"Return on Investment, What is the Value of the Associate Degree?" provides a checklist of high-impact practices that colleges can employ to support students on their journey to degree completion and potentially improved employment outcomes. Mark Schneider, vice president and institute fellow, American Institutes for Research (DC),…

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) playbook series has explored strategies and processes states can use to strengthen CTE program quality and provide students with pathways to postsecondary credentialing and middle- and higher wage career opportunities. In the first three CTE Playbooks, ExcelinEd provided a high-level view of how states can…

Senior Economist Jonathan Rothwell of Gallup, presents data on employment outcomes for college graduates from different types of colleges. He also provides findings from the Gallup-USA Funds Associate Degree Graduates Survey which shows there are a number of student experiences that are highly predictive of overall life-evaluation. He cites the…

Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. With almost 90 percent of students coming from Pennsylvania and the vast majority of graduates…

One-in-five of Arizona's youth did not complete high school and a similarly large proportion of the state's youth is disconnected from either work or education. These youth face higher risks of unemployment and economic insecurity and are more reliant on government supports. This situation, which fails to ensure that the state's youth are…

Discussions of early childhood care and education usually focus on its social and educational value, and how it helps children and families. More recently, the focus in many states, including Wisconsin, has been on potential investments in child care quality improvements as strategies for improving long-term educational outcomes for disadvantaged…

Geographic cost differences present many complications when researchers attempt to make systematic comparisons of educational resources, and failure to address such differences can undermine the equity and adequacy goals of school finance formulas. Therefore, there is considerable interest in developing measures of the cost of education that can…

The U.S. Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report to help inform policymakers about the progress of education in the United States. Using data from across the center and from other sources of education data, "The Condition of Education 2015" presents 42 key indicators on…

This study presents indexes estimating the cost of living, value of amenities, and equilibrium wages in 579 cities and averages for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. An additional index of the cost of providing government public services is derived from these data. The indexes are intended to be useful tools for employees, unions,…

To help inform policymakers and the public about the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 42 indicators on important topics and trends in U.S. education. These…

A study was done of State University of New York (SUNY) faculty workloads in relation to administration efforts to deploy faculty in efficient and effective ways. Also evaluated were methods for ensuring that faculty are productive and minimum class enrollments. The study was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing…

A study was done of State University of New York (SUNY) revenue sources and operating costs for fiscal year 1988-89 in comparison to "peer" public university systems in 17 other states. In particular the study focused on SUNY cost effectiveness, tuition and fee schedules, the proportion of costs offset by tuition and fees and the…

This book presents an assessment of collective bargaining in education. During the 1970's, while student enrollment declined, organizations representing public school teachers grew. Both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers more than doubled their membership. Teacher contracts have expanded to include areas…

This book discusses long term strategies for cost containment for higher education that are currently in use or could be employed. Some of the strategies discussed are applicable at various levels of government, some relate to interinstitutional arrangements and some are options of the individual institutions. The chapters are as follows: (1)…