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As federal policymakers consider changes to income-driven repayment (IDR) schemes, research examining the characteristics and financial behaviors of student loan borrowers participating in IDR is necessary. Using the nationally representative Survey of Consumer Finances, we examined the demographics of IDR enrollment. Counter to expectations, low-income borrowers, and borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios are less likely to enroll in IDR. Conditional on having a large amount of debt, married women of color are likely to enroll in IDR programs. Findings concerning IDR participation may be highly sensitive to how groups are defined and what covariates are in models. IDR participation does not predict engagement in other financial behaviors such as retirement savings or homeownership.

We update Collier et al. (2021) by using the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) 2019 dataset to explore characteristics of enrollees in Income-Driven Repayment (IDR). SCF 2019 is more likely to include borrowers engaged in REPAYE. Findings support an ongoing need to encourage greater IDR participation for lowest-income borrowers and reinforced female borrowers were more likely than male borrowers to be enrolled. Again, model specification affects findings regarding IDR enrollment. REPAYE appears to have widened access to IDR by lowering the debt floor for entry. IDR enrollment was correlated with less money in a traditional checking account and a lower chance of engaging in retirement savings.

We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the relationship between social-psychological interventions in college and student success. The overall effects of social-psychological interventions were moderate, but particularly effective for at-risk student groups. We also found that interventions were less effective when implemented at broad-access institutions. Lastly, interventions were more effective when administered in a lab setting as compared to a natural setting, such as a classroom.

This study compares Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) students to non-Promise, public high school graduating students at a 4-year institution. The final sample for this study was N=9,969; n = 310 (3%) were KPromise students. Descriptive analysis suggests that KPromise students were racially more diverse and less affluent than non-Promise students. Unweighted regressions show that being a KPromise student was correlated with lower college GPA, increased chance of Academic Dismissal, and lowered likelihood of Degree Attainment. Weighting the sample using Inverse Probability Weighing with Regression Adjustment (IPWRA), being a KPromise student was not correlated to any examined outcomes. However, we were unable to generate a suitably similar comparison sample with the variables we could access. Overall, the Kalamazoo Promise allows students to access the university who are so different from the comparison population that it interferes with standard approaches to assessing outcomes. Discussion centers on descriptive differences and highlights the need for better student-level data.

Postsecondary institutions' responses to COVID-19 are a topic of immediate relevance. Emergent research suggests that partisanship was more strongly linked to institutions offering in-person instruction for Fall 2020 than was COVID-19. Using data from the College Crisis Initiative and a multiple group structural equation modeling approach, we tested the relationships between our outcome of interest (in-person instruction in Fall 2020) and state and county sociopolitical features, state and county COVID-19 rates, and state revenue losses. Our full-sample model suggested that County Political Preferences had the strongest association with in-person instruction, followed by "Pandemic Severity" and "State Sociopolitical Features." Because institutional sectors may be uniquely sensitive to these factors, we tested our models separately on 4-year public, 4-year private, and 2-year public and 2-year private institutions. "State Sociopolitical Features" were significantly related to in-person instruction for 4-year private and 2-year public institutions but were strongest for 4-year public institutions. For 4-year private and 2-year public institutions, County Political Preferences' effect sizes were 2-3 times stronger than effects from "State Sociopolitical Features." "Pandemic Severity" was significantly, negatively related to in-person instruction for 4-year private and 2-year public institutions--similar in magnitude to "State Sociopolitical Features." Our analysis revealed that COVID-19 played a stronger role in determining in-person instruction in Fall 2020 than initial research using less sophisticated methods suggested--and while "State Sociopolitical Features" may have played a role in the decision, 4-year private and 2-year public institutions were more sensitive to county-level preferences.

This study explores the experiences of undergraduate students participating in virtual internships prior to the onset of COVID-19. We used a phenomenological approach to understand the experiences of ten undergraduate students engaged in virtual internships. Six themes emerged: initial concern about virtual work, the salience of the intern-supervisor relationship, lack of exposure to office dynamics, motivation and time management concerns, perceived benefit of developing work-life balance, and perception of growth/development during the internship. Our findings indicate that higher education institutions and employers should design virtual internship programs that deliberately select and train supervisors, integrate virtual interns into the workplace, and support students in managing challenges with self-motivation and time management; and that virtual internships can greatly benefit students.

Colleges and universities are paying increasing attention to students' transition into post-secondary education, including the provision of support to freshmen through structured First-Year Experiences (FYEs). Although low- and-moderate-income students are participating in post-secondary education at increased rates, their performance remains behind that of affluent students. We evaluated the effects of a two-arm experimental-assignment treatment for low- and moderate-income U.S. students eligible for Federal Pell grants at a four-year high-research university (N = 178): 57 control condition, 61 in professional learning communities, 60 in community mentoring, with computerized random assignment conducted by an external evaluator. The intensive (3 credit) two-semester research-based FYE plus mentoring program showed no effect on students' GPA or likelihood of good academic status, probation, or year two persistence. The treated students also showed no differences in fall-to-spring growth or spring level for non-cognitive measures, including academic engagement, amotivation, peer interaction, faculty interaction, and staff interaction. The null findings are consistent across unadjusted treatment-control comparisons, multivariate regression analyses for continuous outcomes, and logistic, probit, or linear analyses of dichotomous outcomes. Our findings have implications for generalizability about FYE effectiveness for low- and moderate-income students and for the design characteristics of FYE programing to reliably improve student outcomes.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) considering how students' non-cognitive attributes influence first-year college student persistence remain extraordinarily rare--as are studies that test and expand upon published structural models or studies that include college student food security. This study addresses each. We surveyed "Beginner" Freshmen, capturing eight non-cognitive measurements and using institutional data on performance and fall-to-fall persistence measures, we then tested the structure of Bowman et al.'s (Res High Educ 60:135-152, 2019) SEM model. In Model 1, we mimic the Bowman model's financial variable by only including financial stress. We confirm that Bowman is a good structural model of student persistence, although our data were collected for another purpose, using different scales for non-cognitive elements and even one different non-cognitive measurement. We found students' non-cognitive attributes remain importantly influential to social adjustment (r=0.65), commitment to persist (r=0.40), college GPA (r=0.25), and fall-to-fall persistence (r=0.30). In Model 2, we generated a latent financial security variable incorporating financial stress and food security. Including food security generated a direct influence from the financial security variable to high-school GPA (r=0.25), not found in the Bowman model or Model 1, and a direct significant relationship from financial security to social adjustment (r=0.11)--not found in Model 1. Further changes are observed in the indirect relationship from financial security to college GPA from Model 1 (r=0.29) to Model 2 (r=0.51). We highlight the robustness of the Bowman model and that the inclusion of food security brings increased strength to several relationships without sacrificing optimal fit.

Low-income and racial minority students access college at lower rates than their more-advantaged peers, caused in part by lesser social capital. Low socio-economic status (SES) students' networks of rarely provide help navigating the application and enrollment process, preventing even academically-capable students from competing in the near-Darwinian process of college admission because of their low social capital. Research indicates that counselors can mediate SES-based disparities in college readiness but provides little guidance on how counselors should help students. I conduct multi-level logistic regression analyses of nationally representative longitudinal data to investigate (a) which specific advising activities impact college knowledge, eligibility, and enrollment, and (b) how impacts differ for underserved students. I find that the outcomes respond to different treatments. Creating an education plan in 9th grade increases students' likelihood of reaching college eligibility in math and annual review of plans increases the odds of planed Free Application for Federal Student Aid submission, with larger effects for underserved students. However, most marginal benefits are small and do not persist to become differences in college enrollment.

Few studies consider how non-cognitive factors shape outcomes for students served by Promise programs, which are programs that guarantee tuition-free college attendance within a specified geographic area. This single-institution study examined differences between enrolled and stopped-out Kalamazoo Promise scholars' (N = 142) basic needs, motivation, and engagement. Compared to enrolled Promise scholars, a higher percentage of stopped-out students reported experiencing homelessness. Stopped-out students reported higher amotivation, lower extrinsic motivation, and lower engagement than did enrolled students. The findings revealed that amotivation, faculty engagement, and being male negatively influenced GPA, while staff interaction positively influenced GPA. Stop-out was affected by GPA, amotivation, and staff interactions. Pell eligibility did not directly influence GPA or stopping out.

Background: Research shows that over summer break, students forget approximately 1 month of learning in math and reading; furthermore, low-income students lose ground relative to peers. Year-round education (YRE) redistributes schooldays to shorten summer. Prior analyses pooled single-track YRE (academic intervention in which all students attend school on a common calendar) and multitrack YRE (fiscal intervention countering overcrowding, in which groups of students attend school on staggered schedules). Search Methods: Systematic search of 22 online databases in summer 2017 yielded 494 de-duplicated results; 81 warranted full-text examination. After applying selection criteria, nine studies met criteria but did not report data that allowed effect size calculation. Thirty studies constituted our analytic sample. Selection Criteria: Studies needed to be of K-12 single-track YRE (not multitrack, not a mix of single- and multitrack, and not a study that did not specify track), with no accompanying extended instructional time. Studies needed to be from 2001 to 2016, include outcome data, and include a comparison group. Data: We extracted 55 math g, 58 reading g, 29 math odds ratio, and 27 reading odds ratio effect sizes. Results: Students at single-track YRE schools show modestly higher achievement in both math and reading--by a magnitude similar to estimates of summer learning loss--but comparable proficiency. Unexpectedly, the effect was no greater for historically disadvantaged students. Math effects may be larger in middle than elementary school, but the reason is unclear. Importantly, studies of schools that shortened summer to the fewest weeks showed the largest effects in both subjects.

In this meta-analysis, I have reviewed published and unpublished research on single-track, year-round education's effect on science and social studies achievement, 2001-2016. Of 30 studies that met inclusion criteria and had data from which an effect size estimate could be calculated, 7 reported science outcomes (18 effect size estimates) or social studies outcomes (9 effect size estimates). All estimates were from Grades 3-8 in the United States. The mean magnitude of the effects (using Cohen's "d") were +0.11* in science and +0.13[superscript +] in social studies, showing an average gain of about 1 month of learning in each subject area. The estimates for mean achievement are large enough to be policy relevant, align with recent meta-analytic estimates for reading and math effects from year-round education, and are also approximately the same magnitude as measured decreases in achievement caused by summer learning loss.

Guided by prior research, this meta-analysis examines single-track year-round education (YRE) only. The main objective is to identify, across studies published in the post-No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era, how single-track YRE effects student learning. This meta-analysis is guided by the following research questions: (1) What is the estimated effect of single-track YRE for math achievement and for reading achievement? (2) What is the effect size (of math and reading achievement) for only low-income students and for only minority students? and (3) What is the relationship between characteristics of YRE (calendar structure, duration of the longest remaining break) and the effect size estimate?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions to reexamine their modes of instruction for the Fall 2020 semester. Some institutions chose to reopen for in-person instruction, others chose online or hybrid modalities. Leveraging data for 2,458 colleges and universities, we examined how political, epidemiological, economic, and institutional characteristics correlated with Fall 2020 reopening plans. We found no discernible relationship between county-level or state-level COVID-19 case counts and reopening plans. Campus demographics (such as White student enrollment) and state political characteristics were related to campus mode of instruction decisions for Fall 2020. The findings highlight the continued, and perhaps increasing, relevance of sociopolitical factors to higher education leaders' decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School choice policies have led to a proliferation of new schools opening. While economic theory suggests that new charters would open in high demand locations, limited work examines whether this is, indeed, occurring. Framing our study in geography, we explore both space factors and place factors as contrasting explanations for where new charters may open. By using geographic information system (GIS) mapping, we explore where new charters open in New York City (NYC) using data from NYC public schools and the Census. Results suggest that charters are responding to poor student achievement and possibly to poverty density, but not to parental satisfaction.

This study compares Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) students to non-Promise, public high school graduating students at a 4-year institution. The final sample for this study was N =9,969; n = 310 (3%) were KPromise students. Descriptive analysis suggests that KPromise students were racially more diverse and less affluent than non-Promise students. Unweighted regressions show that being a KPromise student was correlated with lower college GPA, increased chance of Academic Dismissal, and lowered likelihood of Degree Attainment. Weighting the sample using Inverse Probability Weighing with Regression Adjustment (IPWRA), being a KPromise student was not correlated to any examined outcomes. However, we were unable to generate a suitably similar comparison sample with the variables we could access. Overall, the Kalamazoo Promise allows students to access the university who are so different from the comparison population that it interferes with standard approaches to assessing outcomes. Discussion centers on descriptive differences and highlights the need for better student-level data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]