Chapter 1 studies how the interaction of student information with constraints dictated by market design determines higher education choices and outcomes. I study strategic application incentives in imperfect implementations of centralized assignment mechanisms in higher education. I ask whether, in markets with both a central match for public…

For nearly four years, governors and state legislators have focused on little else in higher education but cutting budgets to deal with historic gaps in revenue. Now, with higher-education support at a 25-year low, lawmakers are considering some policy changes that have been off-limits in the past, such as consolidating campuses and eliminating…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Missouri. Descriptive statistics are presented for Missouri and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Michigan. Descriptive statistics are presented for Michigan and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Ohio. Descriptive statistics are presented for Ohio and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population characteristics,…

This report portrays various performance indicators that are intended to facilitate an assessment of the postsecondary education system in Indiana. Descriptive statistics are presented for Indiana and five other comparison states as well as the nation. Comparison states were selected according to the degree of similarity of population…

On November 10, 2005, then Superintendent of the Kalamazoo Public School System, Janice Brown announced--to the surprise of Kalamazoo's residents--the beginning of the Kalamazoo Promise. Fully funded by a set of anonymous donors, the Kalamazoo Promise is an urban revitalization program that offers up to four years of free tuition to any public…

The Kalamazoo Promise was announced in the fall of 2005, offering free college tuition at any public state college or university for graduates of the district who have gained acceptance to a postsecondary institution. This program was funded through the generous support of anonymous donors, and a federally-funded evaluation is underway to examine…

This paper explores the Kalamazoo Promise through the lens of the existing literature on other privately funded scholarships programs and the broader advancement knowledge base. The author concludes that current research does not adequately explain the Promise, and suggests a conceptual model--a logic model--to be used in philanthropy evaluation.

Public higher educational institutions, where about 80 percent of all college students and 65 percent of all four-year college students are educated, appear to be in serious trouble. In order to delve more deeply into this topic, the author invited a wide-ranging team of experts to examine changes in public higher education over the last quarter…