Cognia ™ Student Engagement Survey
Category: Student Well-Being
This study uses a multiple-case qualitative research design to examine the fiscal policy instruments that members of State Legislative Black Caucuses (SLBC) use to strengthen college affordability and broaden access for undergraduate low-income Black students attending public HBCUs. Guided by the Policy Design Theory, this study analyzes nine semi-structured interviews and eleven legislative documents. Findings reveal that SLBC members deploy fiscal policy instruments as part of a broader, multi-pronged approach to affordability at public HBCUs. These design choices reflect strategic efforts to navigate political and fiscal constraints while sustaining attention to public HBCUs within state policy agendas. This study contributes to scholarship on public policy and higher education by highlighting how affordability policy for public HBCUs is constructed through deliberate design choices. In doing so, it illuminates how SLBC members frame and advance fiscal policies in ways that make targeted investments in public HBCUs both politically viable and durable within contested state policymaking environments.
Keywords
State Legislative Black Caucuses (SLBCs), State higher education policy, College affordability, Policy design, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Legislative decision-making
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/4aq9-t625
