The ever-increasing costs and debt incurred by US college students is a hotly contested issue. In March 2022, The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) released a refreshed strategic plan for the state's higher education: Building a Talent Strong Texas. The refreshed plan concentrated on access for minority populations, enhanced…

Research has indicated that family social class, college readiness, and college affordability are factors for post-secondary barriers (Freeman, 2005). The term family social class refers to sociocultural aspects, behaviors, knowledge, and lifestyles into which one is socialized by one's family (Bourdieu, 1979). Bordes-Edgar et al. (2011) define…

To address the issues of affordability and student persistence through graduation, some institutions of higher education have embraced the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) program. The fact that several of these institutions have subsequently shown improvements in affordability and student retention suggests that other colleges and…

The college student population is predicted to increase from 13 million to 21 million between 2003-2015 (Strom, 2004). This increase along with the exponentially increasing cost of post-secondary education has caused an increase in the financial burden placed on students. Between 2000 and 2012, the two major post-secondary institutions in the…

Before 1998 a majority of English youth were supported to attend university. The government paid out "living grants" to students who enrolled in universities across the country. Some of the grants covered all living and school expenses outside tuition; others were not as generous. The subsequent story in England, however, is one of a…