Understanding and Responding to the Financial Struggles of Student Parents

In a new brief, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shares findings from a national survey focused on student parents’ financial challenges and comparisons between student parents’ and non-parenting students’ financial circumstances, behaviors, and decisions related to funding or paying for their education.

Supporting Incarcerated Students With Second Chance Pell

The signing of the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act canceled the ban on access to Pell Grants for formerly or currently incarcerated adults. A new report from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators looks at how to improve cross-sector collaboration and wrap-around services to help make this program a success.

Redefining Prestige

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has laid out plans to hold higher education more accountable for student success. Devorah Lieberman, president of the University of La Verne, writes that we owe it to our students—and ourselves—to embrace his vision.

Equitable Access and Student Success for Formerly Incarcerated Students

For this report, 26 stakeholders (including formerly incarcerated students, advocates for criminal justice reform, and research and policy organizations) were interviewed to discuss their experiences with the college admission, enrollment, and transition processes. The authors found that formerly incarcerated and system impacted students experience multiple barriers in their higher education journeys.

New Report Outlines How Community Colleges Can Help Reduce Students’ Food and Housing Insecurity

Title: Mission Critical: The Role of Community Colleges in Meeting Students’ Basic Needs Source: Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) Community colleges serve as an important access point to higher education; however, according to a new report, community colleges must also recognize and address students’ holistic needs to make education truly attainable. In CCCSE’s… Read more »

Breaking Down the Barriers to Financial Aid and College Access for Homeless and Foster Youth

Many foster and homeless youth aspire to a college education but encounter numerous barriers in the process, according to a new report from SchoolHouse Connection. One of the biggest challenges they encounter while applying for college admissions and financial aid support is the inability to obtain information about parental income.

New Brief Sheds Light on the Challenges Facing Native College Students, Urges More Support

A new brief from the Hunt Institute presents the current landscape for Native students in U.S. higher education, the need for more interventions to ensure their success, and recommendations for future action.

Empowering and Supporting Single Mothers in Higher Education

Over the past two years, the Education Design Lab, in partnership with the ECMC Foundation, piloted the Single Moms Success Design Challenge. This challenge focuses on increasing postsecondary degree attainment rates 30 percent by 2024 for single mother learners at four community colleges around the country.

Easing the Burden: New Report Explores the Effects of FAFSA Verification

The National College Attainment Network (NCAN), in partnership with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), recently released a report that explores the magnitude and burden verification has on both students and the work of financial aid administrators, in addition to guidance on how this burden can be alleviated.

Helping Students Who Need It Most: Lessons from COVID-19 on How to Enhance Emergency Student Financial Aid Programs

A recently published report offers insights on how students experienced COVID-19 emergency financial aid programs at their colleges and universities.

New Report Finds Students May Not View ‘Test Optional’ as Optional

In a recent report, the Common App highlighted the shift in test score reporting rates and the variance across communities and student subgroups.

Why Do Rural Students Remain Underrepresented in Higher Education? A New Article Tackles Research, Practice, and Policy Around Rural College Access

A recently published review of research on rural college access offers policy and practice implications to support rural student college enrollment.