Matching All Students to Postsecondary Opportunities: How College Choice Is Influenced by Institutional, State, and Federal Policy

Event Summary

Mediocre college-graduation rates have led researchers and policymakers to increasingly focus on “undermatching”—when high-achieving, low-income students enroll in colleges that are less selective than they are qualified to attend. On Tuesday, AEI’s Andrew Kelly, College Board’s Jessica Howell, and Seton Hall University’s Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj hosted a major research conference on the topic of college choice and match. Convening a number of education researchers and practitioners, the conference featured eight new papers that expanded upon previous research of college undermatching to examine how institutional, state, and federal policies affect all students, instead of just high-achieving, low-income students.

Panelists explored how to help a broader swath of students—high performers and average performers, high income and low income—complete postsecondary degrees through both measures of academic match and “fit,” such as affordability, type, location, and culture. Panelists also touched upon reforms to higher-education institutions, the supply side of college match, with many noting that improving students’ college choices proves difficult when the number of seats at quality colleges are not expanding. The conference concluded with a discussion of state and federal policies that should be implemented or avoided to help facilitate improved college choice and match.
–Rooney Columbus

Event Description

College enrollment has increased, but graduation rates remain discouragingly mediocre, especially among low-income students. Consequently, researchers and policymakers have focused on how students choose colleges that maximize their potential success, especially regarding “undermatching” — when high-achieving, low-income students enroll in colleges that are less selective than they are qualified to attend.

The focus on academic match has started an important conversation about college choice for all students. What does it mean for a student to choose the best postsecondary option? How might the supply of college seats and financial aid influence academic match? Which policies support or impede students as they explore postsecondary options?

Please join us as AEI’s Andrew P. Kelly, College Board’s Jessica Howell, and Seton Hall University’s Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj host a major research conference exploring these questions, featuring eight new studies and analyses by experts in the field.

Conference papers available for download.