@techreport{ai25-1283,
  title = {{Bureaucracy and Burden: Understanding Take-up of a Need-Based Financial Aid Program}},
  author = {Elizabeth Burland and Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija and Kelcie Ferrara-Gerson and Xavier Fields and Katherine Michelmore and Nathan Sotherland and Kevin Stange and Marissa E. Thompson and Megan Tompkins-Stange},
  institution = {Annenberg Institute at Brown University},
  type = {EdWorkingPaper},
  number = {25-1283},
  year = {2025},
  month = {September},
  doi = {10.26300/0ezs-5g46},
  url = {https://edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1283},
  abstract = {Social welfare programs, including college financial aid, often only reach a fraction of eligible beneficiaries. We examine this problem through the lens of Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), a state need-based grant aid program. We conduct a large-scale mixed-methods study using data on over one million Michigan public-school students, and 55 interviews with front-line administrators, high school counselors, and financial aid staff. We find that while one third of Michigan high school graduates are eligible for TIP, its take-up rate is only 14 percent, diminishing its impact on college affordability. We identify key barriers that shape take-up: the presence of administrative burdens, and constraints faced by front-line administrators in alleviating these burdens when administrative responsibility is fractured and ill-defined.},
}