School vouchers are state-funded programs--often called scholarship programs--that allow students to use public monies to attend a private school. The state provides a set amount of money, typically based on the state's per-pupil amount, for private school tuition. There are currently 27 voucher programs in 16 states and the District of Columbia.…

Research for Action has studied statewide Promise programs since 2017, with in-depth analysis in four states--Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Tennessee. Our research in these states includes an extensive review of legislative and policy documents; 146 interviews with policymakers, institutional leaders, and high school staff; site visits to 8…

In April 2017, the New York State Legislature approved Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposal to establish the Excelsior Scholarship program, which the governor described as the nation's first offer of "tuition-free" two- and four-year college to the middle-class. Excelsior Scholarships promised to eliminate tuition charged by the State…

As tuition levels rise, predictability is an increasingly important consideration of college financing. In this article, the authors explore contemporary policy tools intended to enhance tuition predictability. They specifically consider guaranteed tuition plans. The authors begin their discussion by considering the prevalence of guaranteed…

At the request of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) conducted a review of Oklahoma's Promise program between August 2017 and February 2018. This report summarizes findings and observations from the review and provides recommendations. The review is organized around five areas of interest…

Using a multi-method approach involving fixed effects and logistic regressions, this study examined the effect of the Oklahoma's Promise Program on student persistence in relation to the Pell and Stafford federal programs and according to socio-economic characteristics and class level. The Oklahoma's Promise is a hybrid state program that pays…

Information is presented on the three prepaid tuition programs and four college savings bond programs currently in operation in the United States, and the fiscal issues involved in their implementation are summarized. The three prepaid tuition programs are in Michigan, Wyoming, and Florida. The characteristics of the three programs are outlined…

This report summarizes the programs in the 15 states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) designed to help parents provide for future college costs. It differentiates between college savings plans, bond programs, and prepaid tuition plans. Differences in the programs of the various states are discussed, such as who can buy a prepaid…

This book provides a group of articles concerning the equity and efficiency of prepaid college tuition plans. Chapters: (1) introduce the subject; (2) examine the competing financial theories at play in this field; (3) present a study of the Michigan Education Trust's decision to expand its subscriber base by offering a monthly payment option; (4)…

The Twenty-first Century Scholars Program is an early-intervention program intended to improve college enrollment among low-income students in Indiana. The Scholars program provides support services--plus a guarantee of grant aid equivalent to public college tuition--to students who pledge in eighth grade to meet five criteria: (1) complete high…

The state of Washington is committed to higher education opportunity for all students, regardless of income, through its state financial aid programs. The purpose of this report is to provide the members of the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) with an overview of state and federal financial aid in Washington, an update on state financial…

Two contentions are examined in this report: that community colleges receive a smaller amount from state and federal assistance programs than they should in view of the less affluent population they serve, and that there is, on the other hand, a prevalence of individual over-awarding at these colleges. The report first discusses the difficulties…