The impact of the Illinois Promise Grant on college graduation

Gershenfeld, Susan C

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/92726 Copy

Description

Title

The impact of the Illinois Promise Grant on college graduation

Author(s)

Gershenfeld, Susan C

Issue Date

2016-06-28

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Zhan, Min

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Zhan, Min

Committee Member(s)

• Korr, Wynne
• Hood, Denice Ward
• Wu, Chi-Fang

Department of Study

School of Social Work

Discipline

Social Work

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Loan replacement grant
• Low-income students
• Loans
• Non-loans
• Graduation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the Illinois Promise grant on four and five-year graduation rates. As a loan replacement or last-dollar grant, Illinois Promise covers the difference between other grants and scholarships and educational costs for low-income students for up to four years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study also tests the impact of loans and non-loans on graduation. A quasi-experimental design using Propensity Score Matching is employed for first-time, full-time students enrolled as freshman from fall, 2007 through fall, 2010. Eligibility criteria are used to construct the comparison group of one-to-one matches for a total of 868 low-income students in examining four-year graduation rates and a subset of 414 students in assessing five-year graduation rates. Demographic, pre-college, and academic control variables available through institutional data are utilized in multivariate logistic regression models. Results show students receiving the I-Promise grant graduate at higher percentage rates in years four and five, with year five being statistically significant in the full multivariate regression model. Specifically, the odds ratio of graduating within five years is 2.3 times more likely for I-Promise students in relation to the low-income comparison group. Financial nexus theory is used in explaining these results. There is not statistical significance in the full multivariate four and five year models with either loans or non-loans predicting college graduation. However, the contrast in the levels of loans and non-loans between the treatment and comparison groups may not be large enough to impact graduation. Academic factors explain more of the variance in predicting college graduation for low-income students than financial aid variables.

Graduation Semester

2016-08

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/92726

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 Susan Gershenfeld

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