Exploring Institutional Graduation Rates for College Students With Pell Grants

• In Event: Institutional College Support and Interventions

Abstract

While Pell grants certainly reduce the financial burden for economically disadvantaged students, they do not provide enough funding to cover the entire cost of college. Thus, low-income students need to seek additional financial resources to fund their education. They typically rely on other federal grants, followed by merit- or need-based grants from states and institutions, and finally federal subsidized need-based loans. Using nationally represented data, this study investigated how institutional average amounts of state and institutional grants as well as proportions of these aid recipients impacted graduation rates of Pell grant students. While increasing the proportion of institutional grant recipients did not influence the graduation rate, increasing the amount of institutional grant improved Pell student graduation rates.

Author

• Terry T. Ishitani, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville