The effect of Georgia’s HOPE scholarship on college major: a focus on STEM

Abstract

There is growing concern that the U.S. is producing too few college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and there is a desire to understand how various policies affect college major decisions. This paper uses student administrative records from the University System of Georgia to examine whether and how Georgia's HOPE Scholarship has affected students' college major decisions, with a focus on STEM. We find that HOPE reduced the likelihood of earning a STEM degree. The research is complementary to a forthcoming paper by the authors, but using USG administrative records allows us to address several additional issues beyond the effect of merit aid on the likelihood of earning a STEM degree, including: the effect on initial major, earned major, and the transition between them; the roles of student ability, student performance, and institutional choice; and other possible mechanisms through which merit aid affects STEM education.

The Effect of University Fees on Applications, Attendance and Course Choice: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in the UK

“…indicate that students are indeed willing to pay higher fees for institutions and subjects that lead to better employment prospects after graduation. The finding of a larger negative effect on applications and attendance for non-STEM subjects is consistent with the evidence in Sjoquist and Winters (2015a), which shows that the adoption of merit programmes by some US states reduced the likelihood of graduating with a STEM degree.…”

“…They find that students responded to the reduction in debt by choosing lower‐salary jobs, although they do not find an effect on the choice of major or on academic performance. In two related studies, Sjoquist and Winters (,b) look at the effect of financial aid on the probability of graduating from a STEM subject. They use variation in financial aid across US states, and find that the adoption of a strong aid programme had a negative effect on the number of STEM graduates.…”

Academic Probation, Student Performance, and Strategic Course‐taking

“…This strategic behavior may include enrolling in fewer or easier classes, changing majors, or more readily withdrawing from classes that they are performing poorly in . Although our paper is among the first studies to emphasize the potential importance of these behaviors in the context of academic probation, these results are line with a literature that finds that students respond strategically to GPA requirements for merit scholarship receipt by reducing their workload and/or choosing less challenging courses of study (Cornwell, Lee, and Mustard ; Sjoquis and Winters ).…”

Can Financial Aid Help to Address the Growing Need for STEM Education? The Effects of Need‐Based Grants on the Completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses and Degrees

“…Zhang () finds little evidence that merit aid programs in Florida and Georgia influenced the share of degrees conferred in STEM fields, although the possibility of merit‐induced selection effects are not accounted for in this study. By comparison, Sjoquist and Winters (, ) account for the effects of merit aid programs on student quality and find evidence that state merit aid programs decrease the number of STEM graduates, perhaps because academic renewal requirements have the unintended consequence of inducing students to avoid rigorous coursework to maintain their awards (Cornwell, Lee, & Mustard, , ). Yet because need‐based aid programs typically have less stringent renewal requirements than merit aid programs and target more credit‐constrained students, whether need‐based aid creates positive or negative incentives for students to pursue STEM coursework remains an open question.…”