What works to reduce inequalities in higher education? A systematic review of the (quasi-)experimental literature on outreach and financial aid

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Can Re-Enrollment Campaigns Help Dropouts Return to College? Evidence From Florida Community Colleges

“…Previous research has reported positive effects when examining the efficacy of localized text messaging campaigns (Castleman et al, 2014, 2015; Castleman & Page, 2015), but a growing body of recent evidence has shown that informational nudges alone, when offered at a larger scale, do not appear to significantly improve the likelihood of college enrollment (e.g., Bird et al, 2019). Additional work has suggested that behavioral outreach programs can increase access to higher education among disadvantaged students when the program simplifies the college application process (Herbaut & Geven, 2020). However, we find little evidence suggesting that streamlining the re-enrollment process, without offering financial incentives, significantly affects former students’ likelihood of re-enrollment, enrolling in multiple courses, full-time enrollment, and persistence.…”

“…Oreopoulos and Petronijevic (2019) designed online and text message interventions to improve student achievement in college and found no effect on college students’ academic outcomes—even among those students who were identified as more likely to drop out of college. According to a systematic review of experimental and quasi-experimental literature on the efficacy of outreach by colleges, outreach programs can increase access to higher education among disadvantaged students when the program offers supplemental counseling or simplifies the college application process, but outreach programs are not effective when they merely provide general information (Herbaut & Geven, 2020).…”

Etnoescuelas y sustentabilidad de las lenguas maternas indígenas: ni solo plural ni solo multicultural...

“…¿Qué funciona para reducir las desigualdades en la educación superior? Una revisión sistemática de la (cuasi) literatura experimental sobre divulgación y ayuda financiera (Herbaut, Estelle;Geven, Koen, 2019, p. 2).…”

The schooling and labor market effects of eliminating university tuition in Ecuador

“…For our 1 A large number of studies evaluate the effects of policies designed to increase college attainment among the poor in the United States (David and Dynarski, 2009), but these policies are much more targeted than the one we evaluate in this paper. Evidence from lower-income countries is scarce: in a review of 75 studies that evaluate the effects of various higher education policies on disadvantaged students, only four are conducted outside of high-income countries (Herbaut and Geven, 2020).…”