SSTAR Lab Blog

Welcome to the SSTAR Lab Blog; we’re so glad you’re here!

We use this platform to share current research and practical insights to reduce barriers, improve equity, and support student success in higher education.

Whether you’re a researcher, practitioner, policymaker, or just someone interested in higher education research, we hope you find this site informative and useful!

  • Seeking Indigenous Financial Aid Opportunities in the Southwest 

    By Cherish Golden  We are just months away from releasing our publicly available interactive website tool that gives Native students one central place to search for funding opportunities they are eligible for. The tool will include all data from our inventory of financial aid opportunities available to Native students at the state, postsecondary system, and…

  • Indigenous Financial Aid Opportunities in the South

    By Jessica K. Trad, University of Minnesota This month’s post continues our blog series sharing information about financial aid opportunities for Indigenous students across the United States. We discuss the 13 total funding opportunities available in three Southern states: Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.  Soon, Indigenous students will have access to our publicly available interactive…

  • Exploring Indigenous Financial Aid Opportunities in the Mountain West

    By Gresham Collom, Cherish Golden, and Misti Jeffers This month’s post continues our blog series on financial aid opportunities for Indigenous students across the United States. We highlight a few of the 41 opportunities found in five Mountain West states.  In early 2025, students will have access to our publicly available interactive website tool to…

  • Indigenous Financial Aid Opportunities in the Pacific and on the West Coast

    By Cherish Golden This blog continues our series highlighting financial aid policies and opportunities that are specific to Indigenous students. Here, we focus on 39 funding opportunities for Indigenous students in five Pacific and West Coast states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. In early 2025, Indigenous students will have access to our publicly available…

  • Why is SSTAR Lab so Focused on Rural Research? – A Personal Reflection from the SSTAR Lab Director

    By Nicholas Hillman You may have read recently that the SSTAR Lab is undertaking a new set of studies focused on rural students’ pathways to and through higher education. These two new studies extend our existing work on geography of opportunity. But you may be wondering why geography/rurality is part of the Lab’s portfolio. To…

  • Theories of Change in a Research-Practice Partnership

    By Kathryn Boonstra As a research-practice partnership, SSTAR Lab engages with program leaders and practitioners in ways that are quite different from traditional academic researchers. One role we may play, particularly when launching a partnership during the ideation or design stage, is to facilitate the development of a theory of change. What is a theory…

  • Q&A with Vice Provost of Enrollment Management

    By Bonniejean Zitske, Associate Director, SSTAR Lab This month I sat down with Derek Kindle, the Vice Provost of Enrollment Management and our number one supporter. Derek was the Director of Financial Aid when SSTAR Lab was established, and he’s championed our success as a research practice partnership for over five years. His commitment to…

  • Where Can You Find Indigenous Student Financial Aid Opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic Region?

    By Misti Jeffers This post continues our blog series sharing information on financial aid opportunities for Indigenous students across the United States. We highlight details of 24 funding opportunities we found across four Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, & Virginia). Access to information about college affordability and financial aid is a key piece…

  • SSTAR Lab Joins National Research Center Studying Rural Students’ College Access

    By Bonniejean Zitske Why do college-going rates in rural communities lag behind non-rural areas, even though their high school completion rates are equal to or higher than those in non-rural areas? Well, that’s a great and important question. Unfortunately, there are many unknowns when it comes to understanding trends and disparities in geography and opportunity.…

  • An Introduction to the Wisconsin Teacher Pledge

    By Kathryn Boonstra The teacher labor market may be more front-of-mind for everyday Americans today, in the aftermath of COVID-19, than at any other time in recent history. While initial fears of a mass exodus of teachers may not have borne out as predicted, schools across the country are still reeling from the pandemic’s effects,…