Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program/Concentration

Community College Leadership

Committee Director

Mitchell R. Williams

Committee Member

James E. Bartlett

Committee Member

Cherng-Jyh Yen

Abstract

The state of North Carolina created a single scholarship to award $170 million annually to college students. This single scholarship was eventually named Next NC. Next NC represented a significant change in North Carolina aid policy when it launched in the fall of 2023. Due to the recent creation of the program, there is no research on the impact of Next NC's funding.

This quantitative study examined the impact of Next NC on community college students. The study used a population of 4,229 student records from two North Carolina community colleges. I conducted a quasi-experimental study that leveraged propensity score matching (PSM) to build a matched control and treatment group. I found that the treatment group earned a statistically similar number of earned credit hours and grade point average in fall 2023. The study also showed that treatment students were significantly less likely to borrow a loan than the control group. The findings suggested that Next NC was extending the benefits of the Pell Grant to students who would traditionally receive less gift aid. Additionally, Next NC demonstrated the ability to deliver positive returns to the state budget. The findings should interest state aid policymakers and the North Carolina General Assembly

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DOI

10.25777/60fz-ah52

ISBN

9798280752115

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