Appendix A: Methodology

The quantitative data presented here, unless otherwise noted, is from the 2017–2018 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC). NPSAS is a nationally representative cross-sectional study of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in postsecondary education. It examines the characteristics of students, with special focus on how they finance their education.

The data used in this analysis are limited to undergraduates aged 24 or older in a degree or certificate program at public two- and four-year colleges in 2018, which is the group of institutions and the latest year for which state-representative data are available. All NPSAS:18-AC data used in this analysis are from state residents. In NPSAS:18-AC, undocumented students are not considered in-state residents and so are not included in this analysis. A data anomaly in NPSAS:18-AC prevents us from analyzing North Carolina community college students’ EFC and financial aid packages.

States were chosen from a group that had at least one major financial aid program defined as having a budget of $1 million or greater in the year analyzed and not limited to specific areas of study or specific populations of students. Among all qualifying states, we selected four—Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas—to ensure a mixture of population demographics, state political affiliation, and geographic distribution. Other financial aid data used in this report are from 2018, where possible, to match the NPSAS:18-AC data.

“Student parents” are defined in this analysis as those with dependent children, which could exclude some parents without primary caregiving or financial responsibility for their child or children. NPSAS:18-AC only includes information from administrative data sources and does not contain data from a student survey. (Previous iterations of NPSAS have included both.) As a result, this dataset likely undercounts students with dependent children.

Focus groups were conducted by Lake Research Partners in June and July of 2022, and themes were analyzed by New America staff using Dedoose software. Eight, approximately two hour long, focus groups, made up of 57 participants in total, were conducted. Two focus groups—one including students 24 and over (older students) and one including older students with dependents under the age of 12 (student parents)—were conducted in person in three cities: Houston, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; and Denver, Colorado. One focus group was conducted in person in Charlotte, NC, with older students. Due to recruitment challenges, one focus group was conducted online for student parents in North Carolina.

All participants were currently enrolled (either full or part time) at a postsecondary institution, seeking an associate or bachelor’s degree, receiving financial aid (or had received financial aid in the past), and had a household income below the income threshold for state public benefit programs. A semi structured set of questions was used to guide the discussions. The groups explored participants’ experience with financial aid and public benefits and were recruited to ensure a mix of participants by gender, age (above 24), race and ethnicity, enrollment intensity, and level and sector of education. Quotations included in this report have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.