The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), a state government agency, conducted a causal study in 2022 about the short-term and long-term effects of the credit requirement policy on student outcomes.

Ensuring equitable access to affordable and high-quality postsecondary education for all Maryland residents has been a long-standing commitment for Maryland for decades. Offering need-based financial aid is one of the most important tools to eliminate financial barriers for low-income students in the state.

Maryland legislators passed the College Affordability Act of 2016 that established new eligibility criteria for the Guaranteed Access (GA) Grant and the Educational Assistance (EA) Grant. Now students receiving the award for at least two years need to enroll and complete at least 24 credits per year to maintain eligibility for the grant and 30 credits per year to receive the full award for the third year.

This study answers a pressing policy question: Does a Credit Requirement for Financial Aid Improve Student Academic Progression?

The executive summary​ explains the major findings.  

The full report can be found here​.​

Principal Author: Yuxin Lin, Ph.D. - Associate Director of Research and Policy Analysis

To see other publications and reports from the Maryland Higher Education Commission, go to https://mhec.maryland.gov/publications/Pages/research/index.aspx