While historically aligned to skilled labor and trades, and unlike many European nations, apprenticeship models in the United States have long existed outside the realm of university teacher preparation programs and other professions requiring four-year degrees. With threats of increasing childcare options, teacher shortages and difficulty in…

For many high school students, the cost of attending college poses a major barrier to continuing their education. Federal student aid provided through Pell grants, work study, and loans can offer students with low incomes an avenue toward receiving a postsecondary education. But for students to be eligible for federal student aid, they need to…

For many institutions of higher education, naming and elevating a set of "High Impact [Educational] Practices" (HIPs) has become one of the key strategies to engage students in deeper disciplinary learning, personal growth, and success in college and beyond. This essay considers what might be involved in reframing Community Work-Study…

This article reviews the history of international mobility of students from China to other countries over the century and a half from 1870 to the present day. Different motivations, goals, courses, and knowledge are considered, together with how the purposes of individuals have matched national policy. Implications for the future development in a…

Anzaldúa's borderlands loom large in the experiences of a first-year, assistant professor in a rural, predominantly working-class Mexican community near the United States/Mexico border. Tensions and dislocations, along race, class, immigrant background, and language in a transborder teacher education program, were exacerbated by the COVID-19…

Attending college without working is a luxury most California community college students do not have. In fact, nationally, 80 percent of today's community college students work while going to class (39 percent of them work full-time), with many balancing their role as a primary source of income for their family and caring for young children. Jobs…

Federal Work-Study (FWS) funding provides opportunities for campus-based employment to students as a way to pay for their college expenses. This issue of "DataPoints" finds community colleges receive only 18 percent of Federal Work-Study funds from the $1 billion appropriated to the program.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) task force for Re-Examining Paradigms of Campus-Based Aid was established in June 2017 to examine the "one grant/one loan" concept with a specific focus on whether and how the existing campus-based programs fit into this model. Proposals to eliminate campus-based…

Policymakers may be interested in the extent to which Federal Work-Study programs (FWS) increase students' access to productive employment, and how they impact students' academic and career success. This brief summarizes findings from a recent study using national data and a propensity score matching approach to examine the overall effects of FWS…

This review explores the expanding role of federal aid policy considered from a contemporary and social justice perspective. It highlights recent trends in aid policy as well as difficulties that arise from the current system. Next, the review takes up an analysis of current aid policy that carefully considers equity and efficiency as primary…

House Democrats yesterday introduced major legislation to reauthorize the landmark Higher Education Act. Although reauthorization is long overdue, the new legislation, called the College Affordability Act, proposes mainly marginal improvements to a broken higher education financing system. Moreover, it doesn't do enough to help people who don't go…

Working for pay is the reality for many undergraduate students. Higher rates and intensity of employment among students from underserved backgrounds and those attending under-resourced institutions suggest employment during college reinforces inequity in higher education opportunity and outcomes. Compared with higher-income students, students from…

A major factor in the overall enrollment decline in elementary and secondary Catholic schools during the past 50 years has been the migration of families from urban parish schools to suburban public education. Nearly 13,000 Catholic schools operated in the early 1960s. By 2016 that number was down to roughly 6,400. The enrollment decline coincided…

The Federal Work-Study program was introduced as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, with the goal of enabling low-income students to work their way through college. It is thus one of the earliest forms of federal financial aid for college, pre-dating both Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. Since its inception, FWS has provided institutions…

While the U.S. economy has certainly improved since the great recession, far too many Americans are still without a high-quality degree or credential despite the economy's increasing demand for postsecondary education to meet workforce needs. Low credential attainment has resulted in millions of Americans without high-quality jobs, and numerous…