In the 1930s, American colleges and universities began to screen applications using the SAT, a mass-administered, IQ-descended standardized test. The widespread adoption of the test accompanied the development of the world's first mass higher education system--and served to promote the idea that the United States was becoming a…

English university admissions increasingly make use of contextual offers, where applicants with certain socio-demographic characteristics can be offered marginally lower entry conditions. This paper presents novel insights on the impact of contextual offer policy on one institutions' patterns of enrolment in 2022/23 via a mixed methods…

Access to higher education is often competitive, and much attention has been placed on the question of admission decision-making in such high stakes situations. We identify various approaches to distributive justice and consider these under the framework developed by Pike distinguishes between 'egalitaria' (everyone gets the same); 'necessitia'…

Contextual admissions schemes are commonly used across the United Kingdom (UK) for admission into higher education (HE) institutions. These schemes consider an applicant's background and circumstances alongside academic achievement to provide a fairer evaluation of progression into university. Several contextual factors have been considered by HE…

Creative levers for change often emerge in times of institutional uncertainty. As higher education continues to confront institutional racism, honors programs can exercise their power to increase diversity and educational outcomes for excluded and marginalized students, as well as influence related university-level policy. This case study…

This study aimed to understand the transition experiences of first-generation Latinx undergraduate students and their families from high school to a highly selective private university after participating in a college access program. Additionally, this study sought to understand the different forms of cultural capital that may have supported the…

This chapter examines three distinct approaches to lifelong learning to illustrate workforce and societal development efforts in Europe, Singapore, and the United States. The case studies bring to the fore various complex issues, including, in the case of Europe, ensuring more equitable access to workforce development initiatives for all.…

The Indian government enacted the Right to Education Act (RTE) to provide free and compulsory elementary education to all economically underprivileged children between ages 6 and 14. All schools, including private schools, are required to reserve 25% of their enrollment slots for such students, with the government shouldering their fees. While…

Young people growing up in England from a poorer background are less likely to progress into higher education compared to their better off counterparts. This is especially true with respect to more selective universities. This study used government administrative data to gauge the effectiveness of the 'Realising Opportunities' programme, which…

In 2020, EdTrust released a report titled, "Segregation Forever?," which explored the continued underrepresentation of Black and Latino first-time, full-time undergraduates at the nation's 101 most selective public four-year colleges and universities in 2000 and 2017. The analysis revealed significant underrepresentation of Black and…

Academic advising can teach students how to engage with post-secondary curricula and connect curricular engagement to career exploration and lifelong learning. However, academic advising is both a one-on-one activity and a systemic enterprise, and institutions should thoroughly communicate the benefits and functions of advising on official…

This report looks beyond high performing schools, and digs deeper into the geographical patterns of socio-economic segregation in the comprehensive system as a whole, showing the wider impacts of selection. Along with a link to an interactive map, this report provides unprecedented insight into the dynamics of secondary school admissions in…

In the wake of the Supreme Court's ban on race-conscious admissions, the pursuit of diversity and equity in higher education is increasingly under threat. While access to higher education has improved overall for historically underrepresented students, the quality of that opportunity remains uneven, particularly along the lines of race/ethnicity…

The widespread expansion of school choice policies has bolstered the consumer-education paradigm where parents compete for what they perceive to be a limited number of high quality schools. In this comparative case study, we examine advantaged White parents' perceptions of meritocracy in the context of a competitive elementary and high school…

This dissertation investigates the impact of information and policy on the efficiency of higher education financing, particularly for low-income students in Latin America. Through three empirical studies, it addresses the barriers posed by information asymmetries and institutional discretion in student loan and college admission processes and…