Money Matters: University Microgrants Improve Academic Success

• In Event: Institutional Supports that Matter: Examining Coaching, Microgrants, and Pathways to College Completion

Abstract

The high price of college attendance remains a barrier to success for students from low- and moderate-income families. In response, institutions have introduced microgrants—small, off-cycle, need-based grants—to support student success. However, evidence on their effectiveness is limited. Using extensive administrative and survey data, we apply doubly-robust quasi-experimental matching methods to estimate the impact of microgrants on academic outcomes over four years. Findings indicate that microgrant recipients achieved higher GPAs, earned more credits, had better retention rates, and graduated at higher rates compared to observably similar peers. These findings have important implications for equity efforts in the current sociopolitical context, as students from historically underserved groups were more likely to receive microgrants, despite their universal design.

Authors

• Katharine Broton, University of Iowa

• Solomon Fenton-Miller, University of Iowa

• Nicholas A. Bowman, University of Iowa