More than 427,000 undocumented students are enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions. That's an impressive number, considering the many hurdles they must overcome on the road to college and a degree, including restrictions on their ability to enroll in higher education institutions; limits on access to in-state tuition, state financial aid,…

This article uses philosophical analysis to clarify the arguments and claims about racial discrimination brought forward in the recent legal challenges to affirmative action in higher education admissions. Affirmative action opponents have argued that elite institutions of higher education are using negative action against Asian American…

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting financial crisis are forcing millions of students to reconsider their educational plans--a development that's likely to increase the number of students transferring among institutions in the years ahead. Affordable and close to home, community colleges in particular are now poised to attract more students…

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) developed the Adult Learner Leaders for Institutional Effectiveness (ALLIES) Framework to help guide institutional policies and practices in their work to support adult learners. This document begins by describing the Framework's series of planning and operational domains through which…

Each year, the Rennie Center collects a set of key indicators in the Data Dashboard to provide context on the status of education in the Commonwealth. This data is collected from the MA Department of Early Education and Care; MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; MA Department of Higher Education; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department…

Despite advances in improving CCR for students with disabilities, a great deal of work is needed to help more students achieve their full potential. The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) provides states with flexibility over the design of their educational systems and offers additional provisions to support CCR for all students, including…

In many high-wage industries, a high school degree no longer prepares students to enter the workforce. By 2020, labor market analysts predict that 65 percent of all jobs will require postsecondary education or training. Though high schools across the Commonwealth seek to prepare students for both higher education and the workforce, too many…

America's education system, from kindergarten through the state university, is designed to produce college graduates. Those who stop short of at least a community-college diploma are widely regarded as failures, or at least victims of a failed system. Yet most Americans fall into this category, and current trends offer little hope for improvement.…

In 2009, Excelencia in Education launched the Ensuring America's Future initiative to inform, organize, and engage leaders in a tactical plan to increase Latino college completion. An executive summary of Latino College Completion in 50 states synthesizes information on 50 state factsheets and builds on the national benchmarking guide. Each…

This essay critically examines the commitment of James Bryant Conant to equality of opportunity as a guide for educational practice in his own era and in contemporary society. Noted chemist, president of Harvard University from the 1930s through the early 1950s, and noted analyst of the American high school from the time of publication of his…

While white residents of antebellum Boston and New Haven forcefully opposed the education of black residents, their counterparts in slaveholding Baltimore did little to resist the establishment of African American schools. Such discrepancies, Hilary Moss argues, suggest that white opposition to black education was not a foregone conclusion.…

This report summarizes the recommendations of a study on higher education in Massachusetts, reviews in tabular format the estimated costs of adopting the recommendations, and briefly comments on the recommendations. Recommendations concern six areas: access to higher education and equalization of educational opportunity; public higher education;…

This document reports the findings and recommendations of a study of a number of high level policy issues in Massachusetts higher education. Findings indicate: (1) Massachusetts is not doing all it could to provide equal access and opportunity to its citizens. (2) The present physical plant of public higher education is probably adequate to meet…

A series of professional development workshops for the faculty of personnel certification programs was prepared at the request of the Massachusetts Department of Education. The new equity standards in teacher and administrator certification in Massachusetts call for instruction in gay and lesbian issues. This resource manual presents materials to…

Describes the community service learning (CSL) activities of the Students Teaching Students program at LEAD USA in Williamstown (Massachusetts), a program that lets students set their own learning goals and receive college credit for CSL. The Berkshire Energy Project through Williams College, one model of this program, is described. (SLD)