Pay No Attention to the Regulation Behind the Curtain: The Implications of the Return to Title IV (R2T4) Federal Aid Policy on Time to Degree

Authors

Apri Medina, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Deryl Hatch-Tocaimaza

Date of this Version

Summer 5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Medina, A. (2020). Pay No Attention To The Regulation Behind The Curtain: The Implications Of The Return To Title IV (R2T4) Federal Aid Policy On Time To Degree (Publication No. 13689.) [Dissertation, University of Nebraska - Lincoln]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Comments

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Educational Studies (Education Leadership and Higher Education), Under the Supervision of Professor Deryl Hatch-Tocaimaza. Lincoln, Nebraska: May, 2020

Copyright 2020 Aprí Medina

Abstract

Federal aid programs and their effect on student persistence, stopout, and completion have long been studied, but current literature does not fully capture the temporal nature of these programs due to insufficient methods, imprecise data, or both. Using event history methodologies, I leverage a unique level of access to data at a public four-year, research intensive university to explore how the Return to Title IV federal aid withdrawal policy, one of the most prominent yet understudied aspects of federal financial aid policies, influences time to degree. The treatment of this policy is associated with a 58.6% reduced risk (reduced conditional probability) of completing a bachelor’s degree at the home institution, and a 64.4% reduced risk of degree from any four-year university.

Federal aid programs and their effect on student persistence, stopout, and completion have long been studied, but current literature does not fully capture the temporal nature of these programs due to insufficient methods, imprecise data, or both. Using event history methodologies, I leverage a unique level of access to data at a public four-year, research intensive university to explore how the Return to Title IV federal aid withdrawal policy, one of the most prominent yet understudied aspects of federal financial aid policies, influences time to degree. The treatment of this policy is associated with a 58.6% reduced risk (reduced conditional probability) of completing a bachelor’s degree at the home institution, and a 64.4% reduced risk of degree from any four-year university.

Advisor: Deryl Hatch-Tocaimaza