Success Story: Louisiana

The Louisiana Performance-Based Scholarships  have resulted in students staying in college and earning more credits. At two colleges in the New Orleans area, low-income parents enrolled as students were offered a $1,000 scholarship for each of two semesters (or $2,000 total) if they met two conditions: stay enrolled at least half-time and maintain at least a 2.0 (‘C’) average. A random control group was not given the same incentive but was tracked for comparison purposes.

Compared to those who did not receive the incentive, students who were promised the scholarship:

• were more likely to enroll in college full time
• exhibited higher rates of semester-to-semester retention: they registered for classes at higher rates in the second and third semesters following random assignment
• passed more courses and earned more college credits

The financial incentive program increased the percentage of community college students who were enrolled the second semester after random assignment (65%, compared with 50% for the control group). It also increased the average number of credits they earned during the first two semesters after random assignment (3.9 credits, compare with 2.8 for the control group).