Say Yes to Education—Buffalo: A Human Capabilities Approach to College Access and Local Economic Development

In December 2012, researchers from the University at Buffalo partnered with Buffalo Public Schools and Say Yes to Education—Buffalo to assist students and families with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The community had just announced a last-dollar tuition guarantee for all public and charter high school graduates. Students had to apply for federal and state financial aid to be eligible. We use the human capabilities framework described by St. John to examine the contributions of this specific intervention and the broader collective impact strategy. In this study, we employ difference-in-difference regression analysis to examine the effects of a FAFSA completion intervention and find that providing support to students and families to complete the financial aid process increased FAFSA completion rates by more than 60%, year over year. In addition to considering the outcomes of this intervention, we report lessons learned in the process of establishing a university-community collaboration to improve postsecondary opportunity and economic development. We find that effective collaboration takes time and a shared commitment to understanding and addressing problems of practice in schools.