Vickie Choitz: Publications
- Apr 16, 2013 | Vickie Choitz and Patrick Reimherr Mind the Gap: High Unmet Financial Need Threatens Persistence and Completion for Low-Income Community College Students Over the last three decades, college tuition and fees have increased nearly four times faster than median income and four-and-a-half times faster than inflation. The rapid increase in college costs and flat or reduced funding in student aid has resulted in sizable unmet need and has forced students -- particularly low-income students -- to borrow more, work more hours, take fewer courses, or in some cases, drop out altogether. Unmet need and student loan debt for students at high-cost institutions have attracted widespread public attention. Less attention has been paid to unmet need at community colleges, where 41 percent of all undergraduates living in poverty are enrolled, according to the most recent data available (2007-2008). Download PDF
- Mar 08, 2013 | Patrick Reimherr, Tim Harmon, Julie Strawn, Vickie Choitz Reforming Student Aid: How to Simplify Tax Aid and Use Performance Metrics to Improve College Choices and Completion Our paper offers a range of policy options for consolidating the various tax-based aid provisions and better targeting this aid toward low- and modest-income families. We also propose piloting "real-time payment" of the American Opportunity Tax Credit to deliver this aid to students when they enroll, not just at tax time. Our ideas are backed by ten-year revenue estimates and distributional estimates from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. We've crafted our recommendations to be revenue neutral or modestly positive to respond to current budget realities, and we believe these proposals are timely, given the potential for tax reform in this Congress. Download PDF
- Apr 30, 2012 | Vickie Choitz and Patrick Kelly Webinar Announcing New Tool & the Public Return to Increasing Postsecondary Credential Attainment CLASP and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) hosted a webinar announcing an exciting interactive tool to measure the personal, state and federal revenue returns to increasing the number of adults with a postsecondary credentials. Read Online | Download PDF
- Mar 23, 2012 | Vickie Choitz, Julie Strawn, and Marcie Foster FAQs on How the Loss of Ability to Benefit Options in Federal Student Aid Affects Those without a High School Diploma After July 1, 2012, newly enrolled college students without a high school diploma or secondary school equivalent will no longer eligible for federal student aid, due to the elimination of the "Ability to Benefit" (AtB) options by Congress in December 2011. The loss of AtB options threatens the economic mobility of low-skilled adults and youth seeking postsecondary credentials to improve their job prospects. This brief outlines the provision and why the AtB policy is essential for maintaining access to education and training for low-income, low-skilled students. Download PDF
- Mar 22, 2012 | Vickie Choitz Threats to Pell in House Budget Proposal are Ungrounded, Unfair and Misguided The House FY 2013 Budget Resolution released this week by budget committee Chairman Paul Ryan makes vague but undeniable threats to the Pell Grant program, proposing to limit funding and further tighten eligibility requirements. Read Online
- Feb 15, 2012 | Vickie Choitz Education and Training are Top Priorities in President Obama's 2013 Budget CLASP's summary of Education and Training in the President's FY 2013 budget proposal. Read Online
- Oct 07, 2011 | Vickie Choitz and Elizabeth Kenefick Threats to Pell Grants Materialize in the House A draft appropriations bill released by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Sept. 29 significantly harms Pell Grant students by slashing $44 billion from the program over 10 years, putting in jeopardy the maximum Pell Grant, and making drastic changes to eligibility. These proposed changes threaten low-income students' ability to access and succeed in higher education. Read Online
- Oct 03, 2011 | Vickie Choitz and Julie Strawn CLASP Testimony for the Record on Nontraditional Students On Sept. 30, 2011, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance held a hearing on higher education regulations and nontraditional students. CLASP submitted comments focusing on the primary barriers to access and persistence for nontraditional students and promising strategies and policies and the role of the federal government in helping nontraditional students in overcoming the barriers. Download PDF
- Mar 17, 2011 | Vickie Choitz Risky Business: Helping Low-Income Adult Students Minimize College Financial Risk and Maximize Success These comments were shared with the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance's spring hearing on the congressionally mandated net price calculators and the barriers to access and persistence faced by non-traditional students. CLASP public comments focused on Session II: Nontraditional Students - Barriers to Access and Persistence, recommending that the federal government maintain a fervent commitment to grant aid for these students; provide more student support services tied to student aid; and hold higher education institutions accountable for results to lower-income, lower-skilled non-traditional students. Download PDF
- Jan 26, 2011 | Jodie Levin-Epstein and Vickie Choitz Career Pathways Lead Low-Income People Out of Poverty In a new Spotlight on Poverty webcast, Vickie Choitz, senior policy analyst with CLASP's workforce development team and co-author of Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Policy Toolkit for States, discusses approaches to help low-skilled, low-income adults earn postsecondary credentials that lead to good jobs with family-sustaining wages. Read Online
- Sep 27, 2010 | Vickie Choitz and Marcie Foster Five Strategies to Help Low-Income Adults and Youth Attain Community College Credentials Download PDF
- Jul 08, 2010 | Julie Strawn Shifting Gears: State Innovation to Advance Adult Workers and the Economy in the Midwest Read Online | Download PDF