Do employees at public colleges and universities have better retirement benefits than K-12 employees? This is the central question in the new report "Choice and Quality Among Retirement Plans for Educators." To answer this question, we evaluate the quality of higher education and K-12 retirement plans using five key variables: (1)…

This issue of "Research Library Issues" ("RLI") presents three articles by Stanley Wilder in which he explores a series of trends shaping the professional population of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions. Wilder's articles serve as a powerful illumination of the demographic shifts taking place in the…

The purpose of this paper is to find out what academics do when approaching retirement, and why; as well as to reflect on the process and consequences of reaching a retirement decision -- for themselves, the university system, and the wider community. Our study concentrates on baby boomers, as this large cohort starts to retire or become eligible…

In 2015, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) conducted a survey of community college chief executive officers (CEOs) to collect their opinions on current issues, and gather information on their compensation. This report provides the results from this survey. The AACC CEO Survey was sent to 960 public community college presidents.…

The "2016 National Profile of Higher Education Chief Business Officers" is a triennial report that tracks changes in the demographic characteristics, job duties, and plans for career transitions and retirements of business office chief executives at colleges and universities in 2010, 2013, and 2016. The 2016 study also provides a…

Over the past 70 years, the American university has become the global gold standard of excellence in research and graduate education. The unprecedented surge of federal research support of the post-World War II American university paralleled the steady strengthening of the American academic profession itself, which managed to attract the best and…

About 25 percent of faculty working in the United States will reportedly consider retiring in the next five to seven years. As one of this 25 percent, the author has been researching what she needs to know to retire. What she found initially was a lot of misinformation. To complicate matters, the world has changed over the past year, causing those…

Colleges, universities, and the communities they serve have always been concerned about students' abilities to pay and the systems of aid to support students' learning. This article reviews the history of aiding student in higher education. Early student- and institutionally-led programs are discussed along with initial philanthropic and…

Over the past decade, policymakers and business leaders across New England have been concerned that the region's slower population growth and loss of residents to other parts of the country will lead to a shortage of skilled labor--particularly when the baby boom generation retires. Prior to the Great Recession, the concern was that an inadequate…

America faces many challenges in working together to restore the promise of economic growth and security for the country, U.S. families and the American worker. The challenges are both real and serious. Despite hopeful signs of economic recovery, America remains mired in the deepest jobs crisis since the 1930s. One out of every 12 Americans who…

Going directly from high school to college is not possible for everyone. Many who go to college will not do so straight out of high school, and many more need to work to pay for college. Good jobs for people without college degrees certainly still exist, although they are on a steady decline as computers and related technology take over routine…

This report--based on an exploratory empirical study of state certification and licensure policies, 10 states' employment databases, a survey of teachers with interstate mobility experience, and focus groups of American Association for Employment in Education members and Troops-to-Teachers state directors--focuses on the certification and…

The current downturn has the potential to be more severe and longer lasting than the recessions of the 1970s, '80s, '90s, and early 2000s. By now, rivers of ink have been spilled documenting the financial and economic crisis afflicting the United States and much of the globe. While numerous articles have examined the impact on higher-education…

This report describes recent hiring and retirement patterns as well as tenure-related changes and actions taken by public and private not-for-profit postsecondary institutions that offered an associate's or higher degree in fall 2003 and participated in federal Title IV student aid programs. The 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…