As part of its broader Student Parent Success Initiative, Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducted original research focusing specifically on Black single mother students. This report summarizes findings from 25 interviews IWPR conducted with Black single mother community college students, consisting of both students who were…

Recent research into the mental health of PhD candidates suggests that their high levels of stress could be caused in part or exacerbated by aspects of the doctoral education environment. However, the particulars of this environment have not been explored in consistent enough ways to provide a clear way forward for universities to respond to this…

During the COVID pandemic, schools have found new ways of working with children and, crucially, their families. This has far-reaching implications for how schools and policy-makers consider homeschool communication as a means of developing parental and community engagement in the future. The Institute of Education's project, "Learning Through…

While there are many educational and experiential benefits to attending professional higher arts education programs, students who incur excessive student loan debt during their studies may experience unanticipated or poor professional outcomes either over the course of their artistic careers, shortly after the expiration of a loan grace period, or…

With the US economy continuing its weak recovery, it's tempting to think that IT budgets in higher education might begin to rebound especially in light of the increased focus on online learning. Nice thought, but no. Education costs are rising even faster than those for healthcare, and the public outcry over the cost of higher education…

In December 2010, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff surveyed public universities in other states to learn how they have dealt with cuts in state funding. All of the institutions CPEC surveyed have increased tuition and or fees at least once in the last two fiscal years, and many project additional increases. All have…

What happens when school personnel, or family members of one's students are laid off, are out of work for months, and their unemployment insurance ends? What happens when students complain that they can't find after-school or summer jobs? When these things occur, people worry about what will happen to them and to those they care about. Students…

Given the centrality of leadership for school success, leader morale and effectiveness in tough times can't be overemphasized. The authors' work examined how principals and superintendents deal with and are affected by a significant economic downturn. They surveyed 93 principals from one large upper-Midwest metropolitan area and 100…

This article reports that the credit crisis tying global financing systems into knots has left hundreds of colleges scrambling for cash to pay their bills and to cover the spiking interest on their debts. While it is still unclear to what extent the federal government's new $700-billion bailout package will help unwind the credit tangle, the…

Colleges and universities, like corporations and other nonprofit organizations, are subject to periodic fluctuations in the economy and public support. Thus, the question is not whether they will confront financial problems but rather when and how. This article describes how institutions and boards can detect budgets in crisis, provides principles…

Using the diary of Kim Stasny, superintendent of the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District in Mississippi, and accounts from other superintendents from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, the author describes the grim situation faced by schools in the days and weeks after the storm struck. He then discusses the importance of getting students…

This article examines the experiences of three African-American female educators and their families in responding to their own children with special needs. The authors draw upon the narratives provided by these three families to document their personal experiences in parenting children with disabilities. Using fictitious names to protect…

This guidebook was developed to aid mothers who are attending school or training programs and also have preschool or school-age children at home, to find new approaches to their complicated life situations. Based on the experiences of 215 women in Allegheny County Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh), the booklet describes some of the problems they faced as…