This study explores the association between having a transit stop within walking distance of campus and Pell Grant recipient completion rates at US commuter institutions, using a novel dataset on transit stop locations and institutional level data. The findings indicate that there is a positive association between transit access and Pell…

State education data systems help policymakers use data to evaluate the impact of their efforts to improve education. By disaggregating the data -- that is, breaking it out by different student subgroups -- policymakers can ensure that their efforts address the needs of students who have been traditionally underserved in educational settings. Yet…

In accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the OIG reports annually on the most serious management and performance challenges the Department faces. For FY 2024, we identified seven management challenges for the Department: (1) Implementing pandemic relief laws for elementary and secondary education; (2) Implementing pandemic relief…

The Pell Grant is targeted to students with the greatest financial need, and many policymakers find the Pell Grant a useful policy lever for promoting access and success for students from lower- and moderate-income backgrounds. There are several examples where policymakers use Pell eligibility to allocate resources and hold colleges accountable…

This research considers Pell grant restoration for incarcerated people for the field of higher education in prison. Using the original data, we outline the limits of Pell funding in the prison context by surfacing persistent funding challenges that the Pell grant alone cannot address and may exacerbate. By providing the necessary investments to…

The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 defines major management challenges as programs or management functions that are vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, and where a failure to perform well could seriously affect the ability of the U.S. Department of Education (Department) to achieve its mission or…

The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) was founded to "advance equity in higher education" by supporting colleges and universities to improve college completion for Black, Latinx, and Pell-eligible students--those groups that experience persistent disparities in completion. Simultaneously, PCC engages in state policy reform to…

This article analyzes U.S. Department of Education data on appropriations on Pell Grants using the new Mission-Driven Classification (MDC) to disaggregate enrollment, finance, and need-based Pell Grant data by major public higher education sector and, within community colleges, by geography (rural, suburban, and urban) as well as by the presence…

This article compares state expenditure data to see how the operating budgets of public community colleges specifically, and public higher education institutions generally, have fared over the past 30 years. Data from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) have long tracked major state expenditure categories, including the…

This study aims to analyse the impact of demographic and educational factors on in digital upskilling. We address the relationship between digital skills, critical thinking skills and the student learning experience in courses with embedded upskilling programs. Statistical analysis and exploratory research are used to analyse the data collected by…

As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. Most student parents are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and…