Effect of Need Based Grand Eligibility on College Attainment

Effect of Need Based green Eligibility on College AttainmentThe education system in the United postulate is considered as the best in the world , but this status is started to fall. concord to the OECD report(2012) it has been seen that the bachelors compass point attainment rate rise substantially in separate countries over the last couple of decades, but the trends in the US argon move slightly. Educational investigateers much(prenominal) as Turner(2004),Bound, Lovenheim Turner( 2007) showed that learners who admitted in bachelor head program take to a greater extent time to complete it. The case educational statistics also indicate a considerable variation in outset time at the state level. Statistics from the 2009 census indicate that roughly 17 percentage of those born in the lowest-ranked state of Southeast of US (age 25 and older) had attained a bachelors degree which is below the national rate of 24 percent, and comp argond to the U.S. average from the late 1970s (Goal 2025,2014). According to Bailey and Dynarski ( 2011) only 18 percent of college entrant complete a bachelor degree within cardinal years and 36 percent within six years. In the past, educators and researchers tried to find out the reasons why so many college entrants br separately to complete a degree, or fail to complete on time. earlier researchers such as Clayton(2009) argued that students financial constraints and donnish preparation and motivation are cor link up with time to complete a degree. Baum, Ma, Payea (2010) showed that only 55 percent students of low income quintile background who potash alumd high school in 2008enrolled in college compared with 80 percent of students in the highest income quintile. Ellwood Kane(2000) proved that low-income students have a take down probability of enrolment than do more affluent students when controlling for academic achievement. The gaps in college degree attainment by socioeconomic status are even more concerned ( Haveman Smeeding, 2006). These concerns may explain the increasing popularity of programs offering large financial incentives for college achievement. The United States government currently provides more than $132 trillion per year need based financial assistantships to mitigate the marrow of move college costs on the postsecondary decisions of students from low-income families (Baum and Payea 2011).The largest of these yieldings is the federal Pell Grant, a need-based grant saluteed to low- and moderate-income students pursuing a college education at an accredited institution. Researchers always wanted to know whether these grants bunk to improvements in students college outcomes. A gigantic majority of research examined the causal resolution of need-based grants on college access. However, a very little research has examined the effect of need-based grants on whether students persistent, accumulate more college credits, and ultimately complete a degree. The proposed stud y go forth investigate the effects of need-based grant eligibility on college attainment. Specifically, we pull up stakes focus on the impact of eligibility for the need-based Mississippi Tuition Assistant Grant(MTAG) on whether students enter, remain enrolled in, and potash alum from college. The Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board(MPEFAB) determined eligibility for the MTAG using the federal need based financial analysis calculation. According to that calculation entrant and sophomore students bequeath get not more than $ 500 per academic year and in case of junior and senior students, the award shall not exceed $ 1000 per academic year. According to the MPEFAB, students who get less than the practiced Federal Pell Grant award shall receive an MTAG award in an add up equal to the difference between the maximum Federal Pell Grant award amount and the award amount of the Federal Pell Grant for which the student is legal based upon the students EFC as determined by the FAFSA. A student may receive MTAG in addition to the Mississippi noble-minded Scholars Grant (MESG), unless the institution determines that receipt of both awards will cause the students financial supporter package to exceed the institutions established cost of attendance for the student.Problem StatementPrevious researches related to financial charge highlighted the effect of financial support on college attendance and college persistence, even though this two liable(predicate) represent very contrastive sets of decisions for individuals. Researchers always wanted to know whether these grants lead to improvements in students college outcomes. A vast majority of research examined the causal effect of need-based grants on college access. For instance, Deming Dynarski (2009 ) showed that for each special $1,000 need-based grant eligibility can have a strong and positive effect on students enrollment in college, with the estimated probability of enrollment increasing by between 3 to 4 percentage on average. Several researchers such as Bruce and Carruthers(2011),Dynarksi(2008), Scott-Clayton(2011) examined the long-term effect of merit-based scholarships on whether students earn a degree. Recently, Bettinger, et al. (2012) suggested that component part students to apply for federal aid like the Pell Grant increase college persistence. However, a very little research has examined the effect of need-based grants on whether students persistent, accumulate more college credits, and ultimately complete a degree.Research QuestionThe proposed study will investigate the effects of need-based grant eligibility on college attainment. Specifically, we will focus on the impact of eligibility for the need-based Tennessee Student Assistance Award Program (TSAA)on whether students enter, remain enrolled in, and graduate from college. As such, we will contribute to the writings by focusing on the longer-term effects of need-based financial aid. The proposed study will also contributes to the scant literature on the effects of financial aid, particularly need-based aid, on college persistence and degree completion. Additionally, the proposed study will examine the effects of increasing the size different need-based financial aid for example, the Pell Grant on college outcome as healthy as interaction between need based financial aid and merit based financial aid. A regression -discontinuity design will be used based on the information that determined whether students were in line for more, or less, need-based grant aid to analyze the causal effect of TSAA eligibility on whether students entered, persisted in, and completed college level degree program.Literature ReviewPrevious research shows that financial aid may influence the college-going decisions of low income students. According to Becker(1964), if the perceive present discounted value (PDV) of the benefits of higher education exceeds the PDV of the costs of going to college the students obey a college education. Thus, government and other aid granting agencies provide financial aid to reduce the PDV of the cost of going to college. Previous research related to financial aid support this theory. Dynarski (2003) and Deming and Dynarski( 2009) showed that reduction in financial aid by $ 1000 led to roughly 4 % reduction in college enrollment. The research literature suggests that financial aid can impact initial college enrollment positively, while economic theory is reluctant about the effect of financial aid on conquest of college student. Is is well proved that financial aid have an indirect positive effect on academic success for students who have already admitted in college. In recent years, authors such as Dynarski (2008) analyzed the effect of government sponsored merit based scholarship programs on students long term success. Dynarski(2008) showed that the introduction of state merit scholarships in are and Georgia increase degree compl etion rate in each state. While,Scott-Clayton (2011) found that students who got West Virginia PROMISE scholarship were 6.7 percentage more likely to earn a bachelors degree within four years than other students. Similarly, Bruce and Carruthers (2011) exploited a cut-off in the ACT seduce that determines eligibility for Tennessees desire merit scholarship to examine the effect of the grant on students longer-term college attainment. In contrast to Dynarski (2008) and Scott-Clayton (2011), the authors found little evidence that Tennessee HOPE had a positive impact on whether students earned a degree.