Substantial investments by states dramatically increased the scale and scope of public colleges and universities beginning in the early 20th century and provided subsidized post-secondary opportunities across institutions ranging from community colleges to research universities. Nearly 50 years ago, economists Lee Hansen and Burton Weisbrod opened…

The cost of post-secondary education (PE) continues to increase, which has contributed to elevating federal loan demand, and as of the fourth quarter of 2020, equaling a debt of $1.56 trillion in the US. The purpose of this research was to compare two post-secondary institutions for specific alignment with the local labor market, examine…

In this dissertation, I explore questions relating to estimating and framing college net pricing. In the first study, I measure variation in actual grant aid awards for students predicted by the federal template Net Price Calculator (NPC) to receive identical aid awards. Estimated aid derived from the federal template NPC accounts for 85 percent…

This report provides a brief overview of the higher education tax benefits that are currently available to students and their families. The report: (1) contrasts higher education tax benefits with traditional student aid; (2) presents a brief history of higher education tax policy over the past 60 years, including recent legislative proposals to…

College affordability is a significant factor in student access, retention and completion. Tuition and fee rates are a major component of affordability, as is the availability of financial aid programs from federal, state, institutional and private sources. Strategically designed approaches to college affordability can better assist families in…

In this article, we present 2 studies with the primary objectives of (a) identifying college-aged students' perceived costs for their academic studies and (b) exploring college students' descriptions of "beneficial" aspects of costs. In Study 1, 10 cost concepts were identified from 2 focus groups, including stress, lost opportunities,…

A changing economy in Michigan means that education beyond high school, whether it's a degree or training for a specific skill or job, is more important than ever. But in Michigan, low- and middle-income families are seeing college costs continue to rise--for many, rising beyond their reach. Michigan has some of the highest public tuition levels…

This report captures motivational data from students at the end of 2020--students who were in the thick of the pandemic and the pivot to online and hybrid learning, along with historic levels of social and economic upheaval. Starting strong is crucial to student retention. When entering students get off to a strong start, they are more likely to…

This comparative study modifies Cabrera and La Nasa's model to examine social and class stratification in students' college-choice outcomes in the USA and Taiwan, and compares the mechanisms that perpetuate this stratification between the two systems. Students' college-choice outcomes are defined by both institutional selectivity and control, in…

Universities UK has been explicit that a 'no deal' exit from the EU would be bad for our students, researchers and 136 member universities. This briefing sets out the consequences of exiting the EU without a deal and the stabilising policies required for the higher education sector.

Higher education leaders are looking for high impact ways to improve retention and graduation rates in a climate of austere budgets. Increasingly, higher education sees the interplay of finances and academic performance as a key driver of student success. Across the nation, measurable improvements in student success outcomes are observed when…

Public flagship universities are often the most selective, rigorous, and well-resourced public schools in each state, and their important status and name recognition play an important role in raising the college-going aspirations of state residents. Flagships are well-positioned to promote social and economic mobility. However, increasingly high…

In 2015, Lumina Foundation introduced the Rule of Ten, a new method for assessing college affordability for students in the U.S. The rule rests on the assumption that an "affordable" cost for college should not exceed the total of: (1) what a student and his family can save by putting away 10% of their income for the 10 years before…

In this article, Brian Rosenberg observes that innumerable things have changed inside and outside academia since 1944, but the essential conservatism of the academy has not. When it comes to examining their own practices and assumptions, colleges and universities tend to be highly resistant to change and powerfully attached to whatever their…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes programs and activities to provide support to individuals who are pursuing a postsecondary education and to institutions of higher education (IHEs). During the 116th Congress, the House Committee on Education and Labor marked up and ordered to be reported the College…