In England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the funding systems for full-time, first-time undergraduate students differ. Despite these differences, universities in each of the three parts of the United Kingdom (UK) with tuition fees--England, Wales and Northern Ireland--all share a common tendency to set them at the same (maximum) rate for…

This report seeks to inform state policy for increasing the supply of high school instructors who are qualified to teach in dual enrollment programs. First, a brief definition of dual enrollment is provided. Second, results are presented from a content analysis of state policies for dual enrollment instructor qualifications. Third, the faculty…

This report updates the 2011-12 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey components report--"The History and Origins of Survey Items for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System"--in order to reflect the 2016-17 data collection. As the first report did, this report provides an inventory of the IPEDS data…

Policymakers, postsecondary education leaders, and researchers agree: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be a barrier to achieving this nation's college access goals. Concerns about the FAFSA's negative impact on enrollment and financial aid have sparked a bipartisan push to simplify and shorten the form by removing…

This study was conducted to address a very critical current national issue: the student loans and its relationship with students' self-efficacy, attitude toward debt, and retention and graduation rates at a minority serving institution. The findings may guide the leadership decisions toward the best practices for the students' best academic…

The nation's public universities--a key vehicle of upward mobility--must do more to even the playing field for all students. As it currently stands, students from the least advantaged populations earn degrees at a lower rate and are burdened with a greater portion of debt than their peers. However, some standout public universities are reversing…

This study investigates the determinants of adult learners' participation in higher education in a lifelong learning environment. The author argues that the determinants of adult learners' participation in higher education include individual demands, state and institutional policy objectives and industry-driven demands rather than demographic…

The past two decades have seen some evolution towards a more nationally consistent vocational education and training (VET) system. One of the challenges is to find the right balance between national consistency and appropriate flexibility, to accommodate the regional and local industry requirements and learner preferences that best serve the needs…

This publication is an overview of Higher Education in California to provide readers with a deeper understanding about how the public systems work. The primer outlines the mission, enrollment, cost of attendance, and governance and funding structure of each of California's public higher education systems. This resource also provides critical facts…

Income-share agreements (ISAs) are an emerging idea for helping students pay for college. Under an ISA, investors provide upfront sums of money toward students' college tuition and other associated costs in exchange for a fixed percentage of the recipients' earnings after graduation. This paper--the first in a series examining private financing in…

This exploratory phenomenological study examined the experiences of four high-achieving first-generation men (HAFGM) from rural Maine and the critical influences that have helped them succeed in their undergraduate studies. This study viewed HAFGM from an appreciative inquiry standpoint rather than a deficit model. Four key themes emerged: (1)…

This study explored how an alternative presentation of loan information affects financial-aid decisions among students (n = 204) at a large public university. Building from decision-aid literature and using an experimental design, we found that when financial-aid forms were formatted in a way that makes interest rates more accessible and salient,…

This paper discusses how mature Access to Higher Education (AHE) students worked hard to gain access to Higher Education (HE) because they wished to pursue careers that required this level of education. They wanted to transform themselves as learners to achieve their aspirations despite the hurdles that many faced, such as maintaining families,…

Pre-college advising programs exist in most disadvantaged high schools throughout the United States. These programs supplement traditional advising by high school guidance counselors and attempt to help underrepresented and disadvantaged students overcome the complexities of the postsecondary admission and financial aid processes. Existing…

This report describes four measures of the price of undergraduate education in the 2015-16 academic year: total price of attendance (tuition and living expenses), net price of attendance after all grants, out-of-pocket net price after all financial aid, and out-of-pocket net price after all aid excluding student loans. Estimates are based on the…