In April 2013, the "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") launched its "New Directions for Higher Education" series to examine emerging issues, trends, and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs and practices. In this installment of the series, DiSalvio speaks with American…

The nonprofit community-based organization Pittsburgh Promise aims to help revitalize Pittsburgh and its public school system by offering college scholarships to any Pittsburgh Public School graduate who meets the academic requirements. Executive director Saleem Ghubril spoke with "Voices in Urban Education" guest editor Jacob Mishook…

In this essay, John F. Ebersole describes how, during his tours of the higher education conference circuit throughout the spring of 2013, as both a participant and observer, he came away with a good sense of the issues occupying the attention of American higher education during this period. Ebersole shares ten of the most common themes and…

Over half of today's college graduates transfer to another school at least once during their academic careers. With each transfer, students pay a "transfer tax," losing some of the academic credit they have earned due to school policies that make it difficult for students to transfer credits from one institution to another. The net drain…

With all the economic pain and consternation--surging unemployment, enormous corporate bankruptcy, trillions becoming the new billions--it's easy to overlook the fact that tens of thousands of families have suddenly lost a great deal of the money they socked away to pay for college. They lost it because public officials told them to risk their…

The history of post-secondary education in America since World War II has been in many ways a success story, with greater student access a signature feature of the many changes witnessed on campuses large and small. Much work remains to be done in the area of access and affordability, especially in the financial aid system and in standardized…

When Americans talk about access to a college education, they tend to narrow the acceptable boundaries of the conversation. They ask why the cost of college has gotten so out of control compared to the costs of other goods and services, and they sometimes talk about the closely related subject of financial aid. But very rarely do Americans discuss…

The American student-aid system has long been based on a tacit promise to provide students with the means to complete their college education and ensure that money is not a barrier to getting a degree. Unfortunately, says the writer, student aid has become little more than a marketing mechanism that permits colleges to maximize tuition dollars…

From the halls of Congress to the kitchen tables of American families, that long-simmering complaint--Why does college cost so much?--is getting louder and more urgent. As a slew of recent reports, public forums, and growing media interest suggest, the rising cost of college looms larger and larger as a personal and national concern. In this…

In this article, the author observes that the economic recession gripping the United States has already had a negative impact on its higher-education system at a time when it is more important than ever to have an innovative, well-educated work force to succeed in an increasingly competitive and global job market. Although federal student loans…

What if, instead of borrowing, students could arrange for investors to pay their college bills in exchange for a fixed percentage of their future income? In this article, the authors answer this provocative question, arguing that the time has come to think more creatively about financing college, especially because Congress seems more inclined to…

Making Pell Grants an entitlement and tying the maximum award to a measure of inflation, as President Obama has proposed, would probably yield larger awards and stop the cycle of shortfalls that have plagued the program. The president's plan, which would index the maximum award to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus one percentage point, probably…

One does not need to be an expert on student aid to recognize that the current loan system is complex, sometimes inefficient, and highly politicized. When it comes to financing a college education, there is no "one-stop shopping." Students and their parents have a multitude of lenders to choose from, including federal and state governments and…

The topic of higher-education financing--particularly as it relates to the price of college and access for low-income and middle-income students--has been front-and-center with policy makers and opinion leaders and will undoubtedly remain so with the Obama administration and Congress. Recent discussion has focused on the role of university…

Colleges and universities work hard to try to accommodate students' financial situations. Many institutions provide as much financial support as they can (63 percent of all undergraduates enrolled in 2003-04 received financial aid, according to the NCES). And some professors have begun to help students who work long hours by providing more…