States have always had the ability to regulate institutions conducting instruction or other postsecondary activities in their states. In Fall 2010, a Federal regulation was first released tying institutional and student eligibility for Title IV Federal Financial aid to an institution complying with State laws. Colleges and universities were to be…

In March 2019, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a proposal to establish a new, nationwide federal tax-credit scholarship program. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) introduced a companion proposal in the House. Although Congress' support of school choice is praiseworthy, a federal tax-credit scholarship program poses a threat to education…

This chapter provides context for understanding external reporting burdens and a brief examination of the ongoing shift in institutional reporting demands.

Comparable to the history of dentistry in other countries, the dental practice in the Philippines began as a crude craft. The first tooth pullers were barber surgeons and were known as sacamuelas during the Spanish occupation. The first special course resembling that of dentistry in the country was offered by the University of Santo Tomas and the…

Home visiting programs typically collect sensitive information about family characteristics, risk factors, and services received. States may choose to integrate these data with other early childhood data to learn more about the reach and effectiveness of the services and supports that families receive. As more states begin to integrate data across…

Over the course of two short years and through quiet regulatory actions, many of which have not garnered many headlines, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has loosened accountability for U.S. schools and colleges, putting millions of students at risk of civil rights abuses and fraudulent financial schemes. Through aggressive use of its regulatory…

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program makes several types of federal student loans available to individuals to assist them with financing postsecondary education expenses. This report presents a comprehensive overview of the terms and conditions that apply to federal student loans made through the Direct Loan program. It…

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…

In April, 2015 the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) joined a collaboration to assist students whose college or career school closed while they were attending or shortly after they withdrew. This collaboration, a response to the closure of Corinthian College, received hundreds of student inquiries in the first…

It is now widely acknowledged that many for-profit colleges engaged in unsavory practices to maintain the flow of taxpayer dollars. By marketing to veterans and low-income students eligible for the maximum amount of federal financial aid, owners grew their schools rapidly, while overcharging and under-delivering along the way. In many cases, these…

The importance of physical activity has received considerable attention during the past decade. Physical education has been viewed as a cost-effective way to promote physical activity as a public health initiative. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that a "substantial percentage" of students' overall…

Regular and substantive interaction (RSI) between instructors and students is a core component distinguishing distance education from correspondence education. In contrast to correspondence education where students are not in regular and substantive interaction with instructors, distance education is eligible for Title IV financial aid because of…

This "Policy Brief" provides an overview of a new proposed accreditation policy framework in the United States that would focus on student outcomes to differentiate accreditor engagement with institutions. It is designed to address the core federal interest in ensuring that billions of annual student loan and taxpayer dollars are spent…

School choice is an education reform premised on a simple proposition: give families more choices, and they will find schools that best fit their children's needs. In short, school choice aims to create a marketplace of schooling options. School choice programs will succeed or fail based on how well they are able to create this marketplace and how…

All students deserve a great education, one that affords them every opportunity to grow into knowledgeable and successful adults. To make this vision a reality, students, parents, educators, and policymakers must have access to the right information to make decisions and support student learning. The Data Quality Campaign's Four Policy Priorities…