Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.

Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.

Dissertations that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.

Date of Award

9-2013

Access Type

Campus Access

Document type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Degree Program

Educational Policy and Leadership

First Advisor

Elizabeth A. Williams

Second Advisor

Craig S. Wells

Third Advisor

Gloria DiFulvio

Subject Categories

Higher Education | Higher Education Administration

Abstract

As colleges and universities seek to increase the enrollment of low-income students through targeted financial aid strategies, such as no-loans policies, little research has looked into how engaged these future alumni would be as volunteers or donors. Using data from administrative databases at a single institution, this study focused on three alumni outcomes: volunteering, donating, and donation amount over a ten-year period and included sub-sample analyses before and after a no-loans policy was instituted. The main findings revealed that in terms of alumni volunteering, income-status has no apparent effect. With regard to alumni donating behavior, low-income status at enrollment does not appear to be a significant variable. However, low-income status at enrollment is associated with lower donation amounts, both before and after the enactment of a no-loans policy. Middle-income status, on the other hand, is negatively associated with donation behavior and donation amounts but only before the enactment of a no-loans policy. The findings suggest no-loans policies may impact the alumni involvement of individuals from low and middle-income backgrounds in different ways. From a practical standpoint, admissions and financial aid offices should be mindful about how no-loans policies impact the profile of the applicant pools, and advancement offices should think about targeted solicitation efforts that take into account the socio-economic background of alumni at the time of enrollment.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/ykna-tq86

Share

COinS