Document Tag: state policy

A Systematic Review Examining Multi-Level Policy and Practice Recommendations, and Calls for Research, on Food Insecurity at American Community Colleges (2024)

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine policy and practice recommendations, along with calls for future research, aimed at addressing food insecurity for community colleges across the U.S. Argument/Proposed Model: This article will provide a detailed methodology for the systematic literature review, as well as the findings gathered from a range of peer-reviewed articles on this topic. The authors analyzed six significant themes that surfaced from the current literature related to policy and practice at the federal, state, local, and institutional levels. Conclusions/Contributions: Six chief themes are discussed in-depth, including but not limited to: important tools and approaches for marketing and communications, data-driven decision-making, and the augmentation of food support with other public benefits and institutional resources. These thematic findings address the issue of food insecurity on community college campuses, and also offer a range of techniques and areas for consideration. This systematic literature review offers a compilation of policy and practice recommendations steeped in actionable strategies for researchers, policymakers, campus leaders, and practitioners alike. The strategies can be implemented and/or tailored to meet the needs and nuances of any community college population.

The Effect of State Appropriations on College Graduation Rates of Diverse Students (2023)

This study estimates the effect of state appropriations on the graduation rates of freshman cohorts by race/ethnicity. Data were obtained for public four-year institutions (n = 415) representing six freshman cohorts between 2007 and 2012. Hybrid regression models indicated that a ten percent increase in appropriations would yield a percentage point increase in graduation rates of .59 for all students, .99 for Black students, .84 for Latinx students, and .59 for White students. However, the effect of state appropriations on graduation rates varied across institutions (-1.03 to 2.99 percentage point change) and was frequently larger at institutions with medium or high subsidy reliance (.70 to 1.39 percentage point change). Also, the effect of state appropriations on Black student graduation rates was 2.48 times larger at HBCUs. This study suggests that state appropriations can be an effective instrument for raising the graduation rates of diverse students to help meet state attainment goals

Does Reducing Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Workload Enhance Equity in Program Access? Evidence from Burdensome College Financial Aid Programs (2024)

Persistent disparities in program access jeopardize social equity and erode a key pillar of democratic governance. Scholars have uncovered the causes of these disparities, including administrative burden and front-line discrimination, but less attention has been devoted to identifying tools for reducing disparities. We build on this work by arguing that reducing street-level bureaucrats’ workload may be a key lever for reducing disparities. We also argue that workload reductions will be especially effective at advancing equity when administrative burden is expanded and complexity in client cases could otherwise create room for racial discrimination. We leverage data on all high schools in Oklahoma from 2005 to 2014 (n = 4,155) to estimate the causal effects of a state policy that mandates a counselor-student ratio in a regression discontinuity design. In line with our hypotheses, we find that decreasing workload corresponds to an increase in access for intersectionally minoritized students— low-income Black, Native American, and Hispanic students. Moreover, we find that effects were concentrated in the years after administrative burden was expanded. Together, our findings suggest that reducing workload can alleviate longstanding disparities in program access.

Food Insecurity Among College Students: An Analysis of US State Legislation Through 2020 (2021)

Many US college students experience food insecurity (FI). Given most students are excluded from receiving federal nutrition assistance, additional efforts are needed to alleviate student FI. This perspective discusses proposed and enacted state statutes, resolutions, and bills addressing college FI to date, which range in depth, breadth, and success. Overall, states have demonstrated their promising role in addressing FI; however, college FI promises to be a continuing challenge, particularly given continued widespread unemployment that began with the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 and the global struggle for economic recovery

State divestment and tuition at public institutions (2017)

This study examines the pass-through rate of changes in public funding to tuition and fees paid by students. Using an instrumental variable-fixed effects identification strategy, I estimate that a $1000 per student decrease in funding leads to the typical student paying $257 more each year in costs, with. However, both the pass-through rate and the proportion of tuition increases which can be explained by state divestment have increased over time. The pass-through rate increased from 10.3% prior to the year 2000 to 31.8% post-2000. I outline several avenues of future research which should be pursued in order to more fully understand which students shoulder the burden of reductions in public support.

The State of Food Security at CUNY in 2020 (2020)

In this report, we examine the prevalence and distribution of food insecurity at CUNY at the start of 2020. We also describe and assess the variety of programs, policies and services CUNY and its partners have developed to reduce food insecurity and suggest options for further reducing food insecurity in the coming years. Our goal is to provide the key constituencies at CUNY—its leaders, faculty and staff, students, and the City and State elected officials who fund CUNY—with the evidence they need to make informed decisions about promoting food security and academic success at CUNY. At the end of the report, we provide a brief overview of preliminary evidence on how the COVID-19 epidemic has affected food security at CUNY and the university’s options for reducing it.