Factors Affecting Financial Aid Participation at a California Community College

May 16, 2006 Andrew LaManque, Ph.D. 1

Factors Affecting Financial Aid Participation at a California Community College

Research Presentation Prepared for the

Association for Institutional Research

Annual Conference, 2006, Chicago

Andrew LaManque, Ph.D.

De Anza College


Presentation Overview• Research Question: Why do Financial Aid

Participation Rates of Vietnamese Students Differ from Other Ethnic Groups (especially Latinos)?

• Why Do Students “Leave Money on the Table”?

• Information Might Help Financial Aid Staff Target Outreach Efforts

• Work in Progress!• Suggestions Welcome


Outline of Presentation

• Overview of De Anza financial aid data by ethnic group

• Highlights of related research studies

• Results of questions from 2 surveys

– De Anza Survey of Students Not Completing Financial Aid Forms

– Noel Levitz College Student Inventory


Demographics of De Anza College’s Financial Aid Recipients

• In 2004-05, of the 7,283 financial aid recipients, 21% were Vietnamese

• Vietnamese students represent about 8%

(about 2,800 annually) of the campus headcount

• About 50% of Vietnamese students received some type of financial aid

• About 25% of Latino students receive financial aid



De Anza College Aid Status by Ethnicity 2005 (contribution of ethnic group to total)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

AfricanAmerican

Asian Decline toState

Filipino Latino Other Vietnamese White

Financial Aid Recipients Did Not Receive Financial Aid Total



• 75% of all Vietnamese students lived in East San Jose (low income neighborhoods) in 2004-05– 53% of Latino students

• 77% of Vietnamese students receiving financial aid lived in East San Jose– 59% of Latino students


Literature

• In 2003-04, 53.6% of students at public two year

colleges did not file a FAFSA– Table 5: Distribution of Undergraduates Who Did Not File a FAFSA for 2003–

04, by Dependency Status, Income, and Institution Type. Missed Opportunities

Revisited: New Information on Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid.

ACE Issue Brief, Jacqueline E. King. February 2006

• Rational Choice Theory considers the role of

information – students collect information based on

perceived benefits


Literature

Family or Student Could

Pay Other ReasonFamily Income

Too HighMissed

Deadline(%) (%) (%) (%)

All Undergraduates 40.6 29.1 23.6 9.1All Dependent Students 40.3 24.1 24.9 11.4All Independent Students 41.2 41.0 20.8 3.5

Note: Respondents could cite more than one reason.Source: Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid. ACE Issue Brief, Jacqueline E. King. October 2004. Based on NCES Study

Most Common Reasons 1995–96 Beginning Postsecondary Students Offeredto Explain Why They Did Not Apply for Aid, by Dependency Status


Literature• “Low Income and first generation students may

face significant barriers to accessing the information needed to make an informed decision …”

– “The Effect of Loans on the Persistence and Attainment of Community College Students.” Alicia C. Dowd and Tarek Coury, Research in Higher Education. February, 2006 (v. 47, #1).

• “The data reported in this study show a pronounced tendency for low income Hispanic families to over-report actual income”

– “Financial Aid and Self-Reports by Disadvantaged Students: The Importance of Being Earnest.” Michael A. Olivas, Research in Higher Education. 1986 (v. 25, #3).


Survey of NonCompleters

• 976 Students Emailed in Winter 2006– Had Filed FASA or BOG Forms But Did Not

Complete Them• 15% were Vietnamese

• 17% were Hispanic

• 135 Students Responded• 13% were Vietnamese

• 10% were Hispanic



Label Frequency PercentIt was taking too much time 12 9%I assumed that I was not eligible 14 11%I had trouble getting income information from my parents 17 13%I now have family support 0 0%I decided to save my eligibility since I plan to transfer 8 6%I thought I missed the deadline 7 5%I am receiving help from other sources (employer, church, etc.) 2 2%I didn't know it was incomplete 54 41%I felt like I was applying for welfare 0 0%I will not be attending De Anza next year 2 2%I had problems with the Financial Aid Office 3 2%some other reason not listed above 13 10%Total Valid 132 100%Total Missing 3Total 135

Which of the following best describes the reason why you didn't complete your application for financial aid or BOG fee waiver?



• No difference in reason for not completing between ethnic groups

• The students responding that they “Did Not Know it was Incomplete” were contacted by the financial aid office

– Only a couple students acted on the call



# % # % # %African American 4 67% 2 33% 6 100%Asian Indian 2 20% 8 80% 10 100%Chinese 8 32% 17 68% 25 100%European 7 23% 23 77% 30 100%Filipino 3 38% 5 63% 8 100%Hispanic/Latino/Latina 9 64% 5 36% 14 100%Middle Eastern 1 50% 1 50% 2 100%Multi Ethnic 2 20% 8 80% 10 100%Native American 1 100% 1 100%Other Asian 2 29% 5 71% 7 100%Pacific Islander 1 33% 2 67% 3 100%Vietnamese 4 22% 14 78% 18 100%Total 43 32% 91 68% 134 100%

Are you the first person in your family to go to college?

Yes No Total



# % # % # % # % # %African American 2 33% 1 17% 1 17% 2 33% 6 100%Asian Indian 4 40% 1 10% 3 30% 2 20% 10 100%Chinese 15 63% 2 8% 4 17% 3 13% 24 100%European 12 40% 10 33% 5 17% 3 10% 30 100%Filipino 4 50% 2 25% 2 25% 8 100%Hispanic/Latino/Latina 2 18% 5 45% 4 36% 11 100%Middle Eastern 1 50% 1 50% 2 100%Multi Ethnic 5 50% 2 20% 3 30% 10 100%Native American 1 100% 1 100%Other Asian 4 57% 1 14% 2 29% 7 100%Pacific Islander 1 33% 1 33% 1 33% 3 100%Vietnamese 7 39% 5 28% 2 11% 4 22% 18 100%Total 56 43% 25 19% 27 21% 22 17% 130 100%

What is the highest education level of either parent?

TotalCollege

graduate Some collegeHigh school

graduateSome high

school



• Summary – these were all non-completers so the results are hard to interpret

• Vietnamese students though, seem to come from families with higher levels of college experience than Latino students


College Student Inventory

• The CSI was administered to a sample of basic skills math classes in fall 2005 and winter 2006

• This data was then matched against financial aid files to see if a student had applied for aid (either FASA or BOG)



HC % HC % HC % HC %Black, Non-Hispanic 18 42% 6 14% 19 44% 43 100%Chinese 16 40% 9 23% 15 38% 40 100%Decline to state 25 38% 8 12% 33 50% 66 100%Filipino 23 41% 10 18% 23 41% 56 100%Hispanic 73 50% 15 10% 59 40% 147 100%Other 28 35% 14 18% 37 47% 79 100%Vietnamese 23 50% 6 13% 17 37% 46 100%White, Non-Hispanic 62 39% 21 13% 77 48% 160 100%Total 268 42% 89 14% 280 44% 637 100%

True Maybe Not True Total

I have financial problems that are very distracting and troublesome.



HC Percent HC Percent HC PercentBlack, Non-Hispanic 12 67% 6 33% 18 100%Chinese 4 25% 12 75% 16 100%Decine to state 9 56% 7 44% 16 100%Filipino 12 52% 11 48% 23 100%Hispanic 31 42% 42 58% 73 100%Other 14 38% 23 62% 37 100%Vietnamese 15 65% 8 35% 23 100%White, Non-Hispanic 28 45% 34 55% 62 100%Total 125 47% 143 53% 268 100%

Total Sample N = 637

I have financial problems that are very distracting and troublesome = True.

Applied For Aid Did Not Apply for Aid Total



HC Percent HC Percent HC PercentBlack, Non-Hispanic 10 77% 3 23% 13 100%Chinese 9 75% 3 25% 12 100%Decline to state 9 60% 6 40% 15 100%Filipino 4 31% 9 69% 13 100%Hispanic 30 41% 44 59% 74 100%Other 8 36% 14 64% 22 100%Vietnamese 23 74% 8 26% 31 100%White, Non-Hispanic 16 32% 34 68% 50 100%Total 109 47% 121 53% 230 100%


father has less than 4 year degreereside in San J ose East of 880




HC Percent HC Percent HC PercentBlack, Non-Hispanic 8 80% 2 20% 10 100%Chinese 8 80% 2 20% 10 100%Decline to state 3 43% 4 57% 7 100%Filipino 3 33% 6 67% 9 100%Hispanic 24 48% 26 52% 50 100%Other 7 44% 9 56% 16 100%Vietnamese 21 78% 6 22% 27 100%White, Non-Hispanic 12 36% 21 64% 33 100%Total 86 53% 76 47% 162 100%



Attempted 12 or more unitsfather has less than 4 year degree

reside in San J ose East of 880



HC Percent HC Percent HC PercentBlack, Non-Hispanic 6 75% 2 25% 8 100%Chinese 7 88% 1 13% 8 100%Decline to State 2 33% 4 67% 6 100%Filipino 2 25% 6 75% 8 100%Hispanic 20 57% 15 43% 35 100%Other 2 33% 4 67% 6 100%Vietnamese 9 69% 4 31% 13 100%White, Non-Hispanic 5 38% 8 62% 13 100%Total 53 55% 44 45% 97 100%


Attempted 12 or more unitsfather has less than 4 year degree

Compared to the average high school graduate, I consider my general academic knowledge to be in the middle 20%

reside in San J ose East of 880



Next Steps

• Additional survey data

• More sophisticated statistical model

• Better integrate expected income measures (by Zip Code / Neighborhood)

• Look at other CC’s

• Discuss with campus financial aid staff


Summary• Vietnamese students appear to have more family

experience with college than Latino students as a group

• Although, Latino students apply for aid at lower rates than Vietnamese students, even when taking into account parents education and location

• The explanation (not captured by the data) is likely due to culture differences in the communities and perhaps differences in their immigration experience

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Factors Affecting Financial Aid Participation at a California Community College

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