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Chinese Abstract:
Abstract:
Purpose
Given higher education’s long history of escalating fees and complex bursaries, scholars in the U.S. have produced a
considerable body of sophisticated, theory-guided research regarding the impact of financial aid on student college
choice and academic success. This research reflects a mix of broad academic interests as well as specific institutional
considerations. In this paper, we review several trends evident in this literature as a way of demonstrating how higher
education research and institutional research can work together to produce new insights into the policies, practices,
and studentbehaviors that promote societal and institutional objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper synthesizes the more representative and rigorous research on financial aid programs in relation to student
success from an institutional research perspective. Studies included in this paper were conducted in the U.S. and Taiwan.
Findings
The present study critically reviews financial aid studies in institutional research and casts light, more generally, on how
institutional research can assist Taiwanese higher education institutions in achieving their core mission objectives.
Findings suggest that financial aid serves as a mediator for student success, emphasizing the importance of transforming
IR into action for evidence-based decision making.
Originality/value
While this study provides a beginning, it underscores the need for further institutional research into the relationship
between student aid and student success in Taiwan. The issue of educational disparities remains a major concern in
higher education policy circles. Basing institutional policies on empirical research provides a necessary basis for
policy-making and institutional practices in relation to student success in higher education.
Purpose
Given higher education’s long history of escalating fees and complex bursaries, scholars in the U.S. have produced a
considerable body of sophisticated, theory-guided research regarding the impact of financial aid on student college
choice and academic success. This research reflects a mix of broad academic interests as well as specific institutional
considerations. In this paper, we review several trends evident in this literature as a way of demonstrating how higher
education research and institutional research can work together to produce new insights into the policies, practices,
and studentbehaviors that promote societal and institutional objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper synthesizes the more representative and rigorous research on financial aid programs in relation to student
success from an institutional research perspective. Studies included in this paper were conducted in the U.S. and Taiwan.
Findings
The present study critically reviews financial aid studies in institutional research and casts light, more generally, on how
institutional research can assist Taiwanese higher education institutions in achieving their core mission objectives.
Findings suggest that financial aid serves as a mediator for student success, emphasizing the importance of transforming
IR into action for evidence-based decision making.
Originality/value
While this study provides a beginning, it underscores the need for further institutional research into the relationship
between student aid and student success in Taiwan. The issue of educational disparities remains a major concern in
higher education policy circles. Basing institutional policies on empirical research provides a necessary basis for
policy-making and institutional practices in relation to student success in higher education.
Author:
Author Description:
Asia University, Taiwan ; Indiana University, U.S.A.
APA:
Lin, C.-H., & Borden, V. M. H.(2016). Learning from U.S. research on the impact of financial aid on college student outcomes to advance institutional research in Taiwan. Contemporary Educational Research Quarterly, 24(4), 9-31.
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