When the Great Recession took its toll on state budgets, public universities felt the pain. Many public universities attempted to offset reductions in state funds by raising tuition, shifting admission spots to more out-of-state students, and, in some cases, increasing enrollment. For a given budget gap, these three strategies should be weighted…

Though charter schools are a relatively new phenomenon in American education, they have been in existence long enough now to allow for evaluation of operational outcomes relative to traditional public schools. Using a comprehensive data set for the State of Michigan that spans the years 1995 through 2006, this article aims to provide such an…

At a time of devastating reductions to state appropriations for higher education, it is tempting to attribute performance problems that have been accumulating for years and even decades to the resultant financial stress. But the problems of performance predate the Great Recession. Well before its onset, American higher education was…

Over the past decade, institutionally-funded financial aid (or "tuition discounts") have been the fastest-growing item within most public four-year college and university operating budgets. One explanation for this trend is due to the changing structure of public colleges' revenue streams, as tuition and fees have replaced state appropriations as…

The data contained in this report provide new connective tissue and insight into students' lives and the ways in which their financial concerns coincide with their academic work and their ability to succeed. The report focuses on the financial health of community college students, including their perceptions of their current financial…

In 2016, 42 states carried out a total of 139 policy actions relevant to CTE, including laws, executive orders, board of education actions, budget provisions and ballot initiatives. This represents an increase over 2015 activity. Several states passed packages of legislation impacting multiple elements of CTE programming, such as…

In an effort to bring rigorous research into the education and social sciences field, the past decade had seen an increase in the advocacy of randomized controlled trials. The argument in favor of using randomized controlled trial is that one can evaluate the impact of an intervention in comparison to a control group with confidence during a…

Recent studies indicate that persistent achievement gaps among children begin as early as 18 months, years before most publicly funded prekindergarten programs offer enrollment. Early childhood development necessitates more than access to pre-K at age four. Proper brain development requires adequate nutrition, access to quality healthcare, and…

This EdSource Q&A provides clear, accurate answers to some of the most common questions about the current state of education funding in California and what the state's fiscal crisis means for schools. School districts and other education stakeholders can share this brief with their communities and cite it in addressing questions about the…

Federal and state funding agencies have invested billions of dollars into secondary STEM (Science, Technology, Education, Mathematics) educational reform over the past decade. This volume addresses the interplay of external and internal variables associated with school reform and how this dynamic has impacted many efforts. The goal of this book is…

The changing landscape in higher education is increasingly forcing institutions to examine their long-standing business models and to start making changes. Leading those changes and overcoming internal resistance to them will require strong oversight from governing boards. What might an institution's review of its business model actually look…

The community college, like all of higher education, has been significantly impacted by the Great Recession and coincidental increased enrollment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the decision making processes of community college presidents as related to resource allocation and the impact of these decisions on the…

How colleges determine who is recruited, who merits admission, who receives student aid and of what variety, which classes are offered and when, and what kind of assistance is provided to students all comprise a complex system and an emerging field known as enrollment management. Outside of the world of higher education administration, however,…

Every college age student should have the opportunity to attend college and earn a degree, but the fiscal realities for lower income students prevent the majority from attending and the vast majority from completing college, thus perpetuating an intergenerational trend of limited postsecondary education and a likelihood of marginal income and…

Gaps in average college success among students of differing backgrounds have persisted in the United States for decades. One of the primary ways governments have attempted to ameliorate such gaps is by providing need-based grants, but little evidence exists on the impacts of such aid on longer-term outcomes such as college persistence and degree…