3.3 Motivation Shifts and Degree Completion Risks Among First-Generation Cohorts
Public higher education systems rely on stable state support to ensure educational equity, yet financial reorganizations frequently expose vulnerabilities in student persistence. Empirical evaluations of large-scale financial aid reforms demonstrate that expanding student grant generosity produces varying degrees of influence on entry and progression, highlighting that statutory funding adjustments do not operate in a institutional vacuum [5]. At the macro-level, long-term trends in public appropriations indicate steady reductions in constant per-student funding, a phenomenon that disproportionately impacts non-flagship institutions where first-generation and non-traditional student populations are predominantly enrolled [4]. When direct student grant structures are revised alongside broader institutional budget tightening, the operational burden shifts toward individual students. First-generation students face unique structural hurdles in navigating these transitions, as their academic persistence is closely tied to extrinsic motivational factors and heightened vulnerability to financial instability [6]. The divergence in academic outcomes among first-generation cohorts within public universities reflects not only individual financial constraints but also the diminished capacity of publicly funded universities to provide comprehensive instructional and academic support during policy shifts [4], [6]. Consequently, reforms aimed at optimizing financial expenditure risk undermining attainment equity unless paired with sustained institutional funding.