Dropout of university students can have negative consequences for students' futures as well as for university income. University systems with a multiple enrollment policy may offer students benefits, such as a second chance to graduate instead of dropping out. However, little is known about the outcome constellations (graduation, dropout) of…

The Biden administration is developing regulations around gainful employment (GE) that would protect students from career-oriented college programs that don't adequately serve their students. A draft GE rule released earlier this year would require that graduates of certificate programs at public and nonprofit colleges and nearly all programs at…

Over the last two decades, prices in higher education have grown more quickly than prices in almost any other sector of the economy. Tuition inflation has been extensively examined. The examinations, however, have focused on a narrow set of explanations, none of which has revealed obvious opportunities for policy interventions that would slow this…

With the cost of college soaring and the national six-year completion rate below 60 percent, the federal government's support for higher education is facing heightened scrutiny. What kind of regulation and accountability should Congress impose on what might be termed the world's largest voucher program--Washington's hefty funding of Pell grants…

Kevin Carey, vice president for education policy and knowledge management at New America, notes that lawmakers charged with writing a new Higher Education Act (HEA) face a dilemma. Innovation in the higher-ed marketplace is badly needed to improve student learning and break the relentless cycle of increasing cost that puts college out of reach for…

Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist…

The 90/10 rule dictates that no more than 90 percent of institutional revenue at a for-profit college or university (FPCU) can come from Title IV funds. The rule, originally an 85/15 ratio, was introduced in the 1992 amendments to the Higher Education Act and has been debated for 25 years. Proponents argue the rule raises institutional quality by…

Leaders of evangelical Christian colleges must navigate a challenging environment shaped by public concern about college costs and educational quality, federal inclinations toward increased regulation, and lingering fallout from the Great Recession. Proceeding from the premise that empirical analysis empowers institutional actors to lead well in…