The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…

Since 2010, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has periodically administered the "Strong Foundations" survey, which documents the content, structure, and effective use of state postsecondary student unit record systems (PSURSs). This report highlights the results of the fourth administration of the survey,…

In 2007, Michigan undertook a bold mission: to retrain tens of thousands of adults to qualify for jobs in emerging and expanding sectors of the economy. The state's proposal to jobless, dislocated, and low-income residents was simple but appealing: enroll in up to two years of postsecondary education, and Michigan would cover up to $5,000 in…

The impact of state funding of higher education and corrections on African American men was studied by analyzing the National Association of State Budget Officers' annual state expenditure reports for the 15-year period from 1985 to 2000. To ensure proper scale, all 1985 figures were converted to 2000-year dollars by using the Bureau of Labor…

This paper presents the findings of the 2008 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). This year, CCSSE zeroes in on high expectations and high support as it presents the results of its 2008 survey. Both are critical to student success: Students do best when expectations are high "and" they receive support that helps them…

After 25 years of federal and state voucher systems in higher education, public colleges and universities find themselves financially shortchanged. Higher education vouchers (direct student aid) were developed to expand educational opportunity, give lower income students more choices, and support private colleges. Voucher systems produce greater…