Altering Expectations: Effects of Backloading Merit Scholarship Payments on Postsecondary Enrollment Choices

While the popularity of state-financed merit-based scholarships has increased since the 1980s, policymakers struggle to maintain these programs because of growing costs. Some have tried to manage this tradeoff through eligibility changes or award amounts; however, little empirical research exists on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHigher education politics & economics Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 72 - 98
Main Authors Kopotic, Katherine, Mills, Jonathan N, Rhinesmith, Evan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Higher Education Politics & Economics 2021
Subjects
Educational Change
Eligibility
Enrollment
Expenditures
Merit Scholarships
Program Effectiveness
State Aid
Student Financial Aid
Undergraduate Students
Arkansas
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Summary:While the popularity of state-financed merit-based scholarships has increased since the 1980s, policymakers struggle to maintain these programs because of growing costs. Some have tried to manage this tradeoff through eligibility changes or award amounts; however, little empirical research exists on the effectiveness of these changes. We add to the financial aid literature by determining if college enrollment responded to a 2013 restructuring of Arkansas's Academic Challenge Scholarship from equal annual awards to a backloaded system with progressively higher payouts to students who persisted. We identify no statistically significant impacts associated with the 2013 change; however, point estimates are generally negative. We believe this is the first study to examine if moving to a backloaded payout structure affects college enrollment.
ISSN:2577-7270
DOI:10.32674/hepe.v7i1.1729