“Built by Adults for Adults:” How front-line administrators shape take-up of state need-based financial aid

• In Event: Institutional Resources for Navigating Complexity: Designing Policies to Increase College Access and Completion

Abstract

Federal and state college financial aid programs aim to reduce inequality in college access. However, a large number of those eligible for need-based aid for college do not receive it. High school staff—in particular, school counselors—play an important part in shaping student outcomes by helping students navigate the bureaucratic hurdles associated with enrolling in and financing college. However, the role of school counselors in facilitating access to financial aid is often poorly defined. How do school counselors and institutional environments shape take-up of need-based financial aid? Through what mechanisms do school counselors facilitate access to state aid?

In this study, we explore the role of institutional resources and high school counselors in mediating the administration of state-aid using the case of the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) in the state of Michigan. TIP is a grant aid program that provides free community college to low-income students based on childhood participation in Medicaid. We leverage a large-scale mixed-method study—including comprehensive data on over 1 million Michigan public school students over eleven cohorts and interviews with high school counselors, program administrators, and financial aid specialists.

Using counselor fixed-effect models, we find that variation in counselor fixed-effects explains roughly 1/3rd of the variation in take-up at the school-level. Further, replacing a counselor 1 standard deviation below the mean with one that is 1 standard deviation above the mean is associated with an 11ppt increase in school-level take up of TIP funding. Several school-level factors help explain take-up at the school level: including having a data use agreement in place, counselor to student ratio, and concentration of TIP eligibility.

The qualitative data reveal the mechanisms through which counselors contribute to school-level take-up. Through partnerships with the state, counselors are able to alleviate some of the burden on students. By signing a data-use-agreement with the state, counselors can access an online portal which shows them which students are eligible for TIP and whether they have completed the administrative requirements of the program (including the FAFSA). While counselors have no official role in administering this program, they play a key role in both reminding students of their TIP eligibility—or informing them for the first time—and helping students navigate access to the benefits they are entitled to. In the full analysis, we explore the role of varied institutional resources and connections across institutional actors. Front line administrators, like school counselors, are not stand-alone actors or hurdles. Institutional support can alleviate barriers, but only when the support staff have the information, resources, and institutional connections to provide consistent and informed assistance. Relying on individual actors to relieve system-level barriers creates inequality in access to resources and programs. 

Authors

• Elizabeth Burland, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Xavier Fields, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Nathan Sotherland, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Megan Tompkins-Stange, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Co-Author