There is a vast literature on the decision to enroll in higher education, but it focuses almost entirely on traditional students: 18 year olds graduating from high school. Yet less than half of students at degree-granting institutions are in the traditional 18-22 age range; nearly 40% are at least 25. This paper examines the enrollment behavior of…

Each year a distinguished scholar or prominent leader is selected to present the Tomás Rivera Lecture. Named in honor of the late Dr. Tomás Rivera, professor, scholar, poet, and former president of the University of California, Riverside, the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) is continuing this lecture at its annual…

The education Millennium Development Goals have been highly influential on the priorities for education and concentrated policy efforts on numbers of girls enrolled in public sector schools offering basic education. This focus has been justified by human capital calculations of the social rates of return to basic schooling. This concern with…

This report explains some of the ways the payoff of postsecondary education can be measured and provides insights into why there is confusion about that payoff, despite strong evidence. Focusing on the variation in outcomes across individuals helps to clarify that the existence of the high average payoff, and the reality of significant benefits…

We review studies of the impact of credit constraints on the accumulation of human capital. Evidence suggests that credit constraints have recently become important for schooling and other aspects of households' behavior. We highlight the importance of early childhood investments, as their response largely determines the impact of credit…

Business leaders have an acute understanding of the importance of a well-educated workforce to support a strong economy, keep America competitive globally, and ensure a vibrant democracy. Right now 20 percent of the American labor force is functionally illiterate or innumerate. High-quality child care and early education builds a strong foundation…

In this essay, Yuli Tamir argues that the growing interest in public education in the developed world in general and in the United States in particular is grounded in a fear of losing global hegemony. The most rational approach to slowing down these hegemonic shifts is to empower public education and allow the neglected human capital vested in…

Across the United States, immigrant enrollments in the public schools have rapidly increased, particularly in locales with little tradition of immigration, known as "new immigrant destinations." Despite the widespread nature of this trend, there is much to be learned about how schools are responding to this influx of immigrant students.…

The purpose of this research was to explore the challenges of access for first-generation Hispanic college students in a postsecondary institution on the southwest Texas-Mexico border. According to the U.S. Census (2010) between 2000 and 2010, over a ten-year span, Hispanics increased by 41.8% representing 37.6% of the population in Texas. Yet,…

As the global work environment continues to evolve, the United States needs to increase its human capital in order remain economically competitive. Whether the nation can meet the demands of the global economy and maintain its standing as a global leader will be tied inextricably to its ability to increase the proportion of Americans with advanced…

With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) is engaged in a two year project centered on state policies that foster student progression and success in the "adult re-entry pipeline." The adult re-entry pipeline consists of the many alternative pathways to…

This article summarises previous academic research into university education, distinguishing between arguments for and against improving access. Several views are summarised, including structural-functionalism, which claims that powerful social groups maintain their status and income, and human capital theory, which focuses on employee…

This article sets out to re-conceptualise gender equality in education quality. Four approaches to conceptualising gender equitable education quality are identified in the literature: human capital theory with a focus on parity and sameness for all; a human rights and power perspective, within which gender equality is viewed as transforming unjust…

This article reviews the discourse of mission in large distance teaching and open universities, in order to analyse the theories of development and social justice that are claimed or may be inherent in them. It is suggested that in a number of cases the claims are unsupported or naive. The article goes on to set out the nature of Amartya…

In this foreword, Shirley Malcom and Lindsey Malcom speak to the history and current status of women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As the author of the seminal report "The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science", Shirley Malcom is uniquely poised to give us an insightful…