Heather T' RowanKenyon

1
An Illustration of the State and Higher Education
Financial Aid Policy Context on College Choice
Decisions With a Special Focus on California
and Georgia

• Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon
• Michelle Asha Cooper
• Student Financial Aid Research Network
• June 2007

2
Overview

• Relationship between financial aid and college
  choice is complex.
• Several studies confirm that college
  enrollment/choice is related to tuition and
  financial aid (Heller, 1999 Kane, 1999 Paulsen
  St., John, 2002 Perna Titus, 2002 St. John
  Starkey, 1995)
• Other studies provide evidence to the contrary
  showing no link to enrollment/choice and
  financial aid (Nora, 2004 Nora, 2005 Perna
  Titus, 2004b).
• State public policy regarding financial aid may
  influence college choice (Zumeta, 1992 Perna
  Titus, 2004a).
• Several states support need based aid (NASSGAP,
  2006)
• Several states support merit-based aid (Heller,
  2002 NASSGAP, 2006)
• Few college-choice models examine the linkages
  among contextual levels and student college
  enrollment behavior (Perna, 2006).

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Purpose

• This study seeks to illustrate the state and
  higher
• education policy context on college choice
• decisions of students. The states selected for
  this
• analysis include California (need-based aid
  state)
• and Georgia (merit-based aid state).

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Conceptual Framework College Choice Model


Social, economic, policy context (layer 4)


Demographic characteristics



Public policy characteristics



Economic characteristics

• Multi-level model 4 nested layers
• Student and family context
• School and community context
• Higher education context
• Social, economic, and policy context

Higher education context (layer 3)



Marketing and recruitment



Location



Institutional characteristic



School and community context (layer 2)
Availability of resources

Types of resources

Structural supports and barriers


Habitus
(layer 1)


Demographic
characteristics

Gender


Race/ethnicity





Cultural capital


Cultural knowledge


Value of college attainment


Social capital


Information about college


Assistance with college processes











Demand for higher education


Expected benefits

Academic preparation

Monetary

Academic achievement



Non
-
monetary



College







Choice


Supply of resources


Expected costs



Family income

College costs

Financial Aid


Foregone earnings










Source Perna (2006)



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Research Questions

• How do the characteristics of first-time students
  in 4-year public institutions compare to the
  characteristics of first-time students in 2-year
  public institutions, and the characteristics of
  first-time students in 4-year private
  institutions?
• Do these patterns differ by state, specifically
  in California and Georgia?
• How are state and higher education policies
  illustrated by these patterns?

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Methodology

• Data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid
  Study (NPSAS04)
• Sample Includes
• High school graduates/GED recipients
• First-time students (dependent/independents)
• Students who applied for financial aid
• Review of state-level characteristics and college
  enrollment policies.
• Descriptive analyses are used to address the
  research questions
• Separate analyses for Georgia and California

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Demographic, Social and Economic Characteristics
Perna, Rowan-Kenyon, Bell, Thomas, and Li, (in
review)
Average Cost of Attendance, 2005
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Characteristics of College Enrollment Policies
Perna, Rowan-Kenyon, Bell, Thomas, and Li, (in
review)
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Descriptive Analyses Enrollment Patterns of
First-TimeStudents
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Descriptive Analyses Race/Ethnicity
plt.001 level
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Descriptive Analyses Family Income
plt.001 level
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Descriptive Analyses Federal AidCalifornia and
Georgia

• In CA GA
• Higher percentages of students receiving federal
  grants under 4,000 enroll in public 2-year
  institutions.
• Higher percentages of students receiving federal
  grants of 4,000 or more enroll in public 4-year
  institutions.
• Higher percentages of students receiving federal
  grants of 4,000 or more enroll in public 4-year
  institutions, than students who do not receive
  any federal grants.
• Higher percentages of students who receive a
  federal loan enroll in 4-year institutions, both
  public and private. Higher percentages of
  students with loans of 5,000 or more enroll in
  private-four year institutions.

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Descriptive Analyses State AidCalifornia and
Georgia

• Georgia
• More than 80 of students with state grants less
  than 2,000 enroll in public 2-year colleges.
• Approximately 60 of students receiving grants of
  2,000 or more enroll in public 4-year colleges.
• Higher percentages of students receiving a grant
  in of 3,000 or more enroll in public 4-year and
  private 4-year colleges (gt99), as compared to
  those in public 2-year colleges.

• California
• More than ½ of students receiving less than
  1,000 in state grant aid enroll in public 2-year
  colleges.
• Over 60 of students who receive a state grant of
  1,000 or more enroll in public 4-year colleges.
• A nominal percentage of students with state
  grants of 2,000 or more enrolled in a public
  2-year college (lt1).

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Descriptive Analyses Institutional
AidCalifornia and Georgia

• Georgia
• Higher percentages of students with institutional
  aid between 100 - 1,999 enroll in public 4-year
  colleges (44).
• One-third of students with institutional aid
  between 100-1,999 enroll in private 4-year
  colleges ¼ enroll in public 2-year colleges.
• Seventy-eight percent of students with
  institutional aid of 5,000 enroll in private
  4-year colleges 12 in public 4-year colleges.

• California
• Higher percentages of students with institutional
  aid less than 2,000 enroll in public 2-year
  colleges (58-68) Nearly ¼ of students receiving
  this amount of aid enroll in public 4-year
  colleges.
• Seventy-three percent of students receiving aid
  between 2,000 - 4,999 enroll in public 4-year
  colleges ¼ enroll in private 4-year colleges.
• Sixty nine percentage of students who receive an
  institutional aid of 5,000 or more enroll in
  4-year private colleges 31 enroll in public
  4-year colleges. Virtually none of these students
  enroll in a public 2-year institution.

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Descriptive Analyses Enrollment Patterns of
First-TimeStudents, by Income Group
9 point gap
20 point gap
plt.001 level
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Conclusions

• Variation in college enrollment patterns among
  first-time students exist for all demographic
  characteristics.
• Higher percentages of students in CA and GA
  enroll in public 2-year colleges compared to
  4-year colleges, with a few exceptions.
• A pattern exists between receipt of grant aid and
  institutional choice. The average cost of
  attendance by institutional type/control within
  each state, complemented by receipt of grant aid,
  may influence decisions.
• Higher proportions of students in CA and GA that
  receive at least 4,000 in federal grants enroll
  in 4-year institutionspublic and privatethan in
  2-year institutions.
• High proportions of students in CA and GA that
  receive a particular amount of state grant aid
  enroll in 4-year institutions.
• CA at least 2,000
• GA at least 3,000
• About two-thirds of students that choose 4-year
  public institutions and one-third that choose
  4-year private institutions (for both states)
  receive state aid of at least 3,000.

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Directions for Future Research

• Further exploration of additional state financial
  aid policies.
• Determine suitable multivariate technique for
  illustrating the effects of financial aid on
  college choice.
• Examine the demographic differences of the policy
  effects, particularly for low- and
  moderate-income families.
• Explore the effects of policies on access and
  degree attainment.
• Probe relationship between state policy and
  community college enrollment.
• Examine impact of policies on various levels of
  student achievement.

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Contact Information

• Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon
• University of Virginia
• hrowan_at_virginia.edu
• Michelle Asha Cooper
• Advisory Committee on Student Financial
• Assistance
• michelle.cooper_at_ed.gov