In recent decades, education leaders and researchers have increasingly sought to disaggregate key higher education outcome data--graduation rates, attainment, employment, and income--by race and ethnicity in order to uncover and narrow equity gaps. The same is true, recently, for affordability, especially as it relates to the differential impact…

This exploratory study investigated how and to what extent reverse transfer has been implemented in Illinois, a state that did not receive funding as part of the Project Win Win (PWW) or Credit When It's Due (CWID) initiatives and where there are no statewide policies on reverse transfer. This mixed-methods study drew on survey and interview data…

This dissertation consists of three papers. In each paper, I use applied econometric methods to study the interaction between immigration policy and the postsecondary policy. The findings offer insights about how immigration policy can influence the education outcomes of undocumented individuals. In my first paper, I explore the effect on…

Since the 1990's, the federal government has allocated funds to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to through the Title V, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program. However, this program has become increasingly competitive such that less than half (40 percent) of all eligible HSIs received Title V funds in 2020. The competitive nature of…

Purpose: This study estimates the effect of the Truth-in-Tuition policy on the enrollment of first-year students, minority students and all students (total enrollment) in Illinois universities. Design/methodology/approach: Econometric models yield robust estimates using state- and time-fixed effects. This research uses the nonparametric…

Purpose: State funding is being reduced for higher education institutes (HEIs) is linked to several checks such as performance-based incentives (Hagood, 2019). This forces HEIs to look for other options for funding. Endowment funds are now becoming the main source of revenue for HEIs (Sörlin, 2007), largely provided by alumni. Thus, this study…

Amid the global pandemic, community colleges nationwide found themselves challenged like never before. More than 21 million Americans lost their jobs in March and April. How would this economic collapse affect college revenue streams, or fall semester enrollment? Would campuses even be open in the fall? Would students continue to register for…

Capital appropriations are an important but often forgotten component of the public contribution to funding higher education. In fiscal year 2021, nearly $13 billion was appropriated for capital projects at public institutions, representing 11.6% of the total state contribution to higher education. When compared to general operating support and…

Performance funding policies for higher education allocate appropriations to public institutions based on student outcomes such as degree completions. This study investigates whether a special science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) incentive in 13 state performance funding policies leads to greater undergraduate degree…

Experts underscore many advantages of higher education as a vehicle for economic mobility, yet it continually fails to be genuinely accessible through its flaws in equity and affordability. Gaining access to higher education often begins with filing a national financial aid form known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, used…

Today higher education in the United States faces the challenges of increased demand and escalating cost in the face of stagnant graduation rates. Of particular interest to the public are tax payer supported postsecondary institutions. The traditional method of funding public colleges and universities based on enrollment has shifted in 32 states…

Key stakeholders expect colleges to have relationships with employers in their communities that will connect students to relevant internships and to jobs soon after graduation and to offer continuing education opportunities so that laid-off workers can retool their skills to meet emerging labor market needs and incumbent workers can upskill for…

The 2020 General Assembly directed the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop a plan for implementing a statewide survey of institutional expenditures by program and academic discipline at Virginia's public higher education institutions, and submit a report and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the House…

State fiscal support for higher education has met sluggish growth recently, a trend that has community college leaders working to meet student needs despite a shrinking resource pool. According to an annual report released in January by Grapevine, state financial aid for higher education increased just 1.6 percent between the 2017 and 2018 fiscal…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of public policy decisions in each state that contribute to public higher education funding levels and funding distributions across states and…