Implications of losing a need- and merit-based scholarship on the educational trajectory: a curricular analytics approach

Abstract

Understanding how students with low socioeconomic status finance their tuition over time can help us comprehend the impact of students’ decisions on their subsequent curricular progress, graduation, or dropout. This work presents a curricular analytics approach using process mining techniques to study educational funding trajectories as processes. Specifically, the SCHOLARSHIP-LOAN-SELF-FUNDED model is designed to reveal educational funding trajectories and obtain aggregate information. Academic and tuition records of 2484 undergraduate students from a private Chilean university who started their programs with a government need- and merit-based tuition aid were analyzed. Students who lost their scholarships were more likely to drop out, whereas students who maintained this aid were more likely to graduate on time. Curricular progress per semester was slower after scholarships ended or after the students lost them and stayed. Financial aid was associated with students’ curricular progress and linked to their permanence and graduation time. Higher education institutions should consider the eligibility criteria and maintenance requirements of financial assistance when designing their curricula.