Effects of a Two-Generation College Pipeline Program on Postsecondary Aspirations, Enrollment, and Completion

• In Event: Shaping Student Success in Higher Education: Family Engagement, Instructor Quality, Financial Aid, and Institutional Constraints

Abstract

Higher education is often viewed as a key pathway for socioeconomic mobility but persistent disparities in college access and success by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status underscore the need for further evidence on interventions that can close these gaps. We evaluate the effects of Hope Chicago, a two-generation college pipeline program operating in 5 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) high schools located in underinvested communities. Hope Chicago aimed to address multiple barriers to college access and success, including lack of information about postsecondary options, academic underpreparation, financial barriers, and stigma by providing a comprehensive set of supports and services. The main components of the program included advising in high school and college, sufficient financial aid to completely cover college costs, and financial support for parents to also pursue postsecondary education and training.  We use student-level administrative data to identify causal effects of the program on postsecondary aspirations in high school, postsecondary enrollment and degree receipt, and within-family spillovers to younger siblings. Our difference-in-differences research design compares changes in outcomes for students in cohorts who received Hope Chicago’s intervention at the 5 treated schools to changes in outcomes of corresponding cohorts at control schools (the 10 schools that were considered for Hope Chicago but were ultimately not chosen) before and after program implementation. Preliminary analyses of outcomes in treatment and control schools prior to the first year of Hope Chicago suggest that college enrollment and completion followed parallel trends, providing support for the research design. Our evaluation provides new evidence on programs and supports that successfully increase college enrollment and completion for first generation students, students from low-income families and neighborhoods, and students of color, like those served by many CPS high schools and their parents.

Author

• Lesley J. Turner, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author