Browsing by Author "Scott-Clayton, Judith"
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- Black-White Disparity in Student Loan Debt More Than Triples After GraduationScott-Clayton, Judith; Li, Jing (The Brookings Institution, 2016-10-20)The moment they earn their bachelor’s degrees, black college graduates owe $7,400 more on average than their white peers ($23,400 versus $16,000, including non-borrowers in the averages). But over the next few years, the black-white debt gap more than triples to a whopping $25,000. Differences in interest accrual and graduate school borrowing lead to black graduates holding nearly $53,000 in student loan debt four years after graduation—almost twice as much as their white counterparts. While previous work has documented racial disparities in student borrowing, delinquencies, and defaults, in this report we provide new evidence that racial gaps in total debt are far larger than even recent reports have recognized, far larger now than in the past, and correlated with troubling trends in the economy and in the for-profit sector. The authors conclude with a discussion of policy implications.
- College Grants on a Postcard: A Proposal for Simple and Predictable Federal Student AidDynarski, Susan M.; Scott-Clayton, Judith (The Brookings Institution, 2007-02-01)Despite a range of federal programs designed to offset the cost of college, evidence shows that they have limited impact on the college attendance rate of even high-performing low- and middle-income students. The authors propose a drastic simplification of the current system of educational grants and tax incentives. Their proposal combines Pell Grants and the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits for undergraduates into a single, streamlined grant administered through the Department of Education, using information already collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Eligibility can be explained on a postcard, allowing students and families to anticipate their grants many years before the college decision. This set of reforms will improve the effectiveness of the billions already committed to higher education, allowing aid to serve its intended goal: opening college doors to those with the ability but not the means to pursue higher education.
- Federal Work-Study: Past Its Prime, or Ripe for Renewal?Scott-Clayton, Judith (The Brookings Institution, 2017-06-22)Federal Work-Study (FWS) is on the chopping block: the Trump administration’s recently-released budget summary seeks to cut program funding by nearly 50 percent, from $990 million to $500 million, and to “reform the program to ensure funds go to undergraduate students who would benefit most.” Many observers have expressed surprise that the administration would take aim at the program—which seems well-aligned with conservative ideals around personal responsibility and work-based learning—even as President Trump takes executive action to support and expand apprenticeships. In this research article, the author discusses the theory and evidence relating to work-study to answer the question: is the idea of work-study past its prime? Or might the program have a unique and valuable role to play in a modern “college completion and career readiness” agenda?
- The Impact of Pell Grant Eligibility on Community College Students’ Financial Aid Packages, Labor Supply, and Academic OutcomesScott-Clayton, Judith; Park, Rina Seung (Community College Research Center Teachers College, Columbia University, 2017-03-01)In this article, the authors examine the effects of receiving a modest Pell Grant on financial aid packages, labor supply while in school, and academic outcomes for community college students. Using administrative data from one state, the authors compare community college students just above and below the expected family contribution (EFC) cutoff for receiving a Pell Grant. Focusing on the loan-offering schools where students face a discontinuity in total grant aid, the authors find suggestive evidence that receiving a modest Pell Grant instead of additional loans leads students to reduce labor supply and increase enrollment intensity. The authors also provide indirect evidence that students’ initial enrollment choices are influenced by an offer of Pell Grants versus loans.
- The Looming Student Loan Crisis Is Worse Than We ThoughtScott-Clayton, Judith (The Brookings Institution, 2018-01-10)This report analyzes new data on student debt and repayment, released by the U.S. Department of Education in October 2017. Previously available data have been limited to borrowers only, follow students for a relatively short period (3-5 years) after entering repayment, and had only limited information on student characteristics and experiences. The new data allow for the most comprehensive assessment to date of student debt and default from the moment students first enter college, to when they are repaying loans up to 20 years later, for two cohorts of first-time entrants (in 1995-96 and 2003-04). This report provides a broader perspective on student debt and default that considers all college entrants rather than just borrowers, provides substantially longer follow-up, and enables a more detailed analysis of trends over time and heterogeneity across subgroups than previously possible.
- The Need To Simplify Financial Aid For College StudentsScott-Clayton, Judith (Scholars Strategy Network, 2014-10-01)In 1965, the Higher Education Act expanded financial aid for U.S. college students, and since then enrollment rates have risen dramatically. But enrollment of low-income students has not kept pace, and gaps in college enrollment between students from high- and low-income families are greater now than they were a generation ago. Uncertainty about the availability of financial aid fuels inequality – as does the sheer complexity of applying for aid. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis about the need to simplify financial aid for college students.
- Redesigning the Pell Grant Program for the Twenty-First CenturyBaum, Sandy; Scott-Clayton, Judith (The Hamilton Project, 2013-10-21)Developed more than four decades ago, the Pell Grant program has expanded in sheer numbers without evolving structurally. While it continues to encourage recent high school graduates from poor families to undertake various forms of higher education, today’s limited funding prospects, low degree-completion rates, and workforce realities demand that the program be redesigned. In this article, the authors propose three major structural reforms. Taken together, the reforms that they propose would for the first time make Pell a true program, and not just a grant, thus inducing its beneficiaries to become full participants, and not just recipients.
- Simplifying and Modernizing Pell Grants to Maximize Efficiency and ImpactScott-Clayton, Judith (Urban Institute, 2017-09-01)The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos highlighting some of the most critical issues in higher education and recommending policy solutions. This report suggests reforming federal student aid by simplifying the eligibility and application process, removing incentives that slow progress toward completion, and leveraging low-cost guidance services to help students make the most of their awards.
- Undergraduate Financial Aid in the United StatesScott-Clayton, Judith (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017)In order to discuss the future of undergraduate education in the United States, and the role of financial aid within it, this article provides an overview of undergraduate financial aid—its motivations, its moving parts, and its controversies.
- What Accounts for Gaps in Student Loan Default, and What Happens AfterScott-Clayton, Judith (The Brookings Institution, 2018-06-21)In a previous Evidence Speaks report, the author described the high rates at which student loan borrowers default on their repayment within 12 years of initial college entry, often on relatively modest amounts of debt. One of the most striking patterns emerging from that report and other prior work is how dramatically default rates vary by institution sector and by race/ethnicity: black, non-Hispanic entrants and for-profit entrants experience default at much higher rates than other students. In this report, the author uses the same source of data to examine whether these disparities in default rates can be explained by other factors. I also examine what happens after a default, and whether this also varies by race or institution sector.