PHD, Kent State University, 2021, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this narrative study was to explore undergraduate college students' experiences with borrowing beyond that which is needed to cover the institution's tuition and fees, their motivations for and perceptions of borrowing, and increased indebtedness within the context of their lived experiences. This research utilized Clandinin and Connelly's (2000) “three dimensional narrative inquiry space” (p. 50) in an effort to capture the participants' inward perceptions of student indebtedness; the outward environment and circumstances that motivated additional borrowing; the backward and forward influence of life experiences, and the place(s) or sequences of places used to describe their college environment. Those invited to participate in the study were current undergraduate students, attending at least part-time, at a large midwestern public institution who had borrowed an additional $1000 or more through federal student loans. The seven research participants completed an initial questionnaire and then a semi-structured, in-person interview. Data collected throughout the research process were then utilized to create additional prompts as a journal response for the participants to consider and return via email. This study resulted in five emergent themes regarding the participants' experiences with, motivations for, and perceptions of their additional borrowing and student indebtedness: (a) Interweaving of Place and Finances, (b) Presence and Influence from Within the Support System, (c) Individual Drive, (d) Financial Understanding and Approaches to Student Debt, and (e) Concerns, Plans, and Hopes for the Future. These findings suggest the possible benefits of approaching student indebtedness and general financial education and research holistically.

Committee: Tara Hudson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stephen Thomas Ed.D. (Committee Co-Chair); C. Lockwood Reynolds Ph.D. (Committee Member); Stina Olafsdottir Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Finance; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2017, Educational Studies

America's total educational debt recently surpassed the $1.3 trillion mark, concerning students, educators, and policymakers alike. Most research on student loans focuses on either the pre-college phase, examining how students develop an understanding of and attitude toward debt, or the post-college phase, when they have completed their education and are dealing with the lump-sum implications of the borrowing decisions they have made. Few studies have considered the decision-making process itself, even though most students will make dozens of individual borrowing choices during their educational journey. This study uses a series of binary logistic regression models to explore the relationship between the sources of information students consult when making choices about loans and the borrowing decision factors they. It finds that students who consult parents, financial aid counselors, themselves, or the internet are significantly more likely to use budgets, to borrow as little as possible, to think about their total debt at graduation, and to think about the amounts they have borrowed in the past, while controlling for selected academic, demographic, and socioeconomic variables. Because students who sought advice about loans made more considered borrowing decisions, institutions of higher education should do more to encourage and facilitate these types of conversations.

Committee: Tatiana Suspitsyna (Committee Chair); Matt Mayhew (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Finance; Education Policy; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; School Counseling

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

Student loans in the United States have grown to become the second largest household debt category behind mortgages. According to Federal Reserve Data, between 2008 and 2018, a time when growth in total debt levels remained stagnate, student loan debt increased by over one hundred percent to more than 1.5 trillion dollars by the end of 2018. This debt is spread out among 44 million borrowers who graduate with an average bachelor's degree debt balance of approximately $30,000. The size and scope of the student debt landscape is discussed widely in national discourse within media headlines like “Study Cites the Benefits of Taking Student Loans” in the Wall Street Journal (Belkin, 2018) and “The Student Debt Problem Is Worse Than We Imagined” in The New York Times (Miller, 2018). Public policies have been created over the years, including income-based and public service forgiveness programs, and politicians frequently debate or propose new policies, from recent proposals from the Trump White House for instituting graduate student loan limits (Office of the Press Sectretary, 2019) to congressional proposals to ensure free college for all (Sanders, 2017). With increased national exposure, many scholars and researchers have turned their attention toward the analysis of student debt, as I do in the three chapters within this dissertation. I examine labor market outcomes associated with student loans. Specifically, I investigate the relationships between student loans and employment transitions, education-employment mismatch, and entrepreneurship. In Chapter One, I incorporate debt into classical on-the-job search theory and show, theoretically, how individuals with student loans are more likely to change jobs at a higher rate than non-borrowers. I then use the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) and construct an empirical model to examine the effects of student loans on the probability of employment transitions. I find evidence that student loan debt increase (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mark Partridge (Advisor) Subjects: Economics; Finance

MFA, Kent State University, 2012, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

For a growing number of students, education debt is becoming a familiar and common reality. Borrowing money for a college education is unlike any financial experience that exists today. Unlike taking out a loan for a car or a mortgage for a home, students enroll in a cycle of continuous investing-potentially carrying on for a lifetime. Faced with a number of challenges at the onset of their college experience, students are borrowing without regard to the future impact of their decision making, placing incredible strain and emphasis on the value of their education. Further, they rely heavily on the knowledge and decision making of others to guide their financial management experiences. Students are also discovering that their support needs and expectations are not being met through the traditional service offerings of Financial Aid offices and other such university resources. In regard to borrowing for education, these factors create a generation of students faced with inconceivable amounts of debt that lack the financial capability, experience, and resources necessary to gain a better perspective. Design serves as a positive vehicle for change in an area where students need assistance. Students are in need of a better experience, one that provides them greater value in support of their future growth as students and members of the greater society. Without change, students will continue to pursue their financial experiences with apathy or carelessness; consequently, debt rates will continue to rise with inflation and new generations of graduates will face adulthood on the cusp of financial ruin.

Committee: Ken Visocky-O'Grady MFA (Advisor); Sanda Katila MFA (Committee Member); Jerry Kalback MS (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Design; Education; Finance; Higher Education

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

The financial transition to medical school process is a complex one. This action research project aims to bring to light the financial experiences of medical students at a public midwestern medical school to better understand challenges faced by medical students, particularly low-income and underrepresented in medicine students. Additionally, the purpose of this project is to provide insights that will allow for the creation of a front-end intervention to provide students with solutions for better outcomes. The data for this project was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews with students enrolled in a medical doctor program at a public mid-western medical school. The findings of this action research project indicate the need for a front-end financial intervention that is individualized for students as well as a need for additional support and education to support students in external scholarship searches.

Committee: Davin Carr-Chellman (Committee Chair); Jason Booza (Committee Member); Mary Ziskin (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education Administration; School Administration

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Human Ecology: Family and Consumer Sciences Education

Previous research extensively documents financial stress among college students and its link to academic problems, but there is less understanding of the factors related to higher stress levels. This study uses the stress process model (Pearlin 1989; Drentea & Reynolds 2015) to investigate the association between money-related stressors from student loan debt and lack of emergency savings with financial stress, as well as identify potential moderating effects of social and personal resources on resulting financial stress. I use data from the 2020 wave of the Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness (N=24,500). Collected in February 2020, before COVID-19 related interruptions, the study includes responses from undergraduate students at 60 two-and four-year higher education institutions in the United States. I use ordered probit regression to investigate main effects and interaction specifications. Results indicate significant positive associations of both money-related stressors and financial stress. With regard to moderation, results indicate an association between higher levels of both financial socialization and financial self-efficacy and lower levels of financial stress. Expectations that students engaging in positive financial management behaviors would experience lower levels of stress were not confirmed. The personal resources of both positive and negative financial management behaviors are positively related to financial stress. Results of this study are relevant to colleges and universities with the goal of providing impactful financial and stress management resources to students. Additionally, results warrant more specific examination of college student personality, behaviors, and attitudes, both related to finances and in general, using longitudinal data collection to monitor changes in students' self-efficacy, social support, and the experience of stress.

Committee: Cazilia Loibl (Advisor); Catherine P. Montalto (Committee Member); Dean Lillard (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education; School Counseling; School Finance; Social Research

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services

Many college students struggle financially, and student debt continues to grow in the United States. Students that complete a degree can have high monthly student loan payments, and those that do not complete a degree can struggle financially even more. There is a growing amount of research examining methods to reduce these financial challenges. Since financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviors have been studied as to how they impact student debt, the purpose of this study was to examine financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of community college students and consider an educational intervention as a possible way to impact those variables. The intervention was in the form of exposing students to a series of short, specific, digital learning objects. The research objectives of this study were to describe community college students' financial knowledge, financial attitudes, planned financial behaviors, and actual short-term financial behaviors in the areas of budgeting/saving, credit, and student loans, before and after exposure to the digital learning objects. There was a statistically significant treatment effect for financial knowledge, but not for financial attitudes. For financial behaviors, six unique intended and actual financial behaviors were examined, with half of them showing a significant difference after exposure to the digital learning objects. Planned and actual behaviors in the areas of budgeting, saving, and payment behavior were most effected. Certain ages and racial groups reported salient results in some areas. Students identifying as Black/African American had lower than average scores and lessor treatment effects for financial knowledge, higher than average rates of behavior and higher treatment effects for monthly budgeting, and lower rates of behavior and lower treatment effects for positive payment behaviors. Students under 25 years old reported below average behaviors and treatment effects for monthly budgeting, savin (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Zirkle Dr. (Committee Chair); Caezilia Loibl Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Melena Whittington Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Community College Education; Education Finance; Educational Technology; Finance; Teaching; Technology

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Leadership Studies

This study sought to determine which demographic variables (student gender, age, race, family income, dependency status, and parental level of educational attainment) best predict total accrued federal student loan debt for undergraduate degree recipients attending a four-year public Midwestern United States research university. The sample consisted of 1,880 first-time enrolled, full-time undergraduate students who matriculated in August 2009 and borrowed their first federal student loan during the first year of enrollment. Data was obtained from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), institutional federal student loan, enrollment, and graduation data and analyzed through the graduating class of May 2015. A multiple regression analysis for research question one generated a four-factor model: Family Income, Minority Status, Father's Level and Mother's Level of Educational Attainment were significant predictors of total accrued federal student loan debt upon graduation. A logistic regression analysis generated three models based on total accrued federal student loan debt upon graduation above/below $10,000, $20,000, and $30,000. The $10,000 model indicated one significant predictor, Mother's Level of Educational Attainment. The $20,000 model indicated two significant predictors, Family Income and Mother's Level of Educational Attainment. The $30,000 model indicated three significant predictors, Family Income, Minority Status, and Father's Level of Educational Attainment. Research question two examined differences in total federal student loan debt between four-year or less and more than four-year undergraduate degree completers. An independent samples t-test analysis revealed a significant difference in total accrued federal student loan debt for degree completion within a four-year time frame. Research question three examined differences between undergraduate degree completers and non-completers in the amount of federal student loans borrowe (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rachel Vannatta Reinhart Ph.D. (Advisor); Russell Matthews Ph.D. (Other); Paul Johnson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Judith Jackson May Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jaclyn Schalk Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Finance

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2025, Educational Leadership

Amid the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, undergraduate students in the United States faced heightened financial strains and increased loan burdens, despite the introduction of President Biden's ambitious student loan forgiveness initiative, which was later rejected by the Supreme Court. This dissertation delved into the nuanced perceptions of female engineering undergraduates regarding the impact of their student loan debt on both their academic pursuits and future career prospects. Employing a phenomenological approach, this study aimed to capture the perspectives female undergraduate engineering students at a private, four-year, predominantly white institution hold concerning financial aid. This study was guided by a conceptual framework rooted in the pipeline and social cognitive career theories as they provided the basis for constructing interview protocols. These protocols covered various aspects of the interviewed students' lives, which directly or indirectly influenced their perspectives on financial aid. The data collection involved in-depth interviews with twelve participants enrolled in engineering programs at the University of Riverbend, a private institution in the Midwestern United States. Each participant completed a 60-minute semi-structured interview, complemented by at least two follow-up emails to foster thorough descriptions and profound discussions surrounding their experiences. This research focused on describing the experiences, feelings, attitudes, and perceptions of female engineering students about financial aid, particularly student loan debt. The findings were derived from the analysis of rich qualitative data. Four themes emerged from the data collection: persistent need for financial aid to access higher education; student loans as a source of stress; negative impact of student loan debt on further plans; and limited loan knowledge but optimistic about repayment. Future college students could gain valuable insights (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Charles Russo (Committee Chair) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2022, College of Education and Human Services

The choice of college and careers are not simple. The choices students make when selecting a college can affect them for their entire life. Tressie Cottom (2017), in her book, Lower Ed, describes our educational journey like a stream (Cottom, 2017). We are all traveling down the stream of life, and there are rocks and forks. The question is: what diverts us on our path and where do we end up? This narrative study examines the experience of women attending For-Profit Institutions and the reasoning behind choosing to go to an FPI rather than a traditional higher education institution. The participants' stories show that they were determined to find a better career, wanted to provide for their families, and had significant life events that changed their paths.

Committee: Anne Galletta (Committee Chair); Julie Burrell (Committee Member); Joanne Goodell (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Education History; Education Policy; Gender; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Public Policy

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2020, Sociology

Young adults in the early 2000s faced a national labor market that was highly stratified by education. With few options for well-paying and secure employment, young adults with a high school diploma or less increasingly turned to sub-baccalaureate postsecondary education to acquire human capital. Sub-baccalaureate institutions tend to be oriented towards vocational education and enroll more nonwhite and students from working class backgrounds than four-year colleges. While past research finds that bachelor's and advanced graduate degrees are advantageous in the young adult labor market, prior literature on the economic stratification associated with sub-baccalaureate credentials beyond the period immediately after college is sparse. This gap in the literature is surprising given trends in rising college costs and student debt, the increasing prominence of the for-profit college industry, and an insecure young adult labor market. I draw on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to examine the employment, earnings, and student debt of sub-baccalaureate credential seekers relative to high school graduates at age 30. I find that while all credentials are associated with a higher likelihood of employment, 30-year-olds with certificates or that attended a for-profit college but left without a degree have no higher earnings than high school graduates. There is also evidence that pursuing a sub-baccalaureate credential can be costly in terms of accumulated student debt, in particular if one attends a for-profit college. The results demonstrate the value of studying variation by credential and institution type and underscore the importance of considering costs alongside returns when studying the inequalities produced by educational credentials.

Committee: Rachel Dwyer (Committee Chair); Natasha Quadlin (Committee Member); Vincent Roscigno (Committee Member); Michael Vuolo (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Arts (M.A.), Xavier University, 2015, Theology

The focus of this thesis is to explore the issue of present day debt and its significant impact on individuals as well as the global society. This topic will be examined through a theological lens. Current scenarios such as pay day loans, student loan debt and the pastoral response to newly settled refugees arriving from war torn and debt ridden countries will be explored. This paper will also examine one specific population, i.e. Burundian refugees, being served by an inner city parish located in the North Fairmount community of Cincinnati, Ohio. St. Leo the Great Church has devoted resources to assisting these refugees as they face daily struggles to meet their debt obligations and to become economically self sufficient.

Committee: Marie Giblin Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Counseling Psychology; Theology

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

For the institution and its regional campuses under review, the amount of outstanding student liabilities (i.e., monies owed by the student to the institution for educational-related expenditures not satisfied by the end of the term) grew at an alarming rate between 2000 and 2014, with some of the institution's regional campuses experiencing over a 400% increase in student liabilities between 2011 and 2014. This increase in student liabilities mirrors the trends in the rise of federal student loan borrowing and federal student loan default. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between various student characteristics and student liabilities owed directly to the institution at a multi-campus public university in the Midwest between the years 2011 and 2014. The period under review was selected due to its high increases in student liabilities. This study will further explore how these relationships differ between the university's multiple regional campuses and main campus. The students in the current study are students that have an outstanding liability to the organization of $100 or more, have been turned over to an outside collection agency for collections, and have had their student account balance written-off. The characteristics explored in the current study are many of the same characteristics shown in the current literature to be associated with federal student loan default rates. The characteristics are first generation vs. not a first generation student (i.e., FG vs. NFG), predominant campus location (i.e., main vs. regional campus), class status (i.e., freshmen, sophomore, junior, or senior), sex, underrepresented minorities vs. not an underrepresented minority (i.e., URM vs. NURM), federal Pell grant vs. not a federal Pell grant recipients (i.e., FP vs. NFP), federal student loans vs. not a federal student loan recipients (i.e., FL vs. NFL), private student loan vs. not a private loan recipients, and GPA. To explore the relat (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mark Kretovics (Committee Chair); Stephen Thomas (Committee Member); Erica Eckert (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Leadership Studies

The purpose of this study is to better understand what impacts a student continuing their degree at a four-year, private university beyond the second year. Furthermore, understanding if certain student characteristics are reliable in predicting which students are more likely to persist beyond the second year of education. For this study there were 878 students from Ohio public schools who as first-time freshmen enrolled at a four-year, private university in Ohio during the 2009-2011 academic years. The data were gathered from Midwest Private University's (a pseudonym) financial aid and institutional research offices and included 15 variables relating to the demographic, enrollment, and academic characteristics of the included students. Two research questions were utilized in this study. Binomial logistic regression was used to determine if the variables were more likely to predict student persistence. The results indicate that five variables have a positive correlation with those persisting beyond the sophomore year of college: higher high school and college GPA's, completing more college credits during the first two years of college, being a varsity athlete, and being a university “legacy”. The results also indicated that student loan debt, race, gender, geographic location of the high school, or the high school ranking did not impact the persistence of the student. Understanding how to better retain students is important for everyone involved in the education process. Helping student's complete their degrees is an educationally, professionally, and financially imperative topic for University's, communities, industry, government, and most of all-the student. The results of the study indicate that more research is needed nationally, but also at individual universities to better understand the specific variables that are unique to each institution.

Committee: Paul Johnson Dr. (Committee Chair); William Ingle Dr. (Committee Member); Lawrence Lesick Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Anderson Dr. (Other) Subjects: Education Finance; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, EDU Policy and Leadership

Two-thirds of college students will borrow money to attend college or university. Among them is a group categorized as `independent' according to federal criteria, including age, income, familial status, veterans, and those for whom dependency is not possible, such as foster children. This qualitative study explores the meaning that independent undergraduate students ascribe to the debt they encumber while enrolled in college. What is their perception of their student debt? Do they believe their education is worth the debt? The researcher originally sought to ask twenty independent undergraduate students in their junior year or above about their experience of student debt while enrolled at a large regional public university in the Midwest. In addition to interviewing, twenty individuals who met the original criteria, an additional eight were interviewed who expanded the original definition of independence beyond the federal criteria and the need to focus on those close to graduation. Results suggest that student debt is considered a necessity by all of the participants as it relates to their college attendance and their lifestyle choices. College attendance was seen as a requirement to gain access to future employment. Student loans often were used to supplement or provide full support for external living expenses. Acceptance of this syllogism may explain expanded levels of debt tolerance, consistent with the application of prospect theory to the data. Their own needs and networks facilitated the participants' understanding of their student debt. Some of the participants viewed the impact of debt on their academic and social experience as negative, while the majority recognized student debt as a “necessary evil” and a personal “investment” in their own human capital. Student debt was viewed as distinctly different from other kinds of debt. While all of the participants recognized the value of their education, some level of distrust of the current structure of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ada Demb Ed.D. (Advisor); Scott Sweetland Ph.D. (Committee Member); Chris Zirkle Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Education Finance; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Public Administration; Public Policy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Economics

My dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the relationship between household debt and consumption growth. I construct a household Debt Index based on nationally representative household level data. The Debt Index consists of four components which include debt-income ratio, debt-asset ratio, number of missed payments and required monthly payment-income ratio. I test whether the Debt Index has predictive power for consumption growth and find that it does not show predictive power. The second essay investigates the choice of payment method. Since credit card debt comes with a high interest rate, those who carry revolving credit on their credit cards face higher costs when they pay with a credit card than when they pay using other payment methods. This essay examines whether or not cash, check, and debit card use correlate with interest rates on credit cards applied to credit card revolvers. The findings indicate that among three non-credit card payment methods, only check use shows positive correlation, while cash and debit card use do not show any correlation with the interest rates on credit cards. This can be interpreted to mean that check users are more sensitive to pecuniary costs in payment than cash and debit card users. The last essay considers how education loans impact the early labor market behavior. Among several aspects of early labor market behavior, I investigate two issues. First, I investigate the transition time from school to work of young college graduates. Estimation results from Cox proportional hazard model show that those who have positive amounts of education loan take less transition time from school to work than those who do not have an education loan. When I examine the impact of an education loan on each gender, both genders show shorter transition time from college to work if they carry an education loan. However, the magnitude of the impact of an education loan on the transition time to one's first job shows a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lucia Dunn (Committee Chair); Stephen Cosslett (Committee Member); Gene Mumy (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics