Robert Kelchen
Biographic Data
| ID | 252199 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert Kelchen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robert |
| FAMILY NAME | Kelchen |
| SIGNATURE | KELCHEN R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Tennessee Department of Education |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4845-8876 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 60 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
The Varying Impacts of Merit-Aid Policy Design on Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation at Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities
This study examines whether and which aspects of statewide merit-aid policies influence students’ enrollment, retention, and completion outcomes at public four-year institutions, before exploring the influence of discontinuing merit aid on student outcomes. Using a novel dataset capturing details of merit-based aid policies for public four-year institutions over nearly two decades, we find suggestive evidence that merit-aid adoption is related to…
Do Tuition Controls Freeze Student Debt
As concerns have grown over student debt burdens, policymakers in a majority of states have placed limits on how much public universities can increase tuition in an effort to reduce student debt. In this paper, I provide the first empirical examination of whether tuition controls imposed by states are effective in reducing federal undergraduate student debt burdens and whether that effect varies by student or institutional characteristics. I find…
Examining the Effects of Tuition Controls on Student Enrollment
Tennessee’s Burden: How Students Apply for State Financial Aid within One Southern State
The Relationships Between State Higher Education Funding Strategies and College Access and Success
We compiled the first longitudinal data set with detailed state funding information to examine whether different funding strategies for public higher education correlate with college access and completion, with a focus on outcomes among racially minoritized students. We found no relationships between funding mechanisms and student outcomes at public universities. However, at community colleges, we found that funding strategies that combine base a…
The Unequal Impacts of Performance-Based Funding on Institutional Resources in Higher Education
Policy Diffusion of Performance Funding Equity Metrics: Traditional Neighbor and Dyadic Survival Analyses
While previous research on higher education policy diffusion often conceptualizes diffusion as occuring across neighboring governments, we conceptualize policy diffusion as also occuring across pairs of governments (dyads) regardless of geographic proximity. We apply both conceptualizations and use survival analysis techniques to examine factors associated with state adoption of performance funding equity metrics. Results show that the proportion…
Investing in the Workforce: The Impact of Performance-Based Funding on Student Earnings Outcomes
A growing number of states use performance-based funding (PBF) systems to tie appropriations to student outcomes. Yet while many studies have examined the effects of PBF on enrollment and completion outcomes, no research has considered whether PBF affects post-college outcomes. This is of particular importance as more states directly incentivize colleges to improve student earnings and have students major in high-demand fields. We used the first …
We Want You Back: Uncovering the Effects on In-Person Instructional Operations in Fall 2020
New Evidence on the Evolution and Landscape of Performance Funding for Higher Education
This study draws upon the first detailed longitudinal dataset on performance-based funding (PBF) to document the evolution and current landscape of PBF in American higher education. We show that while PBF has become increasingly common, states have experimented with adopting, abandoning, and re-adopting PBF over time. We also find a new wave of PBF adoption occurring in the 2010s following the Great Recession. However, PBF remains a relatively we…
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need‐Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant
We conduct the first long‐term experimental evaluation of a need‐based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time‐to‐degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions ab…
Examining the Interstate Mobility of Recent College Graduates
An increasingly important goal of state policymakers is to keep young, well-educated adults to remain in that state instead of moving elsewhere after college, as evidenced by New York’s recent move to tie state grant aid to staying in state after graduation. We used American Community Survey data from 2005–2015 to examine the prevalence of interstate mobility over the past decade as well as provide state-level rates of “brain drain.” We found sub…
Do Performance-Based Funding Policies Affect Underrepresented Student Enrollment
More states are using performance-based funding (PBF) systems in an effort to incentivize public colleges to operate more effectively. Responding to concerns about equity, states are also adopting provisions that encourage colleges to serve more students who at risk of not completing college. In this paper, I examine whether PBF policies in general—and more specifically policies that have provisions designed to incentivize colleges to enroll unde…
The Costs of College Attendance: Examining Variation and Consistency in Institutional Living Cost Allowances
Discussions of college costs often focus on tuition and fees, but living cost allowances for room, board, and other expenses account for more than half of the total cost of attending college. The allowances, developed by colleges and universities, also affect student eligibility for federal financial aid and the accuracy of accountability systems. This study examined institutional variation in living cost allowances and assessed the consistency o…
Do the effects of early childhood education programs differ by gender? A meta-analysis
Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion
Income inequality in educational attainment is a long-standing concern, and disparities in college completion have grown over time. Need-based financial aid is commonly used to promote equality in college outcomes, but its effectiveness has not been established, and some are calling it into question. A randomized experiment is used to estimate the impact of a private need-based grant program on college persistence and degree completion among stud…
Accelerating College Knowledge: A Fiscal Analysis of a Targeted Early Commitment Pell Grant Program
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequat…
Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion
Income inequality in educational attainment is a long-standing concern, and disparities in college completion have grown over time. Need-based financial aid is commonly used to promote equality in college outcomes, but its effectiveness has not been established, and some are calling it into question. A randomized experiment is used to estimate the impact of a private need-based grant program on college persistence and degree completion among stud…
Do Performance-Based Funding Policies Affect Underrepresented Student Enrollment
More states are using performance-based funding (PBF) systems in an effort to incentivize public colleges to operate more effectively. Responding to concerns about equity, states are also adopting provisions that encourage colleges to serve more students who at risk of not completing college. In this paper, I examine whether PBF policies in general—and more specifically policies that have provisions designed to incentivize colleges to enroll unde…
Do the effects of early childhood education programs differ by gender? A meta-analysis
The Costs of College Attendance: Examining Variation and Consistency in Institutional Living Cost Allowances
Discussions of college costs often focus on tuition and fees, but living cost allowances for room, board, and other expenses account for more than half of the total cost of attending college. The allowances, developed by colleges and universities, also affect student eligibility for federal financial aid and the accuracy of accountability systems. This study examined institutional variation in living cost allowances and assessed the consistency o…
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need‐Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant
We conduct the first long‐term experimental evaluation of a need‐based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time‐to‐degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions ab…
New Evidence on the Evolution and Landscape of Performance Funding for Higher Education
This study draws upon the first detailed longitudinal dataset on performance-based funding (PBF) to document the evolution and current landscape of PBF in American higher education. We show that while PBF has become increasingly common, states have experimented with adopting, abandoning, and re-adopting PBF over time. We also find a new wave of PBF adoption occurring in the 2010s following the Great Recession. However, PBF remains a relatively we…
Accelerating College Knowledge: A Fiscal Analysis of a Targeted Early Commitment Pell Grant Program
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequat…
Accelerating College Knowledge: A Fiscal Analysis of a Targeted Early Commitment Pell Grant Program
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequat…
Do the effects of early childhood education programs differ by gender? A meta-analysis
Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion
Income inequality in educational attainment is a long-standing concern, and disparities in college completion have grown over time. Need-based financial aid is commonly used to promote equality in college outcomes, but its effectiveness has not been established, and some are calling it into question. A randomized experiment is used to estimate the impact of a private need-based grant program on college persistence and degree completion among stud…
The Costs of College Attendance: Examining Variation and Consistency in Institutional Living Cost Allowances
Discussions of college costs often focus on tuition and fees, but living cost allowances for room, board, and other expenses account for more than half of the total cost of attending college. The allowances, developed by colleges and universities, also affect student eligibility for federal financial aid and the accuracy of accountability systems. This study examined institutional variation in living cost allowances and assessed the consistency o…
Examining the Interstate Mobility of Recent College Graduates
An increasingly important goal of state policymakers is to keep young, well-educated adults to remain in that state instead of moving elsewhere after college, as evidenced by New York’s recent move to tie state grant aid to staying in state after graduation. We used American Community Survey data from 2005–2015 to examine the prevalence of interstate mobility over the past decade as well as provide state-level rates of “brain drain.” We found sub…
Do Performance-Based Funding Policies Affect Underrepresented Student Enrollment
More states are using performance-based funding (PBF) systems in an effort to incentivize public colleges to operate more effectively. Responding to concerns about equity, states are also adopting provisions that encourage colleges to serve more students who at risk of not completing college. In this paper, I examine whether PBF policies in general—and more specifically policies that have provisions designed to incentivize colleges to enroll unde…
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need‐Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant
We conduct the first long‐term experimental evaluation of a need‐based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time‐to‐degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions ab…
We Want You Back: Uncovering the Effects on In-Person Instructional Operations in Fall 2020
New Evidence on the Evolution and Landscape of Performance Funding for Higher Education
This study draws upon the first detailed longitudinal dataset on performance-based funding (PBF) to document the evolution and current landscape of PBF in American higher education. We show that while PBF has become increasingly common, states have experimented with adopting, abandoning, and re-adopting PBF over time. We also find a new wave of PBF adoption occurring in the 2010s following the Great Recession. However, PBF remains a relatively we…
The Unequal Impacts of Performance-Based Funding on Institutional Resources in Higher Education
Policy Diffusion of Performance Funding Equity Metrics: Traditional Neighbor and Dyadic Survival Analyses
While previous research on higher education policy diffusion often conceptualizes diffusion as occuring across neighboring governments, we conceptualize policy diffusion as also occuring across pairs of governments (dyads) regardless of geographic proximity. We apply both conceptualizations and use survival analysis techniques to examine factors associated with state adoption of performance funding equity metrics. Results show that the proportion…
Investing in the Workforce: The Impact of Performance-Based Funding on Student Earnings Outcomes
A growing number of states use performance-based funding (PBF) systems to tie appropriations to student outcomes. Yet while many studies have examined the effects of PBF on enrollment and completion outcomes, no research has considered whether PBF affects post-college outcomes. This is of particular importance as more states directly incentivize colleges to improve student earnings and have students major in high-demand fields. We used the first …
Examining the Effects of Tuition Controls on Student Enrollment
Tennessee’s Burden: How Students Apply for State Financial Aid within One Southern State
The Relationships Between State Higher Education Funding Strategies and College Access and Success
We compiled the first longitudinal data set with detailed state funding information to examine whether different funding strategies for public higher education correlate with college access and completion, with a focus on outcomes among racially minoritized students. We found no relationships between funding mechanisms and student outcomes at public universities. However, at community colleges, we found that funding strategies that combine base a…
Do Tuition Controls Freeze Student Debt
As concerns have grown over student debt burdens, policymakers in a majority of states have placed limits on how much public universities can increase tuition in an effort to reduce student debt. In this paper, I provide the first empirical examination of whether tuition controls imposed by states are effective in reducing federal undergraduate student debt burdens and whether that effect varies by student or institutional characteristics. I find…
The Varying Impacts of Merit-Aid Policy Design on Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation at Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities
This study examines whether and which aspects of statewide merit-aid policies influence students’ enrollment, retention, and completion outcomes at public four-year institutions, before exploring the influence of discontinuing merit aid on student outcomes. Using a novel dataset capturing details of merit-based aid policies for public four-year institutions over nearly two decades, we find suggestive evidence that merit-aid adoption is related to…
Higher Education Research Studies (14 works) · Economics (13 works) · Political science (12 works) · Economic growth (9 works) · Higher education (9 works) · Medicine (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Demographic economics (8 works) · Medical education (6 works) · School Choice and Performance (6 works)