Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

White, Carol C.

Committee Member

King, Stephanie B.

Committee Member

Coats, Linda T.

Committee Member

Oswalt, Katie

Date of Degree

12-12-2025

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU Only 1 year

Document Type

Dissertation - Campus Access Only

Major

Community College Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Industrial Technology, Instructional Design, and Community College Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of need-based financial aid on degree completion and time to degree completion among community college transfer students. Transfer students often face barriers that influence persistence and graduation outcomes. This study addressed a gap in the literature by focusing on community college new transfer students at a southern university and assessing whether need-based financial aid influences both the likelihood of graduating and time to degree completion. Institutional data for the fall 2018 cohort (N = 2,074) were obtained from the university’s Information Technology Department and tracked through spring 2024. The analytic dataset included demographic variables (age, gender, race/ethnicity), academic measures (credits transferred, degree completion status, degree completion years), and financial characteristics (dependency status, receipt of need-based aid). Logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the effect of need-based aid on degree completion, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine time to degree among students who graduated (n = 1,410). Findings revealed that receipt of need-based financial aid significantly increased the odds of degree completion, with students who received aid being over 57 times more likely to graduate compared to non-recipients, after controlling for covariates. Additional predictors of completion included credits transferred, age at entry, dependency status, and race/ethnicity, while gender was not significant. Results for time to degree completion showed no significant differences between aid recipients and non-recipients. Instead, time to degree was most strongly influenced by transfer credits, dependency status, gender, and ethnicity. Students who transferred more credits, were dependent, and belonged to certain demographic groups graduated more quickly, while older and independent students tended to take longer to complete. These findings suggest that while need-based aid plays an important role in ensuring degree completion, it does not shorten completion timelines. Policy and practice implications include expanding funding for need-based aid, strengthening credit transfer pathways, financial aid counseling in transfer services, and providing targeted advising for older, independent, and underrepresented students. Future research should extend these findings through qualitative perspectives on transfer student experiences and deeper analysis of how financial and academic policies interact to shape persistence and pace.

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