About

Matthew S Giani is a research associate professor in the Department of Sociology and a faculty affiliate in the Texas Behavioral Science and Policy Institute (TxBSPI) at the University of Texas at Austin. His research examines how policies, programs, and interventions promote social mobility or reinforce social stratification in K-12 and higher education, with a focus on strategies that can promote college access and success for low-income students. His methodological expertise includes quantitative methods, such as experimental and quasi-experimental techniques used to support causal inference in educational research. Giani has extensive experience using both national and statewide longitudinal data, including data from the Education Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin, earned in 2015, a M.A. in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from Stanford University in 2009, and a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Economic growth
• Mathematics
• Public relations
• Demographic economics
• Pedagogy
• Statistics
• Mathematics education
• Econometrics
• Medical education
• Actuarial science
• Accounting
• Economics

Selected publications

• Proactive Financial Aid Guarantees

  AEA Randomized Controlled Trials · 2026-04-14

  dataset
  PublisherDOI

• Toward a Comprehensive Model Predicting Credit Loss in Vertical Transfer

  American Educational Research Journal · 2026-01-30

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  A growing body of research has documented extensive credit loss among transfer students. However, the field lacks theoretically driven and empirically supported frameworks that can guide credit loss research and reforms. We developed and tested a novel framework designed to address this gap using unique administrative credit loss data from Texas. Our results demonstrate how the likelihood of credit loss varies across course characteristics, majors, pretransfer academics, student characteristics, and sending and receiving institutions. Additionally, we disentangled general credit loss from major credit loss and examined how they vary across institutions, majors, and the combination of both. The extensive variation in credit loss among universities in particular underscores the need for future research and reform.

  PublisherDOI

• https://edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1421

  Open MIND · 2026-03-06

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  OA PDFDOI

• New Insights on Sources of Credit Loss*

  Educational Researcher · 2026-01-12

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Many students who transfer between postsecondary institutions lose credits, which may sap academic momentum and increase college costs. Despite anecdotal evidence of major credit loss (MCL), where students cannot apply transferred credits toward their major, data limitations have hindered analyses of its magnitude or causes. Using novel administrative data in Texas, we measure MCL for a statewide sample of 2020–2022 vertical transfer students, compare it to estimates of general credit loss (GCL), and examine how it varies across student populations, majors, and universities. Our analyses show that MCL is roughly as prevalent as GCL and varies considerably across universities. Our results suggest promising directions for research and reforms that may mitigate credit loss.

  PublisherDOI

• Cheapskin Effects? The Heterogeneous Value of Industry-Recognized Certificates Earned by High School Students

  Open MIND · 2026-02-20

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  OA PDFDOI

• Proactive Financial Aid Guarantees

  AEA Randomized Controlled Trials · 2026-04-14

  dataset
  PublisherDOI

• Credit Loss Shock: How the Loss of Credits Relates to Retention, Persistence, and Swirl among Vertical Transfer Students

  Review of higher education/˜The œreview of higher education · 2026-04-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In this study, we advance the concept of credit loss shock for vertical transfer students. Using novel administrative data in Texas, we demonstrate that credit loss is inversely related to retention and short-term persistence, but largely unrelated to long-term persistence. This pattern is partially explained by positive associations between credit loss and engaging in subsequent transfers. We separately examine general credit loss and major credit loss and find that MCL is more strongly related to posttransfer retention, persistence, and subsequent transfers. These findings suggest credit loss shock, driven by MCL, may promote institutional swirl without deterring students’ long-term degree attainment.

  PublisherDOI

• Informing Students about Financial Aid Eligibility and College Enrollment: Evidence from UTSAs Bold Promise Program

  AEA Randomized Controlled Trials · 2025-10-20

  dataset
  PublisherDOI

• Institutional Transfer Logics Among Community College and University Stakeholders

  Educational Policy · 2025-06-08 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Using interviews with transfer personnel at five community colleges and seven public universities, we examine competing institutional logics—or belief systems—for how personnel approach vertical transfer and implement statewide reforms that call for transparency in programs’ recommended course sequences. Personnel who relied more on developmental logic viewed degree plans as customizable to individual needs, whereas those who relied more on functional logic viewed degree plans as a rigid sequence of courses. These two logics illustrate key tensions for vertical transfer, with important implications for competing recommendations for practice, even within the same institution.

  PublisherDOI

• Access, Supports, and Performance in Dual Enrollment: A COVID-19 Case’s Implications for Equity

  AERA Open · 2025-04-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Dual enrollment (DE) courses are a prominent strategy for promoting college access and success, but racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in participation remain stark. DE programs that broaden access may need to deploy strategies that provide targeted support and interventions to specific populations of students. However, whether DE programmatic elements are conducive to equity is unknown. In this study, we analyzed trends in student performance before COVID-19 and in COVID-19-impacted years in a hybrid DE program that made programmatic changes during the pandemic. We found that student performance in these DE courses improved during the pandemic, suggesting that modifications the program made may have benefited student performance overall, but racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities also widened during this time. These results suggest the need for future research and reform on equitable interventions and support in broad-access DE courses.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Paul Attewell

  City University of New York

  4 shared

• David Walling

  The University of Texas at Austin

  4 shared

• Jason L. Taylor

  3 shared

• Sheena Kauppila

  Coastal Carolina University

  2 shared

• Pedro Reyes

  The University of Texas at Austin

  2 shared

• Colton E. Krawietz

  The University of Texas at Austin

  2 shared

• Carol S. Dweck

  2 shared

• Celeste Alexander

  2 shared

Labs

• Educational Policy and Planning LabPI

Education

• PhD in Education Policy and Planning, Educational Administration

  University of Texas at Austin

  2015