The Indiana Commission for Higher Education hired Postsecondary Analytics to evaluate the effect of reforms to the state’s primary financial aid programs. The reforms, implemented in 2013, required students to complete 30 credit hours per year to receive the maximum award, with reduced aid levels for students who completed 24 hours. Using a quasi-experimental “difference-in-differences” approach, we found significant increases in credit hours attempted and completed. Students affected by the new policy increased their course loads at significantly higher rates than students who were not directly affected. Read the report here for complete results, description of the methodology, and discussion of the study’s limitations.
