The project uses a unique dataset collected from UK higher education institutions comprised of individual-level data on undergraduate students from the UK and EU (i.e. those potentially eligible for bursaries), including the bursary they are awarded each year, academic outcomes, prior attainment and other demographic information. Collection consists of data from 10 English universities on bursary awards, student characteristics, and student outcomes over the period 2006-2011. The aim is to identify the impact of bursaries on the academic outcomes of students by exploiting variation in bursary rules across institutions. This will be achieved by comparing students with similar characteristics but receiving different levels of bursary due to the institution they are attending. To account for underlying differences across universities we will exploit changes in bursary eligibility rules within a university over time. The findings should be useful for universities and policy makers when considering the role of bursaries in improving student outcomes. Higher education bursaries and performance: annual test scores, drop out and degree outcomes Despite some £300m per year being spent on higher education bursaries in the UK, there remains no empirical research that examines the effectiveness of this element of financial aid as a means to improve student outcomes whilst at university. The aim of this project is to investigate the impact of bursaries on students’ academic outcomes – including annual test results, completion rates and degree classification.

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