Her research focuses on the way that education policy affects the access and success of underrepresented students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid, affirmative action, and policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive & equitable campus climate. Selected topics her research has focused on include the causal impact of undergraduate debt on credit accumulation, early-career earnings, and graduate school enrollment; the influence of precollege characteristics on the racial college completion gap; affirmative action; and, student collective action. She is currently a researcher with the Texas OnCourse Research Network, focusing on factors that influence the debt burden of Texas graduates.