One of the most critical issues affecting higher education access today is the rising cost of going to college. Symptoms of the trend include dramatic increases in tuition and fees, reduced state higher education budgets, declines in the purchasing power of student grant aid, increasing student debt burdens and heightened demand for institutional…

This report uses data from the 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study to profile undergraduates who were enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions in the academic year 1995-96. The report begins with an essay that explores the extent to which undergraduates work while they are in school. This essay found that 79 percent of…

The Netherlands has been characterized by highly differentiated secondary education, with separate practical, vocational, secondary, and pre-university institutions. Over time, these have converged somewhat. Well-thought-out vocational and adult programs emphasize providing skills needed in the workplace. At least part-time education is compulsory…

Five studies on college students are examined for their variety and meaning, and methodological advances leading to increased knowledge of factors affecting student progress are discussed. Researchers are challenged to overcome barriers to student growth identified in previous research. (Author/MSE)

This monograph presents a history of developments in major student financial aid programs over the past 20 years. An opening section offers highlights of the topic. The article goes on to look at types of student aid, categorized as grants, loans, and work study. An examination of the effects of inflation shows that even taking into account…

In order to encourage efforts to improve access to postsecondary education, this booklet offers data on students, enrollments, and financial aid. A highlights section opens the booklet. A section on the college student describes six actual students and discusses the diversity of the current student body in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, age,…

This report summarizes trend data on borrowing by students and parents to pay for college, and reports on a 1995 national survey of undergraduate students and their parents concerning student loan debt. Analysis of data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study found that there was an explosion in college borrowing in the 1990s; borrowing…

Argues that the shortage of financial aid for minority students is a serious national problem deserving of special attention. A study of 131 black college students shows that the burden of self-financing their education triggered a variety of other educational and personal difficulties. Coping efforts and outcomes related to the educational…

This book evaluates the role of federal and state legislatures in subsidizing higher education and keeping college affordable for Americans of all economic and social backgrounds. It provides evidence to examine whether America's financial resources are being used as effectively as possible in higher education investments. Further, it examines the…

This report presents the results of a study examining the effects of rapidly rising tuitions at the nation's "elite" private colleges and universities, and the impact on the enrollment of middle-income students. The paper traces the income background of Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) schools and shows how students from…

The?future of?this country's colleges and universities is threatened by global competitive pressures, powerful technological developments, restraints?on public finance and serious structural limitations that cry out for reform. This report from The Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, has recommended strategic…

Equity, quality, and cost in higher education is examined as it exists in Australia. The first chapter provides a broad overview, both current and historical, of the complex structure of higher education in Australia and identifies issues and concerns. Chapter 2 examines enrollment trends in different fields of study. The third chapter looks at…

The literature on college students covers five themes: (1) financing, (2) disciplinary issues, (3) diversity, (4) retention, and (5) students' roles in campus innovations and change, although most of the literature is devoted to funding and student discipline. Most of the articles dealing with financing focus on the rising cost of tuition and…

This volume analyzes government policies for helping students pay for education beyond high school and was developed as a result of an October 1994 gathering of policymakers, analysts, and practitioners convened to review federal student assistance and to consider policy alternatives for the Clinton Administration. Chapter 1, "A Fifty-Year…

This paper discusses the key role of information in helping minority group parents and students gain access to postsecondary education and offers a descriptive framework for understanding information needs and availability. The framework is a taxonomy of the kinds and types of information needed by students and parents in order for the student to…