This dissertation studies two distinct but equally essential industries: higher education and water utilities. In the context of higher education, I investigate the impact of subsidies on equilibrium prices and quality levels. For water utilities, I explore the differences between public and private providers in terms of productivity and…

Given the major investment in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant, rising postsecondary access, trends in poor persistence and retention rates, and the ongoing accountability measures in higher education, it is critical to examine factors related to postsecondary performance and persistence of GEAR…

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of…

The "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education" reports cite the critical role of professional societies in undergraduate life science education and, since 2008, have called for the increased involvement of professional societies in support of undergraduate education. Our study explored the level of support being provided by…

The study compared proposal and award data on investigators from predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs) with that of non-PUI institutions, called "research competitive universities" (RCUs). A total of 21,040 research proposals from academic institutions, which were competitively reviewed and decided in Fiscal Year 1988 by the…

This report provides a complete accounting of financial aid available to students at New York's degree-granting postsecondary institutions. It shows trends in financial aid from state, federal, institutional, and private sources for academic years 1987-88, 1988-99, and 1989-90. The report presents trends in total funds available to all students;…

The "Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Fact Book on Higher Education" is one of the nation's most comprehensive collections of comparative data on higher education. For decades, state leaders, policy-makers, researchers and journalists have used the "Fact Book" to find useful data quickly--and to learn more about…