In the United States, some states allow undocumented immigrants to benefit from in-state resident tuition policy at public colleges and universities, a benefit aimed at improving accessibility to higher education. Yet, undocumented immigrants face bureaucratic procedures and requirements that may discourage them from applying and delay or hamper…

American Association of State Colleges and Universities' (AASCU's) public policy agenda, rooted in an uncompromising commitment to opportunity for the nation's students, is expressed through the following core principles: (1) Higher education is a common good that provides significant benefits to individuals and society as a whole; (2) America's…

The 2010 Public Policy Agenda summarizes the American Association of State Colleges and Universities' (AASCU's) principles and priorities in key areas of higher education policy. This paper is intended to serve as a point of reference for the association's members and other interested organizations, as well as federal and state policymakers.…

With the 2006 mid-term elections over, higher education will be an important topic in public policy discussions at the federal and state levels. State colleges and universities will need to stay informed and be prepared to take action as discussions about access, affordability, and accountability play out in the coming year. This issue of…

The plight of private colleges that cannot pass inflation on to the taxpayer as the public institutions can is discussed. A proposal is presented that the four-year public sector be redefined as one that receives not more than a 50-percent tax subsidy. (MLW)

After raising tuition for a number of years, some states are trying to freeze or reduce public college tuition. These changes arise from concern about reduced enrollments and image, and it is hoped that legislatures will respond with increased appropriations. Some critics fear a compromise in educational quality. (MSE)

Difficulties facing private colleges and universities in the future are considered, with attention to the situation in North Carolina. An important determinant of the future of independent higher education will be public policy. Three major considerations include: private colleges and universities are public resources and serve a predominantly…

This paper contains three articles which present the opinions of the authors on public college tuition and state finance. The problem addressed is the large increase in tuition charged by public sector, four-year colleges coupled with the effects of fiscal constraints facing the states. After an introduction by Richard J. Novak, the papers are:…

In most states, governments and communications companies are working to connect public schools, colleges, libraries, and state government offices by computer networks. In some states, technology, not campus expansion, is being considered as a means of accommodating growing enrollments. Cost containment and improved access to education are two…

The authors argue that a recently proposed Minnesota policy for implementing full-cost tuition in selected practitioner master's degree programs in state institutions is counterproductive. The proposed policy is examined as a case study of probable supply and demand effects on student enrollments and institutional vitality. (Author/MSE)

California state legislators are showing a lack of long-term leadership and vision in their planning for the state's higher education needs as indicated in their recent decisions regarding increased tuition and fees. California's public higher education system stands at the nexus of two powerful trends: the long-term social, demographic,…

The emerging trend in state higher education finance policy to use and index to establish tuition and fee levels at public institutions was studied, based on a 1980 national survey of tuition-setting policies. It was found that, increasingly, states are adopting indexing to cost of education as an established policy for determining tuition: 14…

This document reports on a range of issues, tasks, and accomplishments of the Committee on Higher Education of the 72nd Texas Legislature of the State of Texas. The report opens by listing charges to the committee in the following areas: (1) tuition and fees and causes and effects of recent increases; (2) need for student financial aid; (3) role,…

Inadequate financial support for higher education is not due to a poor economy or lack of tax dollars, but to the low priority given to higher education by state legislatures. The issue at state and institutional levels is not low or high tuition but finding a planning model that integrates tuition income, tax support, and student aid. (MSE)

A study of the impact of economic differentiation on institutional pricing and expenditure policies, higher education public policy, and governance in public colleges and universities is described. It is suggested that economic differentiation is a likely determinant of variation in institutional expenditure and pricing policies and higher…