Amidst increased enrollment, economic recession, and state budget cuts to postsecondary education over the past two decades, two and four-year colleges and universities have employed a multitude of different approaches to managing resource allocation. At the crux of this issue is the internal struggle each institution faces: improving the level of…

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

With state resources for higher education under constant pressure, it is critical to understand how to maximize institutional performance while being economical with resource allocation. Future workforce demands will call for an increasing number of those entering the workforce to have some form of higher education instruction, beyond their…

The California College Promise Program was established in 2017 through Assembly Bill 19 (AB 19) to support college affordability and increase student success at California community colleges. The program allows colleges to use funds to waive fees for first-time, full-time students who complete a FAFSA or Dream Act application. In 2019, Assembly…

Student success and graduation rates are a continuing challenge for higher education institutions. A growing number of states connect funding to learning outcomes such as student progression, retention, and graduation rates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012; Complete College America, 2011; Diamond, 2012). Student attrition and graduation rates…

The purpose of this global leadership study was to investigate the impact community college business curriculum internationalization has on the key components of the Ohio State Share of Instruction (SSI) funding formula. This analysis should assist institutional decision-makers in determining whether or not to incorporate such initiatives at their…

Seventy-seven California community colleges offer nursing programs with a total enrollment of 12,960 full-time equivalent students in 2017-18, a decrease of 7.4% from the previous fiscal year. Seventy-two colleges received grants to expand or maintain enrollment by 1,439 students. The colleges are using these funds to provide support for nursing…

This issue brief demonstrates the racial consequences of inequitable state higher education funding, and recommends steps state and federal policymakers should take to remedy inequities in college funding.

Financial aid is an ever-growing topic of interest to researchers as well as policymakers in understanding the impact and relationship to student success. Aid comes in many forms, from merit-based or need-based scholarships and grants, loans, tuition waivers, and other. Federal and state aid programs alike are typically designed to assist students…

Most experienced educators recognize that many students will not complete optional assignments, and often those students who need additional help do not seek assistance. Current research demonstrates that students in underrepresented populations (see definition below) are less likely to seek support than others because they see needing help as a…

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…

As community colleges work to improve completion rates, these institutions are also developing homegrown metrics that better represent how they are really doing--and, in many places, these metrics are driving the reforms necessary to improve. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) defines student success as the number of full-time…

Objective: We investigate whether performance funding--an increasingly prevalent state policy that allocates appropriations based on outcomes that prioritize retention and completion--places minority-serving institutions (MSIs) at a financial disadvantage due to these institutions serving a greater proportion of historically underrepresented…

The pathways for academic career and employment program (PACE) is established to provide funding to community colleges for the development of projects that will lead to gainful, quality, in-state employment for members of target populations by providing them with both effective academic and employment training to ensure gain. This is the second…

Higher education is a key driver of economic growth and individual opportunity in California. But the state has not been keeping up with a strong and growing demand for skilled workers. Recent investments and initiatives have helped increase enrollment, graduation rates, and the number of degrees awarded. Substantial gains in these…