The primary purpose of government provided student financial aid is to increase college access by bringing the out-of-pocket price of attendance within reach of more students. The basic idea is quite straightforward. If a good or service costs $100 to buy and the government gives consumers a $50 subsidy, then consumers need only spend $50 of their…

The cost of college continues to outpace inflation, even as average household income has declined over the past decade. Since 2008, StraighterLine has offered a new way of reducing the cost of a college degree: self-paced, pay-as-you-go introductory level college courses. The underlying philosophy of the program is that students can get an…

As the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act (popularly known as the Post-9/11 GI Bill or Chapter 33) begins its second academic year of operation, changes loom on the horizon. While this is no surprise to those who know the history of the original GI Bill, some of the changes will have considerable impact not only on veteran students, but…

College prices rose only slightly faster than inflation for the 2008-2009 academic year, but that may say more about the American economy's steeper prices for everything than it does about college costs. Tuition and fees rose between 4.5 percent and 6.5 percent for various types of institutions, similar to previous years, but a 5.6-percent…

"Education at a Glance" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; the financial and human resources invested in education; access, participation and progression in education; and…

What does it cost to provide a bachelor's-level education? This question arises with increasing frequency and urgency as pressure mounts on policymakers and education leaders to increase the education attainment level in the United States, to "Double the Numbers" in some cases. At the same time, the two traditional sources of…

Many students find it necessary to draw on more than one source of funding to pay for their post-secondary education. Tuition, direct expenses--textbooks, supplies, equipment--and an increasing need for technology are not the only concerns. For those who had to relocate to study or do not live at home, everyday living expenses become the major…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) significantly increases federal tax credits for people who pay for college education. For many families, these tax credits will offset most of the recent fee increases at University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and the community colleges. Some students will likely be…

Among all the uncertainty colleges face in this recession, they are sure of one thing: Families are feeling less than confident about their ability to pay for higher education. In response, colleges are creating more student-aid programs or expanding existing ones. Others are offering students additional counseling or a grace period for paying…

Since the 1990s, the number of both out-of-province Canadian and international students enrolled at Memorial University of Newfoundland has increased substantially. During this period, the enrollment levels of students from the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island have undergone an increase of approximately ten-fold.…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produced a study reviewing the K-12 funding formulas of all 50 states. In a section of the report, NCES examined whether states had designated funding for dual enrollment programs. They found that: "Sixty-four percent of institutions with dual enrollment programs reported that parents and…

The Advisory Committee was created by Congress in the "Higher Education Amendments of 1986" to be an independent and nonpartisan source of knowledge, advice, and counsel to Congress and the Secretary of Education on federal, state, and institutional postsecondary student assistance. One of the most important analytical directives in the…

This document addresses the status of equality in access to higher education. Some of the motivating factors behind this presentation include: (1) College completion rates including rates of bachelor's degree completion are falling today, particularly among young Americans; (2) Reversing the current trend and increasing college completion has…

This paper presents the supplemental figures, tables, and standard error tables for the report "Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 2007-08. Web Tables. NCES 2010-162." (Contains 6 figures and 10 tables.) [For the main report, see ED511828.]

Today's fast-paced and Internet-driven society provides a lot of opportunities for innovation in the college financial aid world. As tuition costs continue to rise faster than average incomes, more students are turning to private lenders and other third-party organizations to finance their educations. While the power of online micro-giving has…