Association for Education Finance and Policy 2026 Conference

Association for Education Finance and Policy 2026 Conference

March 19-

21, 2026

Chicago, IL

Register

Advancing ECE AAS Transfer Pathways Through the Illinois ECACE Initiative

March 19, 2025, 10:00-11:30 a.m. | Swissôtel Chicago, RM Zurich A

The majority of U.S. early childhood education (ECE) programs are offered by community colleges, with three-quarters providing ECE training. Students who transfer and complete a bachelor’s degree gain access to higher-paying careers. However, earning this credential is challenging due to financial barriers, limited transfer pathways, and the personal costs of studying while working full-time.
 
In 2024, CCRC and the Illinois Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE or the Consortium) partnered to study ECE Associate of Applied Science (AAS) transfer pathways facilitated through ECACE. This session will focus on findings from the study, including the features of the Consortium institutions’ AAS transfer pathways and early childhood education (ECE) program redesign, partnerships between institutions and across the Consortium, innovative practices that institutions have developed, strengths and weaknesses of the pathways, and implementation facilitators and barriers
 
Presenters

Amy E. Brown, Research Associate, CCRC

How Community College Students Choose Programs of Study

March 20, 2026, 10:00-11:30 a.m. 

Program choice is a high-stakes, evolving decision for community college students, yet we know far less about how they make these choices than we do for four-year students—especially given limited advising and unequal access to information. Using linked surveys and administrative data on the 2023–24 cohort across four community colleges (2,243 students with Waves 1 and 3), we examine how students’ beliefs about program attributes shape their choices and which institutional resources and practices are associated with switching programs.
 
Presenters

Veronica Minaya, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead, CCRC

Rachel Baker, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

Hana Lahr, Assistant Director of Research and Director of Applied Learning, CCRC

Affording to Stay: Experimental Evidence on a Cost-of-Living Grant in Community Colleges

March 20, 2026, 1:00-2:30 p.m. 

This session presents preliminary results from a randomized controlled trial of a flexible cost-of-living grant for Pell-eligible community college students at two Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Massachusetts. Treated students were offered up to $3,500 per semester (up to $14,000 over four semesters) through existing financial aid processes. Using college administrative records, National Student Clearinghouse data, and student surveys, we estimate intent-to-treat effects over three years and examine students’ experiences and resource use.
 
Presenters

Veronica Minaya, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead, CCRC

Sade Bonilla, Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

Pell Away from the Cutoffs: A Simulated Instrument Approach to Estimating the Effects of the Pell Grant from Changes in Formula Generosity Over Time

March 21, 2026, 10:00-11:30 a.m. 

TBA
 
Presenters

CJ Libassi, Senior Research Assistant and PEAR Fellow, CCRC

Colleges in Competition? Effects of Tuition-Free Policies on Public College Enrollment

March 21, 2026, 8:15–9:45 a.m. 

TBA
 
Presenters

Daniel Sparks, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Arkansas

Testing Postsecondary Momentum Metrics for High School Dual Enrollment Across States

March 19, 2026, 8:15–9:45 a.m. 

As dual enrollment (DE) continues to expand across states, policymakers and practitioners need better metrics to support continuous improvement efforts that build on existing measures of access (e.g., the percent of high school students who took a DE course) and capture early progress and success in DE coursework.   

In this presentation, researchers will share preliminary findings from a study focused on developing a set of “DE momentum metrics (MMs)”—key indicators marking high school students DE participation and academic milestones, and testing their reliability in predicting postsecondary outcomes. Preliminary results for Texas and Ohio suggest that while DE students share similarities in their DE momentum metrics, there are differences in postsecondary outcomes across both states. Presenters will discuss key differences in state policy across the four states to help in interpreting findings and drawing broader implications. 
Presenters

Tatiana Velasco, Senior Research Associate, CCRC

John Fink, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead, CCRC

Daniel Sparks, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Arkansas

Yuxin Lin, University of Arkansas

Eliza Kritz, Research and Policy Analyst, University of Arkansas

Wonsun Ryu, Research Associate, University of Texas at Austin

Lauren Schudde, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin

Associated project