In 2006 the Educational Policy Institute released the first edition of "Beyond the Sticker Price: A Closer Look at Canadian University Tuition Fees." The report presented a new way by which to look at the prices and costs associated with university tuition, an alternative to the annual tuition fee report produced by Statistics Canada…

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will travel to the polls for the 40th Canadian General Election--only two years since the 2006 election which brought the Conservative Government to power. In preparation for the election, the Educational Policy Institute (EPI) is publishing a series of election-related papers, including an overview of the top…

Although the federal government dedicated nearly $40 billion to funding student loans in 2006, only 60 percent of potential students from low-income families attend college, compared with 90 percent from high-income families. This paper argues that enrollment rates are lower than they could be because potential students undervalue loan subsidies,…

This article uses the 2005 Basic Classifications of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a framing device through which to examine patterns of student financial aid at America's rural community colleges, which represent 64% of all U.S. community colleges. Rural community colleges serve more first-time, full-time students than…

This study analyzed predictors of fall-to-spring and fall-to-fall retention for 9,200 first-time-in-college students who enrolled in a community college over a four-year period. Findings highlight the impact of developmental education programs and internet-based courses on student persistence. Additional predictors include financial aid, parents'…

The new student funding regime introduced by the 2004 Higher Education Act in England is predicated on the accumulation of student debt. Variable tuition fees, repaid by student loans, will increase average student loan debt on graduation. This article examines how fear of debt and financial constraints affect prospective students' choices of…

When North Carolina native Evan Raleigh was in search of the perfect college, he had three things in mind: (1) the strength of the school's academic reputation; (2) the size of the school; and (3) the school's location and proximity to home. He found all three in the form of Wake Forest University. But Raleigh, who received a full academic…

California's Master Plan for Higher Education represented a promise, of an affordable college education, to every person who could benefit. For decades, California's lawmakers honored that promise. Rapidly increasing college fees, coupled with higher costs for room and board, books, transportation, and healthcare are pricing students out of higher…

This article describes Fisk University's drive to improve its graduation and retention rates. Fisk's six-year graduation rate is more than 10 percentage points above the national average for four-year institutions. Seventy percent of Fisk alumni go on to graduate or to professional schools. No other institution produces as many black doctorates in…

This article talks about the plan of Bush's administration to end the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program and focus on the broader goal with increased access to college for underrepresented groups and not spend their time protecting inefficient programs. During the annual meeting of the American Council on Education, the new under…

This article discusses the current student-aid system in American higher education and the policy issues surrounding it. The author asserts that it is time to consider serious reform of the complex system of federal, state, and institutional subsidies that has evolved to support postsecondary students. A rational long-term planning process never…

Under current arrangements, the Scottish Parliament has powers covering domestic matters such as health, the justice system, economic development, environment and transport, and education. Defense and foreign policy are not devolved; tax-setting is only partly devolved. The author prognosticates that the Scottish National Party (SNP) will exercise…

This study evaluated the precipitating and debilitating factors that occurred in the emergence and growth of the private university system in Nigeria. Three research questions guided the analysis and examined enrolment patterns in seven pre-2003 private universities, students' preferences for enrolment and the factors that encouraged and…

In this new era of globalization, it is more important than ever for the American citizens to have a college education so they can obtain good jobs and have a fair chance at the American Dream, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to get such an education--including in New England. According to the most recent report of the College…

There has been a surge of attention to issues of access and success in higher education. The U.S. Education Secretary's Commission on the Future of Higher Education has discussed it. State policymakers are proposing new goals and accountability systems to address these issues. Even the mainstream press has been increasingly critical of higher…