In collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY), we launched a transportation project aiming at supporting the educational journey of college students.
We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving approximately 750 students from two urban community colleges, the majority of whom rely on public transportation for their commute. After randomly assigning these students into treatment and control groups, we furnished those in the treatment group with complimentary Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) MetroCards. Our objective was to rigorously evaluate the causal effects of transportation support on students' academic achievements. We seek to inform state and federal policymakers and to assist practitioners at resource-limited institutions by providing a clearer understanding of the independent impact that transportation support has on student outcomes.
Study Process:
A total of 745 students from Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and Queensborough Community College (QCC), were randomly assigned to two groups: 400 students in the treatment group and 345 students in the control group.
Starting in November 2023, students in the treatment group received messages and emails each month reminding them to pick up their MetroCards.
Students completed a questionnaire each month when they picked up their MetroCards.
