The costs of attending four-year colleges and universities in the United States have steadily increased over four decades leading to high levels of student debt and many obstacles for low-income students. The analysis presented appraises the extent of the cost and affordability problems, debunking the sensationalistic claims that are common in…

Since 1979 more than thirty states have adopted "performance funding" for public institutions of higher education. Under performance funding, a portion of the state appropriations for each institution is determined by the institution's achievement of performance goals on such metrics as retention and graduation. We argue that several…

Higher education systems globally have seen major increases in women's participation and the overall trend in OECD countries has been a transition from the traditional male majority in enrolments to a substantial female majority. Prompted by a recent reversal of this trend, this paper explores gender differences in participation in higher…

Graduation efficiency is of top concern for institutions of higher education throughout the world. Increasingly, accountability metrics have come under scrutiny as policymakers seek to ensure public resources are efficiently used. Traditionally, higher education policymakers in the USA and Europe have used graduation rate as an accountability…

Supporters of free college in the US often point to countries that do not charge tuition to argue for the policy. However, international examples often illustrate that free-college policies entail unintended consequences. Ireland offers a particularly apt case study on that point. In the mid-1990s, Ireland abolished tuition for full-time…

The expansion process of Latin American higher education systems experienced in recent decades has drawn the attention of many scholars. Its impact has been assessed in relation to the broadening of access to education for the low-income sectors and the reduction of social inequality; likewise, the market's capacity to absorb a greater number of…

According to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE's) 9th edition of its quadrennial "Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates," released in December 2016, the overall number of U.S. high school graduates will plateau, then begin to decline, within the next decade. Further, the high…

By examining the different methods and processes by which national data gathering agencies compile and submit their findings to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the authors (1) assess the methodological challenges of accurately reporting tertiary completion and graduation rates cross-nationally; (2) to examine the…

In 2013, the Japanese government passed antidiscrimination legislation that, starting in April 2016, requires all national and public institutions of higher education (IHEs) to accommodate students with disabilities. The legislative mandate to ensure that higher education is accessible to students with disabilities, coupled with growth in the…

This article argues that strong interrelations between methodological and theoretical advances exist. Progress in, especially comparative, methods may have important impacts on theory evaluation. By using the example of the "Varieties of Capitalism" approach and an international comparison of higher education systems, it can be shown…

"What Will They Learn?"™ evaluates every four-year public university with a stated liberal arts mission as well as hundreds of private colleges and universities selected on the basis of size, mission, and regional representation. All schools in the "What Will Will They Learn"™ study are regionally-accredited, nonprofit…

America's education system, from kindergarten through the state university, is designed to produce college graduates. Those who stop short of at least a community-college diploma are widely regarded as failures, or at least victims of a failed system. Yet most Americans fall into this category, and current trends offer little hope for improvement.…

This report provides comparisons between Kansas and relevant state groups on key demographic variables. It is a companion piece to the "KASB Comparing Kansas 2017" report that helps show how factors outside of school funding may have an impact on student outcomes for each state. In addition, the Appendix contains the detailed tables…

The goal of this article is to shed light on a variety of metrics institutions and some accreditors currently use to track the retention of working adults. Further, it identifies a number of important principles that all stakeholders should consider when creating a standard measure of adult student retention. Finally, it describes a few errors to…

In the fiercely competitive, global job market, solid preparation in core skills matters a lot. Will college graduates write with the clarity, grace, and accuracy that employers (and everyone else) expect? Will they have the basic mathematical and scientific skills--regardless of their majors--that equip them to navigate an increasingly…