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Dollars to Degrees: How Pell Grant Aid Impacts Community College Student Outcomes.

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Title: Dollars to Degrees: How Pell Grant Aid Impacts Community College Student Outcomes.
Authors: Sparks, Daniel1 (AUTHOR) jspar@upenn.edu
Source: Community College Review. Jul2025, Vol. 53 Issue 3, p374-403. 30p.
Subject Terms: *Pell grants, *Community colleges, *Academic support programs, *Academic achievement, *Educational attainment, *School enrollment, Financial aid
Abstract: Objective: This paper provides evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of federal and state financial aid programs in supporting community college students. Method: I use a regression discontinuity design that takes advantage of discontinuities in the Pell Grant formula known as Automatic-Zero Estimated Family Contribution to estimate the effects of Pell Grant aid on community college student enrollment and financial and academic outcomes. Results: The study findings show that increases in grant aid boost associate degree completion, but these increases do not translate into significantly higher bachelor's degree completion rates or lower student debt burdens. These results fall in line with most of the empirical literature on Pell Grant aid effectiveness finding only modest effects of marginal increases in financial aid on degree completion. Contribution: Findings further highlight the potential importance of combining efforts to improve financial aid programs and the transfer experience for degree-seeking, transfer-intending community college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Community College Review is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Dollars to Degrees: How Pell Grant Aid Impacts Community College Student Outcomes.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sparks%2C+Daniel%22">Sparks, Daniel</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jspar@upenn.edu</i>
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pell+grants%22">Pell grants</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Community+colleges%22">Community colleges</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+support+programs%22">Academic support programs</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+attainment%22">Educational attainment</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+enrollment%22">School enrollment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Financial+aid%22">Financial aid</searchLink>
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  Data: Objective: This paper provides evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of federal and state financial aid programs in supporting community college students. Method: I use a regression discontinuity design that takes advantage of discontinuities in the Pell Grant formula known as Automatic-Zero Estimated Family Contribution to estimate the effects of Pell Grant aid on community college student enrollment and financial and academic outcomes. Results: The study findings show that increases in grant aid boost associate degree completion, but these increases do not translate into significantly higher bachelor's degree completion rates or lower student debt burdens. These results fall in line with most of the empirical literature on Pell Grant aid effectiveness finding only modest effects of marginal increases in financial aid on degree completion. Contribution: Findings further highlight the potential importance of combining efforts to improve financial aid programs and the transfer experience for degree-seeking, transfer-intending community college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Community College Review is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1177/00915521251322524
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 30
        StartPage: 374
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      – SubjectFull: Pell grants
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Community colleges
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic support programs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic achievement
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      – SubjectFull: Educational attainment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School enrollment
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      – SubjectFull: Financial aid
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      – TitleFull: Dollars to Degrees: How Pell Grant Aid Impacts Community College Student Outcomes.
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              M: 07
              Text: Jul2025
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              Y: 2025
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