International students pursuing higher education in the United States incur additional expenses compared to domestic students by spending on foreign credential evaluations and visa applications. These costs are usually not reflected in program fee structures, are non-refundable, and are not covered by financial aid, creating significant, and often…

Providing educational resources without burdening students financially is considered higher education's moral and sensible mission (Farrow, 2016). The financial burden of one or multiple textbooks can produce a great deal of stress on students, especially if the textbooks do not fulfill students' needs in satisfying learning objectives. We attempt…

The benefits of a postsecondary credential are well-documented. Postsecondary education not only benefits the individual receiving an education, but also the community in which they live. College graduates tend to have more job opportunities and be employed in industries and roles that are less-impacted when the economy slows. This means college…

Institutions of higher education have increasingly needed to balance college affordability with their own financial sustainability. There is a growing need for financial innovation and few examples within higher education for adoption of innovation frameworks. This qualitative dissertation examines phases of adoption of income share agreements…

When workers hear about a possible promotion, it is common for them to get training, and they can do so through education. However, there is the possibility that the worker needs to receive a salary according to the knowledge acquired in such training. In this study, considering a population of employed workers with incomplete secondary school, we…

Greater educational attainment is associated with an increase in expected income, lowering of internal discount rates, and improved financial and health literacy. Income transfers have the potential to positively impact educational attainment by either reducing the direct cost of college attendance or by an inducing an income effect that nudges…

Over the last 3 decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with over $1.3 trillion in outstanding loans as of September 2023. This program provides financial assistance to help students and their parents pay for postsecondary education. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review issues related to…

This study seeks to assess whether self-interest influences support for two policies to cancel student debt--one forgiving all student debt and one taking a means-tested approach to debt forgiveness. Each of these policy proposals offers a material benefit to certain groups of individuals while imposing cost or having no benefit to others, which…

As higher education tuition continues to rise in the United States and globally, other costs impacting students, such as fees, parking, and housing, are rising at a similar pace. Concurrently, more higher education institutions are focusing on creating boutique experiences for students, including the option for single-unit housing. This paper…

America's colleges and universities are at a crossroads. The number of schools closing their doors continues to grow driven by the declining number of students pursuing a bachelor's. This situation is expected to worsen because of a number of factors: (1) Starting in 2025 the U.S. will face the so-called "enrollment cliff," in which the…

Previous studies have focused heavily on the astronomical student loan debt number in the United States of America and the overall expense of higher education; however, few studies have focused on the financial literacy of higher education students and what financial knowledge the individuals possess who were key members of the community who were…

This is the technical documentation for the report, "How the College Cost Reduction Act Could Threaten the Teacher Pipeline." The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a…

Over the last three decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with almost $1.4 trillion in outstanding federal student loans. The Direct Loan program provides financial assistance to students and their parents to help pay for postsecondary education. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review changes…

Despite high prices, many college students do not re-file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or file late, making college less affordable. Low-cost technological interventions delivering personalized information and/or advising may improve refiling and academic outcomes, but questions remain regarding the efficacy of this…

Making college more affordable for families has been a critical issue for states in the SREB region for many years. Now the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have created additional barriers to college affordability. This brief provides an overview of college affordability in the SREB region based on data from the 2017-2018…