Most economists expect the current economic downturn to be one of the most severe since World War II. In fact, there is a very real danger that the changing circumstances of students, families, state and federal governments, and educational institutions could interact to significantly diminish educational opportunity in the United States. The most…

Access to higher education in the United States is increasingly on the public policy agenda as funding constraints affect the realization of college attendance for many middle and low-income students. We use the Pell Grant as a proxy for low-income participation, and the percent of undergraduate students receiving a Pell Grant (Pell Prevalence…

This paper identifies, examines and discusses higher education funding policy shifts that have taken place in Kenya. The paper argues that even though Kenya's higher education funding policy shifts, from free higher education to cost-sharing, and privatisation and commercialisation, are (to a greater extent) products of the country's encounter…

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on stakeholders' perception of who influences the decision-making processes in Ontario's public postsecondary education institutions. The study identified and interviewed representatives of those stakeholder groups that are frequently written about as the main forces behind decision making in…

All college presidents technically hold employment contracts. But whether the terms of those contracts are spelled out clearly is a different story. This article reports that in a survey of 165 public universities where such documents are considered public information, one-third of public university chiefs do not have formal written agreements.…

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

Within the study of higher education, the issue of racial diversity tends to focus on either the universalistic impacts of enacting diverse learning environments or the social marginalization of students of color within these institutions. Generally absent from these discussions is how White students experience multicultural campus environments as…

In higher education in the United States, teaching and research in the fields of language and literature are in a desperate condition. Laboring on the age-old axiom "publish-or-perish," thousands of professors, lecturers, and graduate students are busy producing dissertations, books, essays, and reviews. Over the past five decades, their…

During this period of continued economic uncertainty, higher-education institutions are facing a variety of challenges that by now are very familiar to governing boards and institutional leaders, including poor investment returns, reduced liquidity, limited choices in how they structure debt issues, and threats to flexibility in tuition pricing.…

This report updates the status of bills that the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) is tracking. It has positions as adopted by the Commission at its June 14, 2011 and earlier meetings. A matrix of bills tracked by CPEC staff is included.

Public universities are currently facing a challenge in determining how to deliver quality instruction in the face of severe fiscal constraints. With recent technological advances, courses streamed over the Internet (i.e., lecture capture) are now becoming common. However, little research has been published that specifically examines student…

While open access is still possible at community colleges and state colleges in Florida through the Florida College System, and the numbers of those enrolling are increasing, retention of first generation students is still an issue. Florida has increased the opportunity to attend college by limiting the barrier that inadequate financial support…

With declining state support, increased financial need on the part of the fastest growing demographic sections of the population, and public policy that discourages major increases in tuition for public higher education, the only logical source of additional finances for public colleges and universities is increased private funding through…

Public higher education has faced a crisis of massive proportions in the first decade of this millennium. Nevertheless, for higher education, this year represents a turning point and, yes, an opportunity. The opportunity, then, for the West is one that generations of Americans are familiar with: to do more with less. Dealing with scarcity--whether…

This update contains analyses of legislation being tracked by California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff. It has updated positions on bills as adopted in the Commission meeting on June 8. A matrix of bills tracked by CPEC staff is included.