The bold headlines written about free tuition and college debt relief this election season signal that higher education occupies a more prominent place in the 2016 presidential campaign than it has held in past races. The reason? The economy’s better-paying jobs demand more highly skilled employees, while the public and its elected officials expect a […]
The University of Kentucky had a problem: Enrollment was up significantly, but the number of residence hall spots remained stagnant. With 5,000 beds available in 22 campus residence halls, the university could accommodate incoming freshman—but a growing number of sophomores desiring on-campus housing were being turned away. Eric Monday, executive vice president of finance and […]
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects that the United States will be short nearly 95,000 doctors within the next 10 years. That shortage is projected to be most acute in Southern states. In response, private medical schools—even institutions hundreds of miles away—are looking into opening satellite locations on the campuses of public universities. Barbara […]
Need-based financial aid was supposed to give everyone an opportunity to get into college and better their lives and career prospects. But that assistance is not always applied as intended, says the third edition of New America's "Undermining Pell" report. Nearly half of the public, four-year colleges studied now leave the most financially needy students on […]
Sometimes, well-known propositions lead to predictable conclusions. But not always. Occasionally, they lead to surprises—and even busted myths. Here’s one: Wealthy, private institutions willing to invest large endowments in financial aid for poorer students do the best job of expanding access to higher education and reversing the trend toward greater income inequality. That statement turns […]
It is no coincidence that at a time of staggering family college debt burden, hands-on learning is experiencing a revival in schools, colleges, and universities across the Nation and around the world. Students and families perplexed and frustrated by the gainful employment vs. tuition gap are looking for more practical (maker) skills from their next […]
Students from six nearby states can now attend the University of Maine at the same in-state tuition rate offered by the flagship institutions in their home states. The university launched its Flagship Match program this spring to boost not just its enrollment, but also prestige. As completion rates of full-time students in Maine flounder and […]
When the economy tanked in 2009, the trustees of Hamilton College in upstate New York made a major investment in the future of admissions practices—they shifted from need-sensitive to need-blind admissions, while remaining a school that promises to meet full need. The trustees of the 1,850-student liberal arts college provided bridge funding of five $500,000 […]
An act as simple as handing out bottled water and granola bars before a long evening class can change the course of a college career—especially when the student on the receiving end is a single mother who has just rushed over to campus after a full day at work. Of course, bigger hurdles like tuition, […]
Sometimes, well-known premises lead to predictable conclusions. But not always. Occasionally, they lead to surprises—and even busted myths. Here's one: The best job of helping low-income and first-generation students gain access to higher education and reverse the trend toward greater income inequality in our society is being done by wealthy private institutions willing to invest their […]
