The price of higher education continues to increase, and millions of Americans struggle with student loan debt. At the same time, a college degree is for so many a path to career success and financial security, and our region's employers depend on a talented pipeline of highly skilled workers to continue to grow and thrive. Pell Grants were…

Sara Goldrick-Rab is the Founding Director of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice and Professor of Sociology & Medicine at Temple University. She is the recipient of the William T. Grant Foundation's Faculty Scholars Award and the American Educational Research Association's Early Career Award, and in 2016 POLITICO named her one…

Brian C. Rosenberg, President-in-Residence at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, served as Macalester College's sixteenth president from 2003-2020. During his tenure, enrollment of U.S. students of color at the college increased significantly. Moreover, under his leadership, the college prospered during a challenging economic…

In the following Q&A, NEBHE's Fellow for Open Education Lindsey Gumb asks Thomas College Provost Thomas Edwards about the Waterville, Maine, college's plans to use a new grant from the Davis Education Foundation. The college's focus on melding access and affordability through OER (Open Educational Resources) is especially relevant in the…

Higher education is a critical tool for social mobility, but today, students and their families face significant challenges. It is against this backdrop that the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) convened the Task Force on Higher Education Financing and Student Outcomes. This group has identified several areas of federal policy ripe for reform that…

At the start of 2019, 7 million U.S. jobs remained unfilled, and American employers consistently cite trouble finding qualified workers. While some liberals insist a "skills gap" doesn't exist, all evidence points to the contrary. These gaps are moreover made worse by a higher education system that ill-equips graduates for the workforce.…

Students need to be able to complete a meaningful higher education degree without crushing debt. That is the simple, straightforward perspective of Eric Waldo, Chief Access & Equity Programs Officer at the Common App and Executive Director of Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative. In an age where higher education may feel out of reach for…

Andrew Delbanco is a professor of American Studies at Columbia University, author of several books. In this Q&A, "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") Executive Editor John O. Harney asks Delbanco about the state of higher education and intellectual life today.

Structural racism and class-based inequities help shape career and educational opportunities for women in the United States. As women make career and education gains, women of color (WOC) do not have access to the same level of opportunity. This report shares findings from interviews with parenting and unhoused WOC who attend the California State…

Certified college funding specialists™ are part of a growing list of professionals who specialize in college planning. This list includes but is not limited to high school counselors, independent college advisors/consultants, and admission and financial aid representatives. This article reviews the college funding specialists and their…

In this article, "Education Next" talks with Sara Goldrick-Rab and Andrew Kelly. President Obama's proposal for tuition-free community college, seems to have laid down a marker for the Democratic Party. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is touting his plan for free four-year public college on the primary trail; Massachusetts senator…

Families, especially those considering sending their children to a private four-year university, need all the help they can get in funding college. Annmarie Guzy's essay "AP, Dual Enrollment, and the Survival of Honors Education" in this issue powerfully spells out the financial benefits that accrue from using AP courses to satisfy…

"Liberal Education" spoke with two higher education policy experts on what they expect and hope for from the Biden administration. Viviann Anguiano is an associate director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress. Eric R. Felix is an assistant professor at San Diego State University, specializing in higher…

The "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") Executive Editor John O. Harney had the chance to catch up with Lasell College President Michael Alexander about the small Newton, Massachusetts, college's plans to challenge the higher education business model. The interview is presented in this article.

The challenge posed by for-profit educators to the existing system is a real one that is not likely to go away any time soon and is, in fact, likely to intensify. Brian Etheridge describes Gary Bell's essay as a thoughtful exegesis on how we came to this point. He roots his narrative in the explosion of the profit motive, citing several instances…