Educational Psychology & Individual Differences alumna Moumita Mukherjee recently had her research accepted in a peer-reviewed journal entitled Community College Journal of Research and Practice.  The manuscript, Stretching Every Dollar: The Impact of Personal Financial Stress on the Enrollment Behaviors of Working and Non-Working Community College Students was co-authored with Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies (DELPS) assistant professor Lyle McKinney, Iowa State University researchers Linda S. Hagedorn and Agustina Purnamasari, and University of Houston doctoral student Franco Martinez. Mukherjee is the lead author for the manuscript.

“The Community College Journal of Research and Practice (CCJRP) is a reputable journal in our discipline, said Mukherjee.  “I feel honored and excited to be able to publish in this journal.”

This study examined how students’ personal financial habits, financial stress, and well-being influenced their enrollment behaviors at two large urban community college systems in Texas. Particularly, the authors were interested in understanding the differences in financial habits, stress and well-being among working and non-working students. “Our study found that working students, compared to their non-working peers, reported significantly lower levels of overall financial well-being,” said Mukherjee. “Regression results showed that students with lower financial well-being and higher financial stress were more likely to doubt their ability to complete college, reduce their semester course load and/or stop out for a semester in order to work more hours to pay for expenses.”

Specifically, the study focuses on the effectiveness of financial literacy and money management skills in alleviating financial stress among community college students. Mukherjee explained that many students, particularly students from lower income families, and older students with family responsibilities, often choose to lower their course load or stop-out due to financial struggles and poor money management. This is worrisome as many students often lack prior financial knowledge and guidance. “We show in our study that financial literacy and effective money management strategies, though often underutilized, can help improve student retention and persistence,” said Mukherjee. “I feel that our study will benefit the College of Education students, particularly those who are interested in conducting and advancing research on issues related to financial literacy, persistence and retention among postsecondary students, transfer students and/or at community colleges.”

Mukherjee worked on this research project during her tenure as McKinney’s doctoral research assistant.  “We collaborated with researchers and faculty from Iowa State University for the study,” she said. “From the onset, Dr. McKinney strongly encouraged and mentored me to conduct research for this project independently, prepare the manuscript for publication as the lead author, and lead the study to completion.  His immense support and guidance helped me develop my caliber and skills as a researcher.”

Mukherjee also feels extremely fortunate for the opportunity to work with Hagedorn from Iowa State University, a well-known researcher in the higher education and community college research discipline for this project.  “She is one of the co-authors on this manuscript, and she and Dr. McKinney guided and provided valuable feedback and insights that helped to improve the manuscript,” said Mukherjee.

“Moumita took the lead on this publication from start to finish,” said McKinney. “She is gaining a reputation as an early career scholar whose scholarship is addressing timely questions about college affordability and degree completion. It was an absolute privilege to serve as Moumita’s faculty advisor and I am confident she will have a long and successful career in higher education.”

Mukherjee is scheduled to start as an adjunct faculty in the DELPS department in the University of Houston, College of Education.