A newly published study of college enrollment data found that states\u2019 adoption of recreational marijuana legalization (RML) \u201cincreases enrollments by approximately up to 9%, without compromising degree completion or graduation rate.\u201d Increases in out-of-state enrollments further suggest the policy shift \u201cboosts college competitiveness by offering a positive amenity,\u201d the report says, with \u201cno evidence that RML affects college prices, quality, or in-state enrollment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The findings by University of Oklahoma graduate student Ahmed El Fatmaoui were published last month in the journal Economic Inquiry. They build on past research, such as a 2022 study that found that schools in states that legalized marijuana saw larger application pools, with no apparent decline in the quality of student applicants<\/a>.<\/p>\n As in the earlier study, El Fatmaoui used data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which come from surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. He supplemented that in the new research with county-level data \u201cto construct a panel dataset of colleges and their characteristics from 2009 to 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The main results of statistical significance, the latest study says, \u201cindicate that RML increases enrollment by 4.6%\u20139%.\u201d Increases in enrollment rates were seen in both men and women and, notably, took place after a delay following legalization.<\/p>\n \u201cThe results indicate that both women\u2019s and men\u2019s enrollments rose significantly after the fourth year of the first dispensary opening,\u201d the report says, noting that the delay could be due to a number of factors. Among them may be \u201cthe slow and gradual development of a marijuana consumption culture,\u201d the time it takes for students to decide on and apply to college as well as the sometimes sluggish rollout of marijuana retail markets.<\/p>\n Another possible explanation El Fatmaoui acknowledges is that \u201cstates may use the additional tax revenue from marijuana sales to subsidize their higher education sector,\u201d which itself could draw higher enrollment.<\/p>\n As for student performance, the study looked specifically at Washington and Colorado, which it explains \u201care the only states that have legalized RM for a sufficiently long period.\u201d Findings were generally positive.<\/p>\n \u201cRML exhibits a notable positive impact on graduation rates, contributing to increases of up to 2.7% points for bachelor\u2019s degrees and 5.6% points for associate degrees,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe graduation rate for associate degrees shows a significant effect from the fourth lead, indicating a delayed response to the policy as discussed in the main result section,\u201d it continues. \u201cOn the other hand, the graduation rate for bachelor degrees shows a significant effect from the second lead, which may reflect increasing student transfers. Taken together, RML does not seem to be detrimental to the overall performance of students (i.e., degree completion on time and graduation rates).\u201d<\/p>\n The findings complicate the conclusions of a 2017 study that indicated \u201cRML leads to diminished grades, particularly in courses requiring numerical skills.\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n \u201cMy analysis reveals that RML does not undermine overall student success,\u201d El Fatmaoui wrote. \u201cMy results [point] to an uptick in college graduations associated with the increase in enrollments due to RML.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the new study \u201cdoes not negate\u201d the past findings, the researcher added: \u201cDue to the lack of Grade Point Average (GPA) data in the IPEDS dataset, I cannot assess the impact of RML on overall student scores or GPA.\u201d<\/p>\n Results of the analysis also \u201csuggest that distance traveled from the affected states is important and support the hypothesis that improvement in first-time enrollment is driven by the gain of competitive advantage relative to neighboring states,\u201d the study says. The uptick on enrollment \u201cis not a net gain,\u201d it adds, \u201cbut rather a redistribution of students across states.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, the policy change also appeared to have \u201cno impact on selective colleges, possibly because of their limited capacity or their students\u2019 preference for college quality and expected future earnings over college amenities.\u201d<\/p>\n Consistent with past research, the results also indicated that states where marijuana was legalized earlier saw a sharper rise in enrollments, which the study says predicts \u201cnull effects for future adopters.\u201d On the other hand, it notes, \u201cAs more states legalize marijuana for recreational use and more post-policy data becomes available, future research can explore the long-term consequences of the policy on college enrollment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough my findings indicate that RML has no significant effect on overall academic performance (degree completion), it also raises intriguing questions about its impact on other aspects of student behaviors,\u201d El Fatmaoui wrote. \u201cAdditional research is needed to investigate how this policy affects students\u2019 choice of majors.\u201d<\/p>\n The author said in a press release<\/a> about the new research<\/a> that future studies should focus on how legalization \u201cimpacts peer dynamics and selection of academic disciplines, with a special emphasis on differentiating between STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] and non-STEM fields.\u201d<\/p>\n The new analysis found slightly lower comparative impacts than the 2022 study, which found that the enactment of adult-use legalization was associated with a nearly 15 percent increase in the size of schools\u2019 applicant pools.<\/p>\n That study also found effects were most pronounced in early adopter states such as Colorado and Washington State. Colorado, for instance, experienced a nearly 30 percent post-legalization increase in applicants at larger universities<\/p>\n A separate study of college students earlier in 2022 challenged the stereotype that cannabis consumers lack motivation, with researchers finding that students who used cannabis exhibited more motivation compared to a control group<\/a>\u00a0of non-users.<\/p>\n Marijuana Use Linked To Increase In Light Physical Activity, Study Challenging \u2018Lazy Stoner\u2019 Stereotype Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post College Enrollment Increases In States That Legalize Marijuana Without Hurting Graduation Rates, Study Finds<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A newly published study of college enrollment data found that states\u2019 adoption of recreational marijuana legalization (RML) \u201cincreases enrollments by approximately up to 9%, without compromising degree completion or graduation rate.\u201d Increases in out-of-state enrollments further suggest the policy shift \u201cboosts college competitiveness by offering a positive amenity,\u201d the reportContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,15462],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75919"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75920,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75919\/revisions\/75920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: College Enrollment Increases In States That Legalize Marijuana Without Hurting Graduation Rates, Study Finds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"