MULTIFACETED AID FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS AND COLLEGE OUTCOMES: EVIDENCE FROM NORTH CAROLINA

We study the evolution of a campus-based aid program for low-income students that began with grant-heavy financial aid and later added a suite of nonfinancial supports. We find little to no evidence that program eligibility during the early years (2004–2006), in which students received additional institutional grant aid and few nonfinancial supports, improved postsecondary progress, performance, or completion. In contrast, program-eligible students in more recent cohorts (2007–2010), when the program supplemented grant-heavy aid with an array of nonfinancial supports, were more likely to meet credit accumulation benchmarks toward timely graduation and earned higher grade point averages than their barely ineligible counterparts. (JEL I21, I23, I24, J08).

Duke Scholars

Author Charles T. Clotfelter Sanford School of Public Policy

Author Helen F. Ladd Sanford School of Public Policy