Announcements

News
On August 17, 2010 WSLS co-director Sara Goldrick-Rab testified before the Wisconsin Legislature's Special Committee on Higher Education Financial Aid Programs about early findings from the study. Dr. Goldrick-Rab is also a committee member. You can review her powerpoint presentation (pdf) here and read the AP story here. You can also learn more at the committee's website.

UW-Madison Researchers Launch Landmark Study of Financial Aid

Events
We will present preliminary findings from the WSLS at the following conferences and brownbags:

April 22
Stanford University

May 18
University of Chicago

June 10
Institute for Research on Poverty, Madison WI

June 11
Student Financial Aid Research Network, San Diego

All Events

Publications
None at this time

Study Overview

The Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study (WSLS) is the first statewide longitudinal study of the impact of private need-based financial aid on college persistence and graduation. The study will follow approximately 6,000 low-income college students receiving need-based aid (e.g. federal Pell Grants) who are enrolled in either the University of Wisconsin System or the Wisconsin Technical College System. In addition to their standard aid package, approximately half of the participants have been randomly selected to receive a private multi-year grant from the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars.

The study addresses four main policy-relevant questions: (a) what are the impacts of private grants on college persistence and graduation?; (b) how do the impacts vary according to the way in which the grant is distributed to students (reduced loans versus increased cash)?; (c) how do the impacts vary by student and college characteristics?; and (d) how and why do the impacts arise? Study findings will have direct implications for both governmental and private grant programs and provide an important basis for addressing current debates about the future of financial aid in the state and nationwide.

What Makes WSLS Unique Among Financial Aid Studies?

We believe WSLS represents a landmark opportunity to understand the impact of financial aid. Click on each of the following ten contributions WSLS makes to the study of financial aid to learn more:

Contribution #1: Gold-Standard Evidence.
Contribution #2: Implementation at Scale.
Contribution #3: High External Validity.
Contribution #4: Need-based Criteria.
Contribution #5: Targeted at College Completion.
Contribution #6: Serving the Traditional Student.
Contribution #7: Comparing and Measuring Effectiveness.
Contribution #8: Knowing Why Aid Works.
Contribution #9: Long-Term Commitment.
Contribution #10: Enduring Effects.

WSLS Funding
The Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study is grateful to the following organizations for their support: