Aid Eligibility Research Articles

Challenges Faced by Migrant Students in Education: A Comprehensive Analysis of Legal, Psychological, and Economic Barriers

This study aims to explore the multifaceted challenges faced by migrant students in educational settings, focusing on legal, psychological, and economic barriers. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data to provide a comprehensive analysis. A survey was conducted with 500 migrant students from various educational institutions across five countries, examining their experiences with legal, psychological, and economic challenges. In addition, 50 in-depth interviews with educators, policy makers, and migration experts were conducted to gain insights into systemic issues. The study revealed that migrant students face significant challenges across all three dimensions—legal, psychological, and economic. Over 60% of students in the study cited issues with residency permits, affecting their eligibility for financial aid, participation in extracurricular activities, and in some cases, their ability to enroll in school at all. Over 70% of the surveyed students reported experiencing social isolation, bullying, or discrimination in school environments. This negatively affected their academic performance and mental well-being. Financial instability was another prominent barrier, with 65% of the migrant students’ families reporting difficulty in affording school supplies, technology, or transportation to school. The study concludes that legal, psychological, and economic barriers significantly hinder the educational outcomes of migrant students. Legal documentation issues prevent many students from fully participating in educational programs, while psychological challenges such as social isolation and mental health struggles lead to poorer academic performance. Economic barriers exacerbate these issues by limiting access to necessary educational resources and support.

Analysis of Naïve Bayes and K-Nearest Neighbors Algorithms for Classifying Fishermen Aid Eligibility

This article analyzes the use of data mining with Naïve Bayes and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithms to build classification models and evaluate their performance in identifying fishermen eligible for aid. The study aims to compare the effectiveness of these algorithms in handling imbalanced datasets using the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE). The research applies SMOTE to improve the balance of the dataset before classification. Without SMOTE, Naïve Bayes achieved an accuracy of 97.01%, precision of 94.16%, recall of 96.67%, and F1-score of 95.39%. KNN, on the other hand, reached an accuracy of 94.04%, precision of 94.53%, recall of 86.00%, and F1-score of 90.06%. After applying SMOTE, both algorithms improved: Naïve Bayes attained an accuracy of 98.33%, precision of 96.86%, recall of 100.00%, and F1-score of 98.49%, while KNN reached an accuracy of 96.90%, precision of 97.72%, recall of 96.19%, and F1-score of 96.94%. The results show that Naïve Bayes, with SMOTE, outperforms KNN in managing data imbalance and accurately classifying eligible fishermen for aid.

Parity, Poverty, and Physician Aid in Dying: Policy Recommendations for PAD in Light of Social Injustices.

In light of the proposed expansion of eligibility for physician aid in dying (PAD) in Canada to people with psychiatric disorders, there is a new subset of individuals seeking PAD-those with poverty-induced depression. The dominant account defending the expansion is known as the "parity argument." Defenders of the parity argument maintain that the expansion of PAD to those with psychiatric conditions is needed to reflect that the seriousness of a patient's suffering does not depend on the cause of that suffering. Parity accounts, as they stand, would allow cases of poverty-induced depression to qualify. I raise a moral dilemma that the parity theorist must face considering this new subset of cases-expanding access to PAD, without adequate social protections, could produce more social inequality by aiming to reduce it. I propose six recommendations that policy-makers should consider before expanding PAD given these cases, social injustice, and the social determinants of mental health.

What students need to navigate academic standing and SAP policies

As enrollment in higher education continues to decrease in U.S. institutions, enrollment managers need to explore every opportunity to retain the students they have. One process embedded within the academic and financial units of every institution of higher education are academic standing and satisfactory academic progress policies that dictate how students need to maintain certain grade point averages and paces of completion to maintain both academic standing and financial aid eligibility.

What students need to navigate academic standing and SAP policies

As enrollment in higher education continues to decrease in U.S. institutions, enrollment managers need to explore every opportunity to retain the students they have. One process embedded within the academic and financial units of every institution of higher education are academic standing and satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policies that dictate how students need to maintain certain grade point averages (GPA) and paces of completion to maintain both academic standing and financial aid eligibility.

What students need to navigate academic standing and SAP policies

As enrollment in higher education continues to decrease in U.S. institutions, enrollment managers need to explore every opportunity to retain the students they have. One process embedded within the academic and financial units of every institution of higher education are academic standing and satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policies that dictate how students need to maintain certain grade point averages (GPA) and paces of completion to maintain both academic standing and financial aid eligibility.

A dynamic perspective on profiling financial-aid eligibility: the case of South Africa

Abstract The sustainable funding of tertiary education is a subject of significant policy debate worldwide. In South Africa, the need to balance equitable access within a constrained fiscal environment has been a complex challenge. A legacy of racially segregated educational opportunities, together with student activism and protests, has shaped the political economy surrounding tertiary education funding. Policymakers continue to be faced with the challenge of funding students whose household income is too high to meet state financial aid eligibility, yet who struggle to afford tuition and accommodation expenses. In this context, exploring a policy instrument that differentiates students based on multidimensional socioeconomic need is critical. We motivate for a differentiated policy instrument that considers economic uncertainty of households as a dimension of socioeconomic need. A purpose of our paper is therefore to illustrate that income mobility can contribute to household vulnerability, and therefore to funding need. Household income mobility is estimated using a multivariate probit model that explicitly accounts for endogeneity of initial conditions, unobserved heterogeneity, and non-random panel attrition. We operationalise this model as a relevant empirical tool for analysing and understanding the implementation, expansion, and targeting of social policy more generally.

Characterizing the 2019 Midwest Flood: A Hydrologic and Socioeconomic Perspective

Abstract During the spring of 2019, severe flooding across the U.S. Midwest caused widespread damage to communities in the Missouri and Mississippi River basins. While it is known that flood magnitude and economic damage are often related, little work exists to examine these factors simultaneously. In this study, we analyze both the hydrologic and socioeconomic characteristics of the 2019 Midwest flood to gain a comprehensive understanding of impacts to individuals, households, and communities. We examine flood magnitude, duration, and probability of occurrence in tandem with claim and grant applications from federal disaster recovery programs, such as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Individual and Households Program (IHP). Overall, we find that many areas, particularly in Nebraska and Iowa, experienced moderate or major flooding due to historic discharge magnitudes. In these states, NFIP claims totaled more than $31 million and IHP applications exceeded $42 million in reported damages. In most cases, counties that reported a high density of insurance claims or grant applications overlapped with regions with significant flooding. We also identify the economic advantages to NFIP policyholders for flood recovery in terms of aid eligibility and financial aid amounts.

Systematic Barriers to Justice: Financial Eligibility for Legal Aid- A Gendered Analysis

Systematic Barriers to Justice: Financial Eligibility for Legal Aid- A Gendered Analysis

Nighttime light data reveal lack of full recovery after hurricanes in Southern US

As the climate warms, many areas of the world are experiencing more frequent and extreme weather events. Hurricanes carry some of the costliest short-term socioeconomic repercussions via economic losses and people displaced. There is, however, little quantitative evidence regarding medium- to long-term effects, nor factors moderating recovery. Here we show that areas affected by hurricanes of category 4 or 5 in the southern US between 2014 and 2020 generally do not demonstrate full recovery in the longer term. Utilizing Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite nighttime light (NTL) data as a proxy for economic activity and population density, we build a timeline of recovery via NTL radiance levels. We exploit the difference in the eligibility for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to apply a quasi-experimental method to identify changes in NTL radiance attributable to hurricanes. We find that after three years, affected areas demonstrate a reduction in NTL radiance levels of between 2% and 14% compared to the pre-disaster period. Combining these results with machine learning techniques, we are able to investigate those factors that contribute to recovery. We find counties demonstrating smaller reductions in NTL radiance levels in the months following the hurricane are buoyed by the amount of FEMA aid received, but that this aid does not foster a longer-term return to normal radiance levels. Investigating areas receiving FEMA aid at the household and individual level, we find age and employment are more important than other demographic factors in determining hurricane recovery over time. These findings suggest that aid may be more important in motivating short-term recovery for public entities than for individuals but is not sufficient to guarantee complete recovery in the longer term.

Countering Moral Hazard in Higher Education: The Role of Performance Incentives in Need-Based Grants*

Abstract Using a unique reform in the Spanish financial aid program, I estimate the impact of need-based grants on student achievement and dropout decisions under different intensities of academic requirements. Utilising comprehensive administrative data from a large university, I exploit sharp discontinuities in the grant eligibility formula to identify the effect of aid on student outcomes. I find that aid eligibility has no effect on student outcomes when the academic requirements are comparable with most existing national grant schemes worldwide. In contrast, I find that need-based grants have strong positive impacts on student performance and degree completion when they are combined with more demanding academic requirements.

Wars and Sanctions: Do Libraries Have a Role to Play?

ABSTRACT This research sought to investigate the roles of libraries during and after wars, as well as Nigerian students’ support for sanctions against nations that start wars. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Of the 295 survey respondents, 73.9% supported sanctions, either strongly or partially, on nations that start wars anywhere in the world. However, 57.3% would prefer that sanctions be avoided if ordinary people will suffer as a result of the economic impact. Organizing war resolution seminars, distributing war resolution books, answering users’ questions about wars, judiciously sharing current war news with library users, and providing a venue for dialogs about ongoing war are the most useful roles that libraries may play during wartime. Libraries can provide up-to-date information on government aid eligibility and accessibility, financial information resources for financial stability, community rebuilding books, and a location for postwar conversation in the aftermath of a war. The study proposes that libraries in warring nations take proactive actions by conducting war resolution seminars and providing appropriate materials related to war resolution, as well as taking proactive actions in the aftermath of wars, such as collaborating with governments to ensure that libraries are regularly provided with information about aid and recovery.

Did Gainful Employment Regulations Result in College and Program Closures?

AbstractFor decades, the federal government has expected vocationally focused programs in higher education, especially among for-profit colleges, to lead to gainful employment in a profession. In the mid-2010s, the U.S. Department of Education developed gainful employment (GE) regulations that sought to tie a program's federal financial aid eligibility to graduates’ debt-to-earnings ratios. We use a regression discontinuity design to examine whether for-profit programs’ performance on GE was associated with the likelihood of closing the program or college. Although the regulations were repealed before any program lost federal funding, we find that passing GE regulations was associated with a lower likelihood of program and college closures.

When need meets merit: The effect of increasing merit requirements in need-based student aid

Merit requirements in need-based student aid may exacerbate inequality in higher education but at the same time improve efficiency of aid expenditure by increasing on-time graduation, for instance. Disentangling the effect of the two building blocks of student aid (“need” and “merit”) is therefore of key interest to policy makers. In this paper, we seek to estimate the causal effect of tightening the academic requirements embodied in need-based student aid on short-term and long-term student academic performance. This is done leveraging a reform in an Italian region that increased by 40% (i.e. from 25 to 35 out of a maximum of 60) the number of credits to be earned in the first academic year to maintain aid eligibility. Using administrative data from an Italian public university mainly offering STEM degrees, this study reveals that tightening merit requirements had a statistically significant, positive effect on various dimensions of performance of the “average” aid recipient. However, an analysis of treatment heterogeneity unveils winners and losers from the policy: the positive effects are indeed concentrated among higher and medium-ability students, while lower-ability students receiving financial assistance are discouraged from continuing in their studies.

Exploring Race and Income Heterogeneity in the Effects of State Merit Aid Loss among Four-Year College Entrants

ABSTRACT Despite the robust literature on the effects of financial aid, the effects of financial aid loss remain largely understudied. We employ a regression discontinuity design, leveraging a minimum GPA scholarship renewal threshold, to examine the effect of losing state merit aid eligibility on college student stop-out, transfer, and bachelor’s degree completion. We estimate the effects of GPA-based eligibility loss for low- and higher-income students, Black and White students, and the interactions of the two separately. Using longitudinal state administrative data from academic years 2011 to 2014 on four cohorts of students attending public four-year colleges, we find evidence that the effects of eligibility loss at the first renewal checkpoint differ among the subgroups of interest. Losing eligibility for a state merit aid scholarship at the first renewal checkpoint leads to increased stop-out among higher-income White students and increased transfer to a community college among low-income Black students. State merit aid loss has no statistically significant effect on on-time bachelor’s degree completion but causes a decrease in the probability of 150% time bachelor’s degree completion for Black students. We close with implications for policy and research.

Government aid and child refugees’ economic success later in life: Evidence from post-WWII GDR refugees

We exploit a unique historical setting to investigate how refugee-specific government aid affects the medium-term outcomes of refugees who migrate as children and young adults. Among German Democratic Republic (GDR) refugees who escaped to West Germany between 1946 and 1961, only the subgroup acknowledged as being “political refugees” were eligible for refugee-targeted aid, and only after 1953. We combine several approaches to address identification issues resulting from the fact that refugees eligible for aid were both self-selected and screened by local authorities. We find positive effects of aid eligibility on educational attainment and income among male and female refugees who migrated as young adults (aged 15 to 24). Among male refugees who migrated as children (aged 1 to 14), we find that aid eligibility at arrival leads to an increased likelihood of enrollment in the academic track of secondary school, but we see no such effect on female refugees who arrived as children.

Hierarchies of affectedness after disasters.

Disasters result in a range of impacts that significantly disrupt the health and wellbeing of those affected. After disasters, a hierarchy of affectedness may be explicitly or implicitly developed, where those affected are compared to each other, and to people affected by disasters in other locations. When an individual's sense of place is so significantly disrupted, these hierarchies are critical to improving the understanding of recovery trajectories, including mental health and well-being outcomes. These hierarchies have practical implications that influence the health outcomes of those affected, including eligibility for disaster aid, support services, and the way that people affected by disasters relate to others in their community. This paper expands the 'hierarchy of affectedness' concept coined by Andersen (2013) using findings from a qualitative study in Australia and New Zealand. Using a letter writing research method, twenty people who had been impacted by a range of disasters in different locations described what they considered helpful and unhelpful in the recovery. One emergent finding in this study was that hierarchies of affectedness are negotiated between impacted individuals, others affected in the same community, and outsiders. These hierarchies served as a helpful sense-making tool for some people impacted by disasters, while causing considerable secondary stress for others. Based on these findings, we offer an expansion to Andersen's existing model of hierarchies of affectedness in post-disaster settings.

Views and Experiences of Parents in the Family Justice Process in Ontario and Quebec: Report on the First Stage of a Longitudinal Research Project

ABSTRACT As part of a larger prospective longitudinal research project to track parents as they navigate the family court system in Canada’s two largest provinces, this paper reports on the mixed methodology results at Time 1 as parents came into contact with the family courts. Data was collected by using in-person surveys at seven family court sites in Ontario and five family court sites in Quebec. A total of n = 1,539 litigants in Ontario (n = 865) and Quebec (n = 674) were recruited for Time 1. Reflecting differences in eligibility for Legal Aid, significantly more Quebec (86%) litigants had a lawyer than in Ontario (37%). Only a minority of those who attended government supported mediation found it helpful. Those who were unrepresented generally expected a worse outcome and slower resolution because they did not have a lawyer. Implications for parents accessing family court services are considered.

Why Policymakers in Georgia and Indiana Barred Incarcerated College Students from State Financial Aid

ABSTRACT College students in prison are ineligible for state-funded financial aid in most states. This is because state policymakers adopted policies that explicitly ban incarcerated students from receiving aid. How and why did state policymakers do this? This study explores this question through qualitative case studies of two states where incarcerated students lost financial aid eligibility: Georgia and Indiana. The history of these policy adoption events was traced from legislative records and interviews with policymakers. This study is among the first to apply a new conceptual model of state higher education policy adoption; thus, it offers new insights into the policy adoption process and the strengths of the model. Results show the factors that influenced the adoption of new financial aid eligibility policies were represented in the conceptual model, including state economics, funding for higher education, state agency influence, political ideology, gubernatorial strength, and electoral conditions.

The Hidden Costs of Corroboration: Estimating the Effects of Financial Aid Verification on College Enrollment

Every year, the U.S. Department of Education selects hundreds of thousands of low-income students to provide additional documentation to corroborate their financial aid eligibility in a process known as verification. Although many are concerned about the potential deleterious effects of being selected, to date, studies are limited to descriptive analyses. To fill this gap in the literature, we use population-level, multicohort data to estimate the effects of financial aid verification on initial college enrollment for recent high school graduates in Tennessee. An entropy balance weighting approach indicates that students selected for verification are 3.8 percentage points (4.9%) less likely to enroll in college with underserved populations and late Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filers most negatively affected.