Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	McClinton, Marguerite Mary
URN	etd-04082005-171927
Title	How the Merit Scholars Program of Florida’s Bright Futures Funding has Affected Student Success Among African-American Students
Degree	Doctor of Education
Department	Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Beverly L Bower Committee Chair Frances S. Berry Committee Member Jon C. Dalton Committee Member Robert A. Schwartz Committee Member
Keywords	Persistence Enrollment Financial Aid Policy Florida Higher Education Merit-Based Aid African-Americans Graduation Retention Students of Color
Date of Defense	2005-03-14
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract HOW THE MERIT SCHOLARS PROGRAM OF FLORIDA’S BRIGHT FUTURES FUNDING HAS AFFECTED STUDENT SUCCESS AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS Name: Marguerite M. McClinton Department: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Major Professor: Dr. Beverly Bower Degree: Doctorate in Education Term Degree Awarded: Spring, 2005 The current study evaluated the Merit Scholars program of Bright Futures to determine its effect on student success in postsecondary education, particularly among African American students in the State of Florida by comparing high school cohorts of students who would have met the criteria needed to qualify for the Merit Scholars scholarship of Bright Futures and those students who qualified for the Merit Scholars scholarship of Bright Futures. The purpose of the study was to evaluate life before and after Bright Futures was initiated in 1997 to determine the rate of student success by evaluating two cohorts before and after Bright Futures. Student success is defined as enrollment, persistence, and graduation. The success of the Merit Scholar program was measured by those students who have enrolled, persisted, and graduated from one of the eleven state supported public institutions. This study does not determine student success by evaluating access to postsecondary education, but looks at increased overall persistence and ultimately attainment of a higher education degree for African Americans using the theoretical assumptions posited by Spady (1970, 1971), Somers & St. John (1993), St. John and Starkey (1995) and DeJardins, Ahlburg & McCall, 1999). The study used a two-part analysis, employing data from the Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership and the Florida Education and Training Placement Information Program. The research findings indicated that the Merit Scholars award did have an effect on student success. In all three areas that define student success (access/enrollment, persistence, and graduation) among African-American students, there was improvement. The study also found that since the inception of Bright Futures in 1997, students who did receive the Merit Scholars award remained in the state at a higher rate. The study also evaluated merit and need based data over a ten-year period and found that aid in the state of Florida has increasingly become more merit focused and has been distributed to minorities at a higher rate. However, the amount of aid still does not match the rising cost of tuition. Final conclusions in the study provide recommendations on how to increase receives merit-based awards for African-Americans.
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