ANNOUNCEMENTS

News

Press Release:
New Experimental Study Suggests Financial Aid Enhances College Success Among the Most Unlikely Graduates

Presentations

New papers from the Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study will be presented at these upcoming conferences:

American Enterprise Institute, December 8th, Washington DC

Sociology of Youth - International Sociological Association, January 13-15th, Tampa FL

Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, March 8-10th, Washington DC

Association for Education Finance & Policy, March 15-17th, Boston MA

American Educational Research Association, April 13-17th, Vancouver BC

Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Training Program in Education Research brownbag series, April 27th, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Study Overview

The Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study (WSLS) is the first statewide longitudinal study of the impact of private need-based financial aid on college persistence and graduation. The study will follow approximately 6,000 low-income college students receiving need-based aid (e.g. federal Pell Grants) who are enrolled in either the University of Wisconsin System or the Wisconsin Technical College System. In addition to their standard aid package, approximately half of the participants have been randomly selected to receive a private multi-year grant from the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars.

The study addresses four main policy-relevant questions: (a) what are the impacts of private grants on college persistence and graduation?; (b) how do the impacts vary according to the way in which the grant is distributed to students (reduced loans versus increased cash)?; (c) how do the impacts vary by student and college characteristics?; and (d) how and why do the impacts arise? Study findings will have direct implications for both governmental and private grant programs and provide an important basis for addressing current debates about the future of financial aid in the state and nationwide.

What Makes WSLS Unique Among Financial Aid Studies?

We believe WSLS represents a landmark opportunity to understand the impact of financial aid. Click on each of the following ten contributions WSLS makes to the study of financial aid to learn more:

Contribution #1: Gold-Standard Evidence.
Contribution #2: Implementation at Scale.
Contribution #3: High External Validity.
Contribution #4: Need-based Criteria.
Contribution #5: Targeted at College Completion.
Contribution #6: Serving the Traditional Student.
Contribution #7: Comparing and Measuring Effectiveness.
Contribution #8: Knowing Why Aid Works.
Contribution #9: Long-Term Commitment.
Contribution #10: Enduring Effects.

WSLS Funding
The Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study is grateful to the following organizations for their support: