In this working paper, our research team leveraged new data created from thousands of financial documents to explore the different types of local tax sources appropriated to community colleges. While property taxes are the most common local tax source for community colleges, we outline a variety of additional local funding sources for community colleges, local sales tax, gambling tax, hotel tax, tobacco or cigarette tax, alcohol tax, fuel or gas tax, entertainment tax, and more.
Read MoreWe compiled the first longitudinal dataset with detailed state funding information to examine whether different funding strategies for public higher education affect college access and completion, with a focus on outcomes among racially minoritized students. We found no relationships between funding mechanisms and student outcomes at community colleges. However, at public universities, we found that funding strategies with a base-plus component that provide across-the-board increases or decreases to colleges may reinforce already-existing funding inequities. This leads to a system in which racially minoritized students, particularly Black students, face challenges to completing a degree.
Read MoreState funding for public higher education institutions is crucial in supporting college access and completion, particularly among students from historically underrepresented groups, yet little is known about these mechanisms and how they are affected by financial challenges. This paper provides the first detailed longitudinal typology of state funding strategies, focusing particularly on formula volatility and equity. We find a gradual shift toward funding models that include a combination of base-adjusted and enrollment and performance metrics, along with a growing focus on equity. During recessions, states frequently revert to across-the-board funding cuts, further disadvantaging underresourced institutions.
Read MoreWe compiled the first longitudinal dataset with detailed state funding information to examine whether different funding strategies for public higher education correlate with college access and completion, with a focus on outcomes among racially minoritized students. We found no relationships between funding mechanisms and student outcomes at public universities. However, at community colleges, we found that funding strategies that combine base adjustments and enrollment or performance components may increase enrollment but not completions.
Read MoreThe majority of research on the role and influence of financial grant aid typically focuses on federal aid, even though a substantial portion comes from states. State policymakers typically determine how much of a state’s financial aid allocations will be distributed based on students’ financial need, academic merit, or a combination of need and merit. We examined how need-, merit-, and combo-based state-level financial aid policies relate to students’ enrollment and completion using detailed data on states’ financial aid programs available for first-time entering college students for fiscal years 2004-2020. We found little consistent evidence of a relationship between student outcomes and the amount of aid per recipient, though, we did find practically significant correlations with aid eligibility criteria. Among institutions located in states with combo-based aid, requiring a college entrance exam for eligibility was associated with smaller enrollments and lower graduation rates compared to institutions that did not require the exams (though, this finding was not replicated when investigating requiring exams for merit-based aid).
Read MoreAdministrative burden, or the frictions individuals experience in accessing public programs, has implications for whether and which eligible individuals receive aid. While prior research documents barriers to accessing federal financial aid, less is known about the extent to which state aid programs impose administrative burden, nor how administrative burden varies across aid programs or how it relates to target populations. This study examines administrative burden in 19 state aid programs in Tennessee. We find programs targeting less-advantaged students (technical and community college students) have lower burdens than those targeting more-advantaged students (merit-aid programs, programs available across sectors). The state’s only program explicitly targeting racially minoritized students had the highest burden. We discuss implications for designing more equitable and effective state aid programs.
Read MoreIn this paper, we explore the relationship between community colleges’ reliance on local funding and their total institutional revenue. We find that community colleges’ level of reliance on local funding is negatively related to their total institutional revenue for rural community colleges and community colleges serving an above-average share of low-income students.
Read More
