The Impact of Scholarships for Asian American and Pacific Islander Community College Students: Findings from an Experimental Design Study

Extant research on scholarship programs provides foundational knowledge on student enrollment patterns, different types of programs and their students, and outcomes for scholarship recipients in different sectors of higher education. Despite this growing body of research, however, looming questions remain about the measurable impact of scholarship funding. In this study, an experimental research design was used to estimate the impact of a race-conscious scholarship program for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students attending three Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) community colleges: City College of San Francisco, De Anza College, and South Seattle College. The primary goal was to understand the lived experiences of AAPI students attending community college and the relative impact of the funding on their educational experiences and academic achievement. Among the key findings are: (1) There is a high level of financial vulnerability among AAPI community college students; (2) AAPI community college students are more likely to work and work longer hours; (3) Work interfered with students' academic engagement; (4) AAPI community college students have a wide range of family responsibilities; and (5) AAPI community college students have a high rate of immigrant-origin backgrounds. A technical appendix is included. [This report is a publication from the Partnership for Equity in Education through Research (PEER), a collaborative effort between the National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE), APIASF, and three campus partners--City College of San Francisco, De Anza College, and South Seattle College.]