Document Author: Sara Goldrick-Rab

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Impact of Work-First Policies on College Access (2005)

The college participation rates of African Americans and Latinos continue to lag behind those of other
racial and ethnic groups in the United States, despite the efforts of financial aid and affirmative action
policies. Two recent federal policies that are “work-first” in nature threaten to further exacerbate
racial and ethnic disparities in college access. This article examines the complex ways in which
the 1996 welfare reform and the 1998 Workforce Investment Act differentially affect opportunitiesf or
college enrollment among disadvantaged adults. Utilizing national and state-level data, the authors
argue that both policies restrict access to postsecondary education through the implementation of
their guiding philosophy, “work-first,” which emphasizes rapid job placement as the strategy of
choice in achieving stable employment and moving out of poverty. These policies have reduced the
size of the clientele receiving welfare and restricted access to education and training for those who
remain on the rolls. Moreover, this reduction in access is particularly acute among African Americans
and Latinos. Thus, the findings indicate that these work-first federal policies serve to limit higher
education opportunities available to these already disadvantaged populations

What Higher Education Has to Say About the Transition to College (2007)

Background: Higher education researchers have much to say about the transition to college.
This field focuses primarily on inequities in college participation and completion, the relative
importance of high school preparation, and the utility of financial aid in promoting
enrollment. This literature’s strongest conceptual emphasis is on theoretical models of student
retention. Less is known about other facets of the transition to college, including different
postsecondary pathways and college outcomes.
Purpose: This paper describes the major findings of research on the transition to college contributed
by higher education, and how further research might be improved. The specific areas
covered are college preparation, college access, persistence, and college outcomes. The
reviewed literature covered extant research on the transition to college as conducted by higher
education researchers.
Research Design: This essay is an analysis of extant research on the college transition in the
field of higher education
Conclusions/Recommendations: This review highlights the field’s major shortcoming as
undertaking insufficiently rigorous, empirical testing of theories on the transition to college.
Existing research on postsecondary pathways is often compromised by data or methodological
limitations, failure to be critical in attributing causality, and not differentiating effects
occurring at different measurement levels (i.e., individual vs. institution).

Unmarried Parents in College (2010)

Noting that access to higher education has expanded dramatically in the past several decades, Sara Goldrick-Rab and Kia Sorensen focus on how unmarried parents fare once they enter college. Contrary to the expectation that access to college consistently promotes family stability and economic security, the authors argue that deficiencies in current policy lead college attendance to have adverse consequences for some families headed by unmarried parents.
Although rates of college attendance have increased substantially among unmarried parents, their college completion rates are low. One explanation is inadequate academic preparation. Another is financial constraints, which can force unmarried students to interrupt their studies or increase their work hours, both of which compromise the quality of their educational experiences and the outcomes for their children.
The authors point out that although many public programs offer support to unmarried parents attending college, the support is neither well coordinated nor easily accessed. Over the past three decades, loans have increasingly replaced grants as the most common form of federal and state financial aid. Confusion about what is available leads many low-income students to the two most “straightforward” sources of income—loans and work, both of which involve significant costs and can operate at cross-purposes with public forms of support. Too much work can lead to reductions in public benefits, and earnings do not always replace the lost income.
A growing body of experimental evidence shows that providing social, financial, and academic supports to vulnerable community college students can improve achievement and attainment. Contextualized learning programs, for example, have enabled participants not only to move on from basic skills to credit-bearing coursework, but also to complete credits, earn certificates, and make gains on basic skills tests. Another successful initiative provided low-performing students with special counseling services and a small stipend of $150 per semester when they used those services. And researchers are conducting experimental performance-based financial aid programs at community colleges to test their effectiveness. Goldrick-Rab and Sorensen conclude that more effective support could enable unmarried students to complete college degree and certificate programs.

Managing to Make It: The College Trajectories of Traditional-age Students with Children (2011)

Students with children are a growing presence in higher education, but apart from being labeled “nontraditional” their prospects for degree completion are poorly understood. How does parenting while in college make students vulnerable? How does it make them stronger? To address these questions this exploratory study draws on a panel study of young, low-income Wisconsin college students that includes administrative, survey, and interview data. Findings suggest that while parenting students have divergent college pathways compared to their peers, those pathways do not always indicate disadvantage. At the same time, it is also clear that they would benefit from additional supports.

Putting College First: How Social and Financial Capital Impact Labor Market Participation Among Low‐Income Undergraduates (2011)

Most undergraduates work despite evidence that working while in college is associated with lower
rates of degree completion. Prior research indicates that the propensity to work varies by both family
income and education, suggesting that both financial and social capital operate to reduce work and
preserve educational advantage. We test that hypothesis with a sample of 3,000 low‐income
Wisconsin undergraduates enrolled in the state’s 42 public two‐year and four‐year colleges and
universities. Leveraging an experiment that distributes financial aid via lottery, we identify effects of
financial capital on labor force participation that are comparable in magnitude to the positive benefits
of social capital obtained through parental education. Specifically, the allocation of additional financial
aid reduces the hours worked by low‐income students with high school‐educated parents to the point
that it nearly fully offsets the socioeconomic advantage (in terms of fewer hours worked) that accrues
to students from college‐educated families. Need‐based financial aid, it appears, may be an equalizer
that promises to reduce labor force participation and enhance college attainment.

Accountability for Community Colleges: Moving Forward (2010)

Recent calls for increased investments in postsecondary education
have been accompanied by demands for greater accountability from
colleges and universities. It is politically difficult in a time of scarce
resources to allocate new funds without requiring measurable outcomes
in return. At the same time, effective accountability systems in education
are rare. Therefore, in this chapter I consider the potential for successfully
framing and enacting accountability frameworks for community
colleges. I argue that the usual approach to accountability requires substantial
reform if it stands any chance of succeeding in this sector, but
that success is possible and likely.

Work-First or Work-Only: Welfare Reform, State Policy, and Access to Postsecondary Education (2003)

As a result of the 1996 welfare reform-Temporary Aid
to Needy Families (TANF)-the number of welfare
recipients enrolled in postsecondary education has
decreased dramatically.T he new welfare law also gives
states significant discretion to support and even promote
postsecondary education for low-income adults; consequently,
state policies regarding access vary widely. This
study uses qualitative data from three states to examine
the sources and consequences of state variation in access
to postsecondary education for disadvantaged individuals.
Our cross-state comparison shows that competing
ideas about welfare, work and the role of education in
the lives of welfare recipients help structure and shape
political debates, and policy outcomes, in the each of the
states. Ideas influenced policies via four key channels:
the state human service agency; advocacy organizations;
the persistence of the “work-first”id ea within implementationp
rocesses; and the power of policy “signals”to
drive state welfare reform