Past research has linked higher state appropriations with better graduation rates, but it has not established that relationship for students who are underrepresented in higher education, such as Black and Latinx students. The paper — by researchers at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, the University of Minnesota, Adams State University and the University of Georgia — concludes that increases in funding leads to more pronounced gains among those groups.
“The findings indicate that changes in state appropriations can have modest but meaningful effects on whether students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds ultimately succeed in college,” the researchers wrote. “Moreover, past reductions in appropriations have likely thwarted progress towards state college attainment goals by limiting institutional effectiveness.”
