This article is the second of a three-part series based on the book "Basic Guide to Financial Aid." The contents within are adapted from the publication, with additional emphasis on the impact federal student aid administration has on non-financial aid professionals in higher education today. It should be noted that this information is…

In the United States, more than 68 million students are enrolled in public elementary and secondary (K-12) schools or degree-granting postsecondary institutions. School and campus safety and security for these students encompasses many issues, including violence prevention and response, school climate, and the physical and mental health of the…

We cannot continue to ask students -- and their families -- to make one of the largest and most important investments of their lives without clearer information about what their time and money will yield. Fortunately, support is broad across the country and across the political spectrum for a federal student-level data network (SLDN), which would…

With Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) members on the front lines of teaching and research across the country, they are uniquely placed as active participants and keen observers of Canada's postsecondary education system. CAUT bring an informed assessment of what it needs to better help drive Canada's post-pandemic social,…

This year saw unprecedented disruptions to schools and to students' lives across the country. With a global pandemic shutting school doors, causing economic instability, and highlighting the impact of systemic racism, policymakers and education leaders are looking to data to help them respond and recover. The Data Quality Campaign's 2020 research…

The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE), through funding from a 4.9 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is in the final stages of developing and implementing a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) to support the work of the AOE and Vermont school districts. A significant portion of the federal award supports the creation…

Over the last decade, state efforts to build stronger data infrastructure and integrate data about early childhood services have continued to grow. A stronger data infrastructure supports states in more easily linking data across programs, which in turn makes it easier to analyze and use that data to answer important policy questions. An Early…

For more than a decade teacher residencies have prepared classroom-ready teachers for hard-to-staff subjects and high-need schools. Across the country, mounting evidence shows that residencies produce effective teachers who stay in the profession longer and produce greater student achievement than traditionally-trained teachers. No residency,…

As part of both the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the recently passed 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA), the U.S. Department of Education (USED) made available almost $4.2 billion for the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER). Governors across the nation…

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust students, their support networks, and institutions of higher education toward a financial crisis. In response, the U.S. Senate signed the CARES Act into law, which provides institutions of higher education with $14 billion to support various campus functions. Within the CARES Act, the Senate allocated funding for…

The pandemic was, in some ways, a sneak preview of higher education's future, one in which technology-mediated and -enabled education is ubiquitous, but with the potential for deep inequities in access to high-quality learning. This report describes some of the ways in which higher education succeeded and fell short during the remarkable 2020-21…

Earning a college degree has long been critical to unlocking many high-paying jobs -- and, as a result, to economic mobility and security. Increasingly, however, the traditional "norm" of a college student--one who enrolls straight out of high school, receives some support from their parents, lives on campus, and does not have…

The U.S. Department of Education required each state to submit a reopening plan outlining how they were using and planned on using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) conducted an analysis of 37 state plans to better understand if and how schools were prioritizing culturally…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress appropriated funds for schools primarily through the new Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). The American Rescue Plan allocated $122 billion for school reopening. ESSER funding offers an opportunity to invest in the mental health of young people; however, schools must be…

In recent years and especially over the past 12 months, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest after the death of George Floyd, community colleges have been making efforts to view and rethink their missions through an equity lens. These efforts have included turning this prism toward institutional operations like student services, human…