From Access to Completion: Causal Evidence from Financial Aid and Transfer Interventions in Higher Education

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel brings together four methodologically rigorous studies that evaluate interventions designed to reduce structural barriers to persistence, transfer, and degree completion among economically underserved college students. Despite being the most accessible sector of higher education, community colleges continue to face systemic challenges in supporting completion—particularly for low-income, racially minoritized, and first-generation students. The studies featured in this panel address these structural barriers through two critical lenses: financial stability and transfer opportunity.

The first paper presents findings from a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) of a cost-of-living grant designed to reduce non-tuition financial barriers for full-Pell eligible community college students. The intervention provides up to $3,500 per semester in grant aid using existing application and administrative processes, offering a scalable model for state and institution-level affordability reforms. The second evaluates the Washington College Grant–one of the most generous need-based state aid programs in the country– using a regression discontinuity (RD) design at multiple income thresholds. The study estimates the program’s impacts on enrollment and persistence, offering insights on policy design for varying levels of student financial need. 

The third and fourth papers examine institutional barriers that shape student experiences and outcomes beyond affordability. The third paper examines whether faculty-focused interventions can reduce racial and gender disparities in student outcomes. Using a randomized controlled trial involving over 650 faculty and nearly 13,000 students across three community colleges, the study measures the impact of voluntary unconscious bias training on course performance, college completion, and student perceptions. The fourth paper analyzes the implementation of a multi-year RCT aimed at increasing cross-enrollment from community colleges to a public four-year university in California. Despite policy provisions that allow low-cost simultaneous enrollment across systems, uptake remains low; this study uses implementation data to examine where and why students disengage between initial interest and eventual enrollment. 

Together, these four studies provide timely, policy-relevant evidence on strategies to improve postsecondary attainment for underserved students. By examining the effects of targeted financial aid and institutional interventions, the panel underscores the importance of policy design and delivery in shaping student outcomes. Collectively, the findings point to scalable reforms that address affordability, equity, and system-level barriers in higher education.

Policy Area

• Education

Secondary Policy Area

• Employment and Training Programs

Chair

• Judith Scott-Clayton, Teachers College, Columbia University

Discussants

• Paco Martorell, University of California, Davis

• Taylor K. Odle, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Organizer

• Sade Bonilla, University of Pennsylvania

Individual Presentations

• Affording to Stay: Experimental Evidence on a Cost-of-Living Grant in Community Colleges - Presenting Author: Sade Bonilla, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Veronica M. Minaya, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Assessing the Impact of the Washington College Grant: Insights from a Longitudinal State Data System - Presenting Author: Rebecca M Unterman, MDRC; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Howard S. Bloom, MDRC; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Ian Mikkelsen, Washington Student Achievement Council; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Daniel Oliver, WA Student Achievement Council

• Addressing implicit bias of college faculty - Presenting Author: Lena Shi, University of California, Irvine

• Understanding Low Uptake in a Cross-Enrollment Program Through a Randomized Controlled Trial - Presenting Author: Michael Hill, University of the Pacific; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Rachel Barth Baker, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Pablo Bezem, University of California, Irvine; Non-Presenting Co-Author: XunFei Li, University of California, Irvine