Increasing Take-up of the American Opportunity Tax Credit

Despite the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) being the most generous federal higher education tax credit, many eligible students or their families do not claim it. OES worked with the Internal Revenue Service and a collaborating university to send a series of emails and a letter encouraging AOTC take-up among current and recently enrolled college students.

Sending a series of emails and a letter increased AOTC take-up by 1.5 percentage points (p = 0.02; 95% CI [0.2, 2.8]). The intervention did not have statistically significant effects on exploratory outcomes, such as AOTC credit amount or academic credits earned, and the effects did not vary depending on the sender of the letter.

OES Reflects on our Environmental and Natural Resources Portfolio

In recognition of Earth Day, OES is looking back at our collaborations to increase environmental protection. Since 2015, OES has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop, implement, and test communications interventions to increase participation in USDA programs.

In 2021, OES started working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to build evidence about NOAA’s efforts to improve equity when it comes to accessing its services.

Join OES as a Data Scientist

We are excited to announce that OES is currently accepting applications for a Data Scientist position. Applicants may apply by emailing oes@gsa.gov with their resume and cover letter by May 8, 2022 at 11:59pm ET.

Data Scientist Position Details: The Data Scientist will join as part of a small methods team with expertise in the design and statistical analysis of randomized and quasi-experimental evaluations. The Data Scientist will directly support high priority evaluations and descriptive studies; including cleaning, coding, merging, and analyzing large and complex federal data.

Please share this announcement and send any questions to oes@gsa.gov.