Document Tag: evaluation

Does Rent-Free Community Housing Make a Difference in Higher Education Outcomes? (2022)

This study provides one of the first causal estimates of the impact of housing on academic outcomes. While college students are too often dismissed as a privileged and healthy part of the population, researchers increasingly observe housing insecurity among college students. This problem worsened during the pandemic, underscoring the link between housing, employment, mental health, and wellness. Even in states like Florida where tuition costs are stable, basic needs expenditures and the stress associated with basic needs insecurity can negatively impact college students’ success academically as well as their well-being during and after college. Housing is of particular importance as a critical basic need for today’s undergraduate students. The study takes place before and during the ongoing pandemic, thus providing a unique opportunity to understand the short-term impacts of housing on belongingness, mental health, and academic outcomes for the five cohorts studied (Fall 2018 through Spring 2021 housing scholarship applicants). Additionally, we can examine longer-term impacts of housing net the impact of the pandemic on a variety of student outcomes resulting from a mixed-methods design. Because it is difficult and often impossible to fully measure the many pre-college and college-year factors which may contribute to student outcomes, Randomized Control Trial(RCT) is a preferred “gold standard” for evaluation studies, notably for college completion. Triangulated data include admissions application information, a base-year survey at the time of application (response rate: 81%), and a follow-up survey and stratified random sample of interview respondents. We conduct this analysis with these questions in mind: 1)Does this scholarship influence student well-being as measured by belongingness, mental health, and/or financial wellness? 2)Does the provision of a housing scholarship have an impact on student retention or completion? The evaluation aims to assess the “education for life” housing intervention model: rent-free housing and community living for students who receive the scholarship, carefully isolating the effect of housing in comparison to eligible applicants who do not move into this scholarship housing community. Baseline data indicate this population experienced challenges with mental health and financial wellness (including basic needs insecurity) at the time of application.

Findings from the study suggest that these rent-free community housing supports provide greater financial well-being, mental health, and postsecondary educational impacts. More specifically: •Reduced need for paid employment, •Reduced perceived stress, and •Enhanced retention and graduation in terms following assignment. Overall, the housing program appears to serve a population that is academically strong at the start but with considerable financial and health needs. Considerations for implementation and scale are discussed for community programs. Further investigation may allow greater insights into the longer-term impacts of the scholarship program, as most students were still enrolled and on target but had not yet finished college. Our mixed-methods data suggest potentially distinct impacts for STEM students as well as for students whose housing was interrupted during the pandemic.

Completion Grants: A Multi-Method Examination of Institutional Practice (2021)

Public universities are intent on increasing degree completion for many reasons. A stronger policy focus on completion and interest in removing students’ financial hurdles has led to a rapid proliferation of completion grant programs. This paper reports on a mixed method implementation study of completion grant programs at seven broad- and open-access universities. Drawing on case studies of completion grant programs and student surveys, we examine the work of the administrators and professionals who create and implement these programs. As it can diminish program efficacy and increase inequality, we pay particular attention to administrative burden for staff and students. We consider how the implementation of completion grant programs vary and how these variations are associated with administrative burden. We also analyze the drivers of variation in that administrative burden, and describe model elements for administering completion grants that aim to minimize administrative burden and maximize efficacy.

Impact of Transportation Supports on Students’ Academic Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study of the U-Pass at Rio Hondo College (2021)

For many students, transportation presents a barrier to college completion. In 2020–21, the average commuter student could expect to spend nearly one-fifth of their total living expenses on transportation costs.1 Transportation programs have the potential to offer students some relief—and help them reach college graduation—yet more rigorous research on these programs’ benefits is needed. This brief provides results from a quasi-experimental study on the impact of transportation supports on short- and longer-term academic outcomes for community college students at Rio Hondo College. Established in 2016 as a partnership between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency (LA Metro) and participating area colleges and universities, including Rio Hondo College, the Universal College Student Transit Pass (U-Pass) provides college students with deeply discounted transit fares. Findings from this study suggest that transportation supports like U-Pass offer a promising strategy for increasing the likelihood that students will: •remain enrolled one semester and one year later; •complete a greater number of credits; and, •earn a credential. While more research on similar programs is needed, these findings suggest that free- and reduced-cost transit fares could play a critical role in helping students earn college credentials.

A First Look at the Impacts of the College Housing Assistance Program at Tacoma Community College (2021)

Affording living expenses presents a major barrier to degree completion for many community college students. Food, affordable housing, transportation, and childcare are central conditions for learning. Yet with stagnant incomes, rising tuition and living costs, and insufficient support from financial aid and the social safety net, approximately one in two community college students struggle to afford these basic needs.1 Additionally, as many as one in five experience homelessness.2 The College Housing Assistance Program (CHAP), operated by the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) and Tacoma Community College (TCC), is at the forefront of the nationwide fight to ameliorate homelessness among college students.3 CHAP is one of the country’s first partnerships between a housing authority and a community college and offers a unique model. In contrast to other programs such as student-run shelters, rapid-rehousing, and college-owned affordable apartments, CHAP utilizes government-subsidized housing assistance to provide housing to homeless and near-homeless community college students. This report offers the initial lessons learned from the first external evaluation of CHAP. Successful program implementation is crucial to providing benefits for students, and can be especially challenging in housing programs. We therefore focus on how students experienced the program, where they faced barriers, and where they found support. It is too early in the evaluation process to draw conclusions about the program’s efficacy; these are short-term insights.

From the (Academic) middle to the top: an evaluation of the AVID/TOPS college access program (2018)

Despite overall increases in college-going, college enrollment rates
remain inequitable. Many programs attempt to address these persistent racial/ethnic and social class disparities in college attendance by
intervening in the high school curriculum. Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) is among the longest standing and
prevalent of these college access programs. In this paper, we present
findings from a multi-year evaluation and cost analysis of the AVID/
TOPS program – an enhanced AVID model – in place in Madison
Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin). Taken together, the evaluation’s findings characterize AVID/TOPS as a promising program
model that is associated with an increased likelihood for college
readiness and matriculation, particularly for student groups underrepresented in higher education. We also report on the resources and
costs required to implement the program, and show that the program’s benefits appear to exceed its costs.

Houston Food Scholarship Program Report (2020)

This report describes program implementation and impact of one of the nation’s first food
scholarship programs: the Houston Food Scholarship (HFS), a partnership between Houston
Community College and the Houston Food Bank. The food scholarship was first distributed in
January 2018, and this report examines its early stages, as well as rigorously estimating impacts
through spring 2019.