Making college more affordable for families has been a critical issue for states in the SREB region for many years. Now the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have created additional barriers to college affordability. This brief provides an overview of college affordability in the SREB region based on data from the 2017-2018…

The per-student data included in the State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report provide useful information about revenues relative to the need to fund higher education and are important for examining the impact of funding differences on public institutions and students across states and over time. However, examining state support on a full-time…

Public Law 2015, Chapter 261 created the Public Higher Education Systems Coordinating Committee to recognize more formally the importance of cooperative efforts between Maine's two public systems of higher education. The Committee is comprised of the Chancellor of the University of Maine System (UMS), the President of the Maine Community College…

Poverty can have a profound effect on academic outcomes and college readiness and students from lowincome families are less likely to go to college. The low rates of degree attainment for low-income students raises questions about whether the students who wish to pursue higher education have access to courses that support their readiness for…

In the classic game of "Chutes and Ladders," the player can see square 100--the finish line--but it is not easy to get there. The player may climb one ladder only to land on the wrong spot and be sent spiraling down a chute. In the game, players are aiming for the blue ribbon on square 100, but for students enrolling in college, the…

California has long been a national and global leader in developing and maintaining quality higher education options, as well as in providing financial aid and consumer protections for Californians who access that education. However, although California's colleges and the state government do collect, receive, and report a great deal of data, these…

The 2020 General Assembly adjourned its regular session by providing over $390 million in additional general fund support for Virginia higher education institutions in the 2020-22 biennium. However, in March, the nation experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to address the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on state revenues, Governor…

§ 23.1-909 requires the Secretary of Education and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to report, by October 1, 2016, their progress toward development of a plan for a "combined cooperative degree program" whereby any enrolled undergraduate student at any public or private nonprofit institution of…

Legislation introduced in 2015, including Senate Bill 806, sought to amend the "Code of Virginia" regarding fixed four-year tuition and other costs. Eventually, Senate Bill 1183 was incorporated into Senate Bill 806; the substitute amendment directed the board of visitors of each four-year public institution with an in-state…

There is widespread concern that the rising costs of higher education are making college unaffordable for many students and their families. Federal and state support is central to promoting college affordability; however, persistent state budget constraints have limited funding for public colleges. GAO was asked to study state policies affecting…

Advanced education contributes to greater individual and regional prosperity, including increased earnings, improved economic growth, greater levels of community engagement and improved health outcomes. Rising costs to students and families combined with a student body that may require additional resources to ensure its success, however, may make…

The "Report on the Condition of Education" is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Using the most recent data available (at the time this report was written) from NCES and other sources, the report contains key indicators on the condition of education in the United States at…

The majority of Southern states performed below the national average and the average of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries in terms of the percent of young adults in 2015 who attained an associate degree or higher. This regional profile presents a synthesis of trends in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)…

States are increasingly funding higher education institutions based on their performance or outcomes instead of relying solely on student enrollment to determine funding formulas. Performance Funding (also called Performance-Based and Outcomes-Based Funding) policies provide state support to public colleges and universities based on outcome…

Tuition is rising, more students are in debt and at higher levels than ever before, and pressure is mounting from every direction and in both political parties--from the White House to state legislatures to overwhelmed parents and students--to do something about it. On the other hand, many colleges and college systems across the country have…