Place-based scholarships: Catalysts for systems reform to improve postsecondary attainment

Concerns about the rate of postsecondary attainment in the US compared to the projected education requirements of future jobs has prompted a range of policy and practice interventions aimed at barriers to postsecondary access and success. As both a largely local phenomenon and a complex systems issue, improving postsecondary attainment for all students has proved to be a daunting challenge. Financial interventions have been a key focus of reform. One of these, place-based scholarships, attends both to the primarily local nature of college going and to the complex set of challenges that cross educational and workforce sectors. In this paper, we describe place-based scholarship programs that are currently catalyzing within-sector reforms and cross-sector coherence building. We discuss policy implications associated with the long-term sustainability of place-based scholarships as a strategy for improving college access and success.