The Route to Graduation: An Exploration of the Association Between Transit Stop Proximity and Pell Recipient Completion Rates at US Commuter Colleges

This study explores the association between having a transit stop within walking distance of campus and Pell Grant recipient completion rates at US commuter institutions, using a novel dataset on transit stop locations and institutional level data. The findings indicate that there is a positive association between transit access and Pell completion rates at commuter colleges in urban environments, but not in non-urban environments, which aligns with theoretical expectations. This study is intended to bring the issue of transit access into the academic student retention conversation, future research is needed to explore the nature of this relationship in greater depth.