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Using a randomized control trial design, this study examines the extent to which a comprehensive college transition program (CCTP) shapes students’ time-use during their first 3 years in college. The CCTP provides comprehensive student-centered support as well as a generous scholarship. We compare students who had access to the CCTP with those who only received the scholarship. Findings indicate that both student groups spent similar amounts of time working for pay, studying, and on social media, and time-use had no differential bearing on college GPA by treatment status. In an exploratory analysis of program components, we find correlational evidence that academic-related interactions with faculty are positively associated with hours spent studying. We consistently find that the strongest predictor of time-use in college is how students spend their time in high school, suggesting that interventions aimed at shaping students’ time-use may be most effective if they are targeted at students’ precollege years.

This paper estimates the relationship between students’ psychosocial and academic outcomes during their first three years enrolled at public, four-year institutions. Our sample is comprised of students from low-income backgrounds who applied for a competitive scholarship and enrolled at a four-year public institution. We follow two cohorts of entering students throughout their first three years on campus. We observe their cumulative GPA and persistence decisions each semester, and have annual measures of four psychosocial outcomes: mattering to campus, sense of belonging to campus, academic self-efficacy, and social self-efficacy. We find that psychosocial outcomes are moderately predictive of academic outcomes, with sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy emerging as most predictive of both cumulative GPA and persistence. Annenberg Institute at Brown University

We hypothesize that a lack of experience with college poses a non-trivial barrier to college access for historically underrepresented students. We study whether visits to a college campus during the eighth grade can reduce these psychological barriers to college access. Using an experimental design, we study whether college visits affect students’ knowledge about college, postsecondary intentions, college-going behaviors, academic engagement, and ninth grade course enrollment decisions. We recruited 885 students across 15 schools who participated in our project during the academic year 2017-2018. We randomized students within schools to either a treatment or control condition. Students in the control condition receive an information packet about college. Students in the treatment condition receive the same information and visit a flagship university three times during their 8th-grade academic year. Students assigned to participate in these campus visits demonstrate higher levels of knowledge about college, higher levels of effort while completing the survey, a higher likelihood of having conversations with school personnel about college, and a decreased desire to attend technical school. Additionally, treated students are more likely to enroll in advanced math and science/social science courses in 9th grade.

The El Dorado Promise is a universal “first dollar” Promise program that guarantees a full tuition scholarship to all students who attend the El Dorado School District from grades K-12, and a partial scholarship for those who enroll in for at least 9th-12th grade. While prior research on Promise Programs has found that Promise scholarships increase postsecondary matriculation, few studies have examined the impact of a Promise scholarship on college completion or the differential impact of a Promise scholarship on college completion by student characteristics. We use a difference-in-differences strategy to examine the impact of the El Dorado Promise on college enrollment, AA completion, and BA completion on average and by student subgroup (students of color, white students, students with above-average GPAs, and students with below-average GPAs). We find that overall the Promise was associated with an 11.4 percentage point increase in postsecondary enrollment, no change in AA completion, and a 10.7 percentage point increase in BA completion. Students of color and students with below-average GPAs saw the biggest gains in college enrollment, while students of color and students with above-average GPAs saw the biggest gains in BA completion. These results indicate that Promise programs operating in rural areas can have a positive and significant impact on postsecondary outcomes for students, particularly students traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary institutions.

In this paper we estimate the impact of exclusionary discipline given in 8th grade on the probability of 9th grade retention. We use a rich seven year, student level, panel dataset from Arkansas. We use a novel approach by limiting our sample to students who switch schools between 8th and 9th grade. This movement gives each student a fresh start, and removes the potential confound of a student’s reputation as a “problem student” that could influence teachers to be harsher on students who already have a disciplinary record. We find that students who receive exclusionary discipline in 8th grade are more likely to be retained in 9th grade compared to students who received no exclusionary discipline. We find nominal evidence that the impact of exclusionary discipline is attenuated for students of color and students receiving FRL; however, the differences are not significant.

This review examines the existing evidence on the impacts of Promise Programs on community development, K-12 academic achievement, and student postsecondary outcomes. Promise Programs are place-based, guaranteed college scholarships offered to all students who graduate from a certain school or district while meeting the minimum thresholds of the program. We delineate Promise Programs by their design - whether the scholarships are available to all students, are awarded based on merit, or are awarded based on need. We also note the applicability of Promise Programs - whether the funds be used at a wide range of postsecondary institutions, or if they are narrowly targeted towards certain institutions. We find suggestive evidence that Promise Programs are successful at improving housing prices, attracting residents to Promise zones, improving student K-12 academic outcomes, and increasing postsecondary enrollment. However, the number of studies examining Promise Programs remains limited, and skewed towards particular programs.