlburg, D. A., & McCall, B. P. (2001). Simulating the longitudinal effects of changes in financial aid on student departure from college. The Journal of Human Resources, 37(3), 653–679. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069685
Dowd, A. C. (2004). Income and financial aid effects on persistence and degree attainment in public colleges. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12, 21. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v12n21.2004
Federal Student Aid. (2022). Staying eligible. https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/staying-eligible
Feeney, M., & Heroff, J. (2013). Barriers to need-based financial aid: Predictors of timely FAFSA completion among low-income students. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 43(2), 65-85. https://publications.nasfaa.org/jsfa/vol43/iss2/2/
Goldrick-Rab, S., Kelchen, R., Harris, D. N., & Benson, J. (2016). Reducing income inequality in educational attainment: Experimental evidence on the impact of financial aid on college completion. American Journal of Sociology, 121(6), 1762–1817. https://doi.org/10.1086/685442
Hanson, M. (2023). College Dropout Rates. Education Data Initiative. https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates
Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. (1965).
Higher Education Amendments, 20 U.S.C. § 1001 (1976).
Hossler, D., Ziskin, M., Gross, J. P. K., Kim, S., & Cekic, O. (2009). Student aid and its role in encouraging persistence. In J. C. Smart. (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (vol. 24, pp. 389–426). Springer.
Hypolite, L. I., Kitchen, J. A., & Kezar, A. (2022). Developing major and career self-efficacy among at-promise students: The role of a comprehensive college transition program. Journal of College Student Retention, Research, Theory & Practice, 0(0) 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251221138933
John Burton Advocates for Youth. (2021). The Overlooked Obstacle – How Satisfactory Academic Progress Policies Impede Student Success and Equity. John Burton Advocates for Youth. https://jbay.org/resources/overlooked-obstacle/
Krupnick, M. (2022). More students are dropping out of college during Covid — and it could get worse. The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/more-students-are-dropping-out-of-college-during-covid-and-it-could-get-worse/
Mayhew, M. J., Rockenbach, A. N., Bowman, N. A., Seifert, T. A., & Wolniak, G. C. (2016). How college affects students: Findings from the 21st century (vol. 3). John Wiley & Sons.
McKinney, L., & Novak, H. (2015). FAFSA filing among first-year college students: Who files on time, who doesn’t, and why does it matter? Research in Higher Education, 56(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-014-9340-0
McKinnon-Crowley, S. (2022a). A snapshot of financial aid practice during COVID-19. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 46(1-2), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.1972361
McKinnon-Crowley, S. (2022b). The consequences of a COVID-19 campus: Student and staff views of financial aid practice during the pandemic. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 51(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1786
Mendoza, P., Mendez, J. P., & Malcolm, Z. (2009). Financial aid and persistence in community colleges: Assessing the effectiveness of federal and state financial aid programs in Oklahoma. Community College Review, 37(2), 112–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552109348045
Murdock, T.A. (1987). It isn’t just money: The effects of financial aid on student persistence. The Review of Higher Education, 11(1), 75-101. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.1987.0009
National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Sources of financial aid. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cuc
Pajares, F. (1997). Current directions in self-efficacy research. Advances in Motivation and Achievement. https://www.dynaread.com/current-directions-in-self-efficacy-research
Perna, L.W. (1998). The contribution of financial aid to undergraduate persistence. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 28(3), 25-40. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1103
Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631120983481
Rosa, M. L. D. L. (2006). Is opportunity knocking? Low-income students’ perceptions of college and financial aid. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(12), 1670–1686. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764206289139
Rosinger, K. O. (2019). Can simplifying financial aid offers impact college enrollment and borrowing? Experimental and quasi-experimental evidence. Education Finance and Policy, 14(4), 601-626. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00260
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Saldaña, J., & Omasta, M. (2022). Qualitative research: Analyzing life (2nd ed.). SAGE.
Satisfactory Academic Progress, 34 C.F.R. § 668.34 (2013). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
Scott-Clayton, J. (2015). The role of financial aid in promoting college access and success: Research evidence and proposals for reform. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 45(3), 7-22. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1586
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. SAGE.
Talusan, L., & Franke, R. (2019). (Un)fulfilling requirements: Satisfactory academic progress and its impact on first-generation, low-income, Asian American students. Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs, 5(1), 15-28. https://ecommons.luc.edu/jcshesa/vol5/iss1/3/
Taylor, Z. W. (2019). Six easy steps: Do aspiring college students understand how to apply for financial aid? Journal of Student Financial Aid, 48(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1643
Taylor, Z. W., & Bicak, I. (2019). What is the FAFSA? An adult learner knowledge survey of student financial aid jargon. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477971418824607
Tierney, W.G. & Venegas, K.M. (2009). Finding money on the table: Information, financial aid, and access to college. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(4), 363-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11779021
Whiting, G. W. (2006). From at risk to at promise: Development scholar identities among Black males. The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, XVII(4), 222-229. https://doi.org/10.4219/jsge-2006-407
Vaughn, C. (2020). Reasons for academic attrition among rural community college students by way of satisfactory academic progress [Doctoral dissertation, Murray State University]. Murray State Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/etd/208/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Higher Education Politics and Economics
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Unless otherwise noted, copyrights for the texts which comprise all issues of Higher Education Politics & Economics (HEPE) are held by the Journal. The compilation as a whole is Copyright © by HEPE, all rights reserved. Items published by HEPE may be freely shared among individuals, but they may NOT be republished in any medium without express written consent from the author(s) and advance notification of the HEPE editorial board. For permission to reprint articles published in the Journal, please contact the Editors-in-Chief.
