Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief - Baby Carrot and Big Stick: Does a Credit Requirement for Financial Aid Improve Student Academic Progression?

Oct 15, 2026

Maryland Higher Education Commission policy brief examines how a merit-based credit requirement added to the Delegate Howard P. Rawlings Education Excellence Awards affects undergraduate academic progression. After the College Affordability Act of 2016, students must complete at least 30 credits to keep the full award, 24–29 for a prorated amount, and lose the grant if they fail the 24-credit minimum. The study summarizes both short- and long-term effects on student outcomes and highlights the policy’s reach across recipients.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background

Current Eligibility Requirements for the EEA Program

Impact of the Credit Requirement Policy

Study Scope and Research Questions

Grants Summary under the EEA Program

Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief Office of Research and Policy Analysis Wes Moore Governor Aruna Miller Lt. Governor Sanjay Rai, Ph. D. Acting Secretary Baby Carrot and Big Stick: Does a Credit Requirement for Financial Aid Improve Student Academic Progression? Principal Author Yuxin Lin, Ph. D. Associate Director of Research and Policy Analysis Suggested Citation: Lin, Y. (2023) . Baby Carrot and Big Stick: Does a Credit Requirement for Financial Aid Improve Student Academic Progression? Baltimore, MD: Maryland Higher Education Commission. The author thanks Barbara Schmertz, Emily Dow, Ann Kellogg, and Al Dorsett for their detailed feedback and comments on earlier drafts. Seminar participants at the AEFP 2023 annual conference gave valuable suggestions as well. If you have questions regarding this publication, please contact [rpa.mhec@maryland.gov](rpa.mhec@maryland.gov) Click Here for the Executive Summary or enter: [https://mhec.maryland.gov/publications/Documents/Research/PolicyReports/MHECPolicyBriefVol2Summary.pdf](https://mhec.maryland.gov/publications/Documents/Research/PolicyReports/MHECPolicyBriefVol2Summary.pdf) June 2023 6 North Liberty Street, 10th Floor, Baltimore Maryland 21201 Introduction Ensuring equitable access to affordable and high-quality postsecondary education for all Maryland residents has been a long-standing commitment for Maryland for decades. Offering need-based financial aid is one of the most important tools to eliminate financial barriers for lowincome students in Maryland. Among four need-based undergraduate financial aid programs administered by the MHEC Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA), the Delegate Howard P. Rawlings Education Excellence Awards (EEA) Program is the largest program. In 2021, approximately $80 million dollars were disbursed to over 22,000 students. About 16% of first-time full-time undergraduate students received EEA in 2021. The Maryland General Assembly passed the College Affordability Act of 20161, which added a merit-based eligibility criterion for the EEA program. The new criterion applied only to students who received the award for at least two years. Among these students, starting in the 2018-2019 academic year, only those completing at least 30 credits in the previous year can maintain the full award. Students completing at least 24 credits but fewer than 30 credits receive a prorated amount of award according to how many credits they completed. Students lose the entire grant if they fail to complete 24 credit hours in the previous year (Figure 1) .2 Figure 1: Current Eligibility Requirements for the EEA Program OSFA reports that almost two thirds ofthe target population (EEA recipients who had received the award for at least two years) were impacted under the new policy in 2018-19, the first year when the policy was enacted.3 In fact, 37% of the EEA recipients completely lost 1 Senate Bill 676 ([https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2016RS/bills/sb/sb0676T.pdf](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2016RS/bills/sb/sb0676T.pdf)) and House Bill 1014 ([https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2016RS/bills/hb/hb1014E.pdf](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2016RS/bills/hb/hb1014E.pdf)). 2 See [https://mhec.maryland.gov/preparing/Pages/FinancialAid/EEAProgramChanges.aspx](https://mhec.maryland.gov/preparing/Pages/FinancialAid/EEAProgramChanges.aspx for)[ for](https://mhec.maryland.gov/preparing/Pages/FinancialAid/EEAProgramChanges.aspx for) the detailed explanation of the requirement. 3 [https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/pubs/budgetfiscal/2024fy-budget-docs-operating-R62I0010-MHEC---Student](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/pubs/budgetfiscal/2024fy-budget-docs-operating-R62I0010-MHEC---Student)Financial-Assistance.pdf eligibility, having failed to meet the 24-credit minimum, while 27% of recipients received a prorated amount, having completed at least 24 credits, but fewer than 30 credits. With so many students affected, both legislators and MHEC

FAQs

What credit requirement changes were introduced for the EEA program?

After the College Affordability Act of 2016, maintaining the full EEA award required at least 30 credits in the prior year. Students completing at least 24 but fewer than 30 credits receive a prorated amount, and students lose the entire grant if they fail to complete 24 credit hours.

How many EEA recipients were affected when the policy began?

OSFA reports that almost two thirds of the target population were impacted in 2018–19, the first year the policy was enacted. Specifically, 37% completely lost eligibility and 27% received a prorated amount.

What is the report’s main purpose regarding the credit requirement policy?

The report summarizes the main findings of a 2022 MHEC study on the short-term and long-term effects of the credit requirement policy on student outcomes, including how it affects academic progression and success.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aria Callaghan