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…

Claiming that free speech is dying on American campuses, a conservative think tank has led an effort to push states to adopt a model bill that, in the name of defending campus free speech, risks undermining it. This report seeks to understand the context and content of the "campus free-speech" movement, to track its influence within…

In early 2017, Congress rescinded two education regulations passed late in the Obama administration. The first regulation, which attempted to define and implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), received most of attention since states were busy planning how to implement the new law in the 2017-2018 school year. However the second regulation…

On February 24, 2017, all of the authors of the state-of-the-state manuscripts published in the "Journal of Education Finance" met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on recent legislative actions in 38 states. A majority of those papers were revised to reflect a final report on legislative actions…

Educational equity for undocumented immigrants has become a widely discussed issue in both the political and public realm of Tennessee, in large part as a result of the individual determination and collective resistance of undocumented youth living in the state. This article focuses on the ways in which undocumented immigrant youth in Tennessee…

This is a time of great challenge and opportunity for American higher education. The challenges are well-established and widely acknowledged: escalating standards for economic competitiveness, coupled with a severe economic downturn and protracted recovery, require broad access to relevant postsecondary education, training and retooling as never…

MegaSoTL projects are scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) projects that generate evidence of learning from multiple institutions. While being increasingly practiced, MegaSoTL projects and their potential contribution to improve higher education pedagogy remain understudied in higher education literature. In this article, we introduce…

The objective of the audit was to determine if Remington College used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant funds for allowable and intended purposes. The audit covered Remington College's use of HEERF funds from the grant award…

Tennessee has gained national recognition for its comprehensive strategy to increase college attainment. This report describes the development and expansion of Tennessee's completion agenda through a set of related and interlocking policies designed to produce a statewide culture of college completion, as well as the evolution of Tennessee's…

A recent survey of 41 different state boards of education revealed that officials from 28 states indicate that they are experiencing teacher shortages. The shortages in some states are significant. While the teacher shortage in many states is tied to different factors, one frequently cited reason for leaving the teaching profession is low pay.…

States, programs, and schools have long focused on the inputs of teacher preparation--the rules for candidates and the preparation programs they attend--because inputs were thought to predict teacher effectiveness, and because they were often the best option available. But in the early 2000s, policymakers began trying to evaluate preparation…

The division of college, career and technical education (CCTE) of the Tennessee Department of Education established the office of postsecondary coordination and alignment in 2012 for the purpose of expanding and promoting early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs) for all high school students across the state. The office is also charged with…

This case study focusing on journalism curriculum in Tennessee sheds light on the obstacles that journalism schools face in efforts to include more instruction of sunshine laws into courses. Journalists use these laws to gather information to write their stories, either by attending public meetings or by filing open records requests. This study…

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…

States are introducing and enacting an increasing number of bills targeted toward workforce development and career and technical education. The increase in legislation illustrates a shift toward creating collaborations between higher education institutions and employers in the state as one strategy to enhance workforce development and…