For many students, the question of staying enrolled in college has less to do with academics than with finances. From rising living costs to unexpected emergencies, a single expense can derail progress toward a degree.
Increasingly, colleges and universities are responding by treating financial aid not only as an access tool but as a core retention strategy—one that can make the difference between persistence and dropping out, especially for low-income and first-generation students.
Tuition Guarantees and Retention
A growing body of research underscores the connection between affordability and persistence. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a long-term study published in the Peabody Journal of Education found that Bucky’s Tuition Promise—an institutional aid program offering four years of tuition and fees for in-state freshmen from families earning $65,000 or less—boosts second-year retention by several percentage points.
The program, launched in 2018, is one of the most prominent examples of how simplifying aid and guaranteeing affordability can improve students’ chances of staying on track academically.
“This finding is the latest evidence that Bucky’s Tuition Promise is having a positive effect on student success and on the university as a whole,” said Scott Owczarek, interim vice provost for enrollment management. “Bucky’s Tuition Promise was designed to make an education at the state’s flagship public university more affordable and accessible for Wisconsin students. It is doing that while also helping to ensure that our state’s top students stay in Wisconsin and contribute their talents and their skills to our campus and our communities.”
The study’s lead author, research analyst Amberly Dziesinski, PhD, examined students clustered around the program’s income eligibility threshold. Students who qualified had a second-year retention rate of 96.6%, compared to 93.4% among similar students just above the cutoff.
“This difference held up to rigorous statistical testing, to the point that we can say the difference is caused by Bucky’s Tuition Promise,” Dziesinski wrote.
At an institution where retention is already high, a three-percentage-point increase is notable.
Dziesinski also compared a broader sample of 1,300 program recipients with 1,912 nonrecipients from families earning below $120,000. Even across this wider range, Promise students posted slightly higher second-year retention rates—95.8% compared to 94.9%.
“Overall, it’s really promising to see that new populations of students who were brought to campus through Bucky’s Tuition Promise are succeeding at such high rates,” she said.
The study found early but inconclusive indications that the program may also reduce student debt, though more longitudinal research is needed.
Emergency Aid as a Lifeline
While tuition guarantees support long-term planning, emergency financial aid is designed to meet immediate and often unpredictable needs.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, nearly 19% of undergraduates in 2020 reported they would struggle to find $500 for an unexpected expense—an amount that could determine whether a student stays in school.
Colleges nationwide now operate emergency aid programs offering small, rapid-response grants for expenses such as car repairs, child care disruptions, housing instability, or medical costs. The Bipartisan Policy Center notes that these interventions can prevent short-term crises from cascading into student withdrawal.
Evidence of effectiveness is mixed, however, partly because students who seek emergency aid often face multiple barriers affecting academic performance. Administrators interviewed by the Bipartisan Policy Center emphasized that emergency aid works best when integrated with wraparound services that address underlying needs.
Programs such as Washington State’s Student Emergency Assistance Grant require institutions to refer aid recipients to additional on- and off-campus services, reflecting a shift toward more holistic financial and academic support models.
Funding remains a challenge. In 2023, Washington institutions received more than $32 million in emergency aid requests but were able to distribute only about $4 million.
Data-driven targeting can help stretch limited resources. Georgia State University’s Panther Retention Grant shifted its focus from freshmen to seniors after institutional data revealed that students closest to graduation were most likely to drop out due to unpaid tuition balances. Analysis showed the redesigned program helped recipients graduate faster and with less debt.
TRIO Programs and Sustained Support
Alongside institutional aid, federal TRIO Student Support Services programs remain a cornerstone of retention efforts for underserved student populations.
Santa Fe College recently received $4.4 million in new federal grants to support TRIO Student Support Services, which provide academic tutoring, financial literacy coaching, scholarship guidance, mentoring, and personal counseling.
“The TRIO SSS grants have had a profound impact on our students for more than 40 years,” said Santa Fe College President Paul Broadie, PhD. “Receiving this grant enables us to continue our transformative work, ensuring that students get the support they need to succeed in the classroom and thrive in their careers.”
National data underscore the program’s impact. A 2019 U.S. Department of Education evaluation found that Student Support Services participants at four-year institutions were 18% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than their peers not enrolled in the program.
Other campuses are expanding TRIO programs as well. The University of Iowa secured a renewal of its federal Student Support Services grant to continue providing tutoring, mentoring, financial aid guidance, and career exploration services.
“This grant allows the university to deepen our commitment to ensuring that all students—regardless of background—can thrive academically and personally,” said Jennifer Lynch, TRIO programs director.
Drury University’s Drury GO Monett campus also launched its first TRIO Student Support Services program through a $680,750 federal grant.
“TRIO Student Support Services will be the cornerstone of our student support strategy,” said Rhonda Schilly, senior director of Drury GO Monett.
The program will offer tutoring, financial literacy workshops, graduate school preparation, and financial aid assistance, with plans for a dedicated tutoring center.
The Growing Consensus
Across these initiatives, a shared conclusion is emerging: students who are financially secure are better positioned to persist through academic challenges, remain enrolled, and graduate.
Tuition guarantee programs reduce uncertainty and upfront barriers. Emergency grants prevent short-term disruptions from becoming long-term setbacks. Comprehensive support programs help students navigate the academic and financial aspects of college simultaneously.
As institutions face mounting pressure to improve retention and completion rates—particularly in online and hybrid programs—financial aid is becoming an indispensable part of the student success infrastructure.
The research from UW–Madison and the national growth of emergency aid and TRIO programs suggest that when colleges invest deeply in students’ financial stability, the return on investment is measured not only in enrollment figures, but in degrees earned.
