[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-587072-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-587072-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","a-nudge-to-reconnect-using-financial-aid-nudges-to-promote-adult-students-persistence-at-tennessee-community-colleges-working-paper-july-2021","A Nudge to Reconnect - Using Financial Aid Nudges to Promote Adult Students’ Persistence at Tennessee Community Colleges - Working Paper - July 2021","","Tennessee Reconnect (TNR) provides last-dollar support enabling adult students to attend community colleges free of tuition and mandatory fees, yet persistence remains a challenge. In 2019, fewer than half of TNR participants persisted to the next year. During spring 2020, Nashville State and Pellissippi State tested low-cost nudges—targeted emails, texts, and alerts connecting students to key resources and reapplication requirements. After nudges, reapplication and persistence increased, countering statewide declines at other colleges, with future research planned.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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is Tennessee Reconnect (TNR) and who does it serve?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"TNR is a last-dollar scholarship that allows adult students to attend eligible Tennessee community colleges free of tuition and mandatory fees.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why are nudges needed to support TNR persistence?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Many adult students face barriers to persisting, including balancing life and coursework and lacking awareness or clear information about TNR eligibility requirements such as reapplication.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What pilot strategies were tested in spring 2020, and what happened to reapplication and persistence rates?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Nashville State and Pellissippi State tested targeted nudges via emails, texts, and other alerts that reminded students of eligibility requirements and connected them to support services, leading to higher reapplication and persistence rates than before and against 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Financial Aid Nudges to Promote Adult Students’Persistence at Tennessee Community Colleges\u003Cbr>July 2021\u003Cbr>Working Paper |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Photo: A Student at Pellissippi State | | |\n\nPhoto: A Student at Northeast State  \nAbout this Project  \nEach year, nearly 17,000 community college students participate in Tennessee Reconnect, a last-dollar scholar that allows adult students to attend college free of tuition and mandatory fees. However, many adult students face obstacles to persistence. In 2019, fewer than half of Reconnect students persisted as Reconnect students the following year.  \nIn the wake of COVID-19, two colleges piloted a series of innovative, low-cost strategies designed to promote Reconnect persistence. In spring 2020, students at Nashville State and Pellissippi State received targeted nudges that connected them to key resources and prompted them to fulfill Reconnect eligibility requirements.  \nAfter these nudges, Reconnect reapplication and persistence rates rose. More students submitted Reconnect reapplications, andreapplications were submitted earlier. At Nashville State, persistence rates for Reconnect students increased from 38% in 2019 to 53% in 2020, even as Reconnect persistence rates at other colleges declined.  \nIn 2021, Tennessee community colleges are continuing to develop innovative strategies to promote success for TNR students. Two colleges have recruited faculty volunteers and peer mentors to help reach out to Reconnect students. Future research in fall 2021 will focus on outcomes from these efforts.  \nA Nudge to Reconnect: Summary  \nReconnecting at Community Colleges  \nOver the past decade, Tennessee has invested in several efforts to support adults’ postsecondary enrollment. Most notably, in 2018, the state launched Tennessee Reconnect (TNR), which allows adults to attend eligible colleges free of tuition and mandatory fees.  \nCommunity colleges are the primary pathway for adult Tennesseans who reconnect with higher education (THEC, 2020, TBR 2019) .1 More than 17,200 community college students participated in TNR during the 2018-19 academic year, and 16,600 participated in 2019-20.  \nReconnect Persistence at Community Colleges  \nUnfortunately, many TNR students do not persist to the next year of enrollment. Only 46% of the inaugural TNR cohort reapplied and persisted as TNR participants at community colleges in the following year.2 Another 15% of TNR students returned to college the next year but no longer as TNR participants, and 39% of TNR students stopped out of college.  \nEach year, TNR students must submit a success plan, which serves as a reapplication for participation by continuing students (TSAC, 2021) . During in-depth interviews conducted in early 2020, TNR students shared their perspectives on the barriers to persistence at community colleges. In addition to obstacles posed by balancing life and coursework, students frequently cited a lack of awareness and unclear information about TNR eligibility requirements like reapplication.  \nAs colleges moved coursework to online and remote formats during spring 2020 in response to COVID-19, the need for students to receive clear, timely information about TNR became even more essential.  \nA Nudge to Reconnect  \nTo promote TNR students’ reapplication and persistence in the wake of COVID-19, Nashville State Community College and Pellissippi State Community College tested a series of pilot projects in spring 2020.  \nThese pilot projects included efforts to send nudges—targeted emails, texts, and other alerts that reminded TNR students about key eligibility requirements, connected students to resources and support services, and prompted students to reapply.  \nAfter these nudges were sent in spring 2020, TNR reapplication and persistence rates rose for students at Nashville and Pellissippi.  \n• At Nashville, the proportion of TNR participants who reapplied and persisted rose from 38% among students from","cbCaimAzioEYVZTD","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimAzioEYVZTD","pdf",2588853,"English","# About this Project\n# A Nudge to Reconnect: Summary\n## Reconnecting at Community Colleges\n## Reconnect Persistence at Community Colleges\n## A Nudge to Reconnect\n# The TNR Persistence Challenge\n## Persistence Rates in the First Year of TNR","[{\"question\":\"What is Tennessee Reconnect (TNR) and who does it serve?\",\"answer\":\"TNR is a last-dollar scholarship that allows adult students to attend eligible Tennessee community colleges free of tuition and mandatory fees.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are nudges needed to support TNR persistence?\",\"answer\":\"Many adult students face barriers to persisting, including balancing life and coursework and lacking awareness or clear information about TNR eligibility requirements such as reapplication.\"},{\"question\":\"What pilot strategies were tested in spring 2020, and what happened to reapplication and persistence rates?\",\"answer\":\"Nashville State and Pellissippi State tested targeted nudges via emails, texts, and other alerts that reminded students of eligibility requirements and connected them to support services, leading to higher reapplication and persistence rates than before and against statewide trends.\"}]","A Nudge to Reconnect - Using Financial Aid Nudges to Promote Adult Students’ Persistence at Tennessee Community Colleges - Working Paper - July 2021 | PDF",1792060637]