This Data Point uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 is a national study of more than 23,000 students in ninth grade in 2009. Students answered surveys between 2009 and 2016. College transcripts were collected in 2017-18. This Data Point looks at the connection between views of college affordability in high…

This essay, shortlisted for the AHUA Dr Jonathan Nicholls Memorial Essay Prize, addresses recent policy attention on student maintenance funding in the United Kingdom. It proposes the establishment of a graduate-funded endowment in lieu of other measures such as increased parental contributions or the imposition of a graduate tax. After discussing…

Researchers interviewed higher education professionals, asking: How do professionals working in higher education equity and access sectors, both public and private, assign responsibility for improving access, and what solutions do they propose? Informed by Kingdon's multiple streams framework and Guajardo et al.'s theory of change in action,…

Affordability looms large as the hurdle most likely to turn away those who could benefit most from pursuing and obtaining a postsecondary degree or credential. Individuals and society at large benefit when educational attainment rises. In the 2018 report, "Shutting Low-Income Students out of Public Four-Year Higher Education" (ED604096),…

Latinos are one of the fastest growing racial/ethnic groups in postsecondary education. This factsheet provides a summary of how Latinos pay for college to better inform financial aid policy to ensure Latino college access, retention, and success. This summary includes Latino students' participation in federal student aid overall, Pell Grants,…

Within California, there is widespread understanding and consensus that college affordability is a challenge that needs to be addressed. Along with this consensus on the nature and implications of California's college affordability problems, there is also emerging agreement about how to tackle it. While this convergence can form the backbone of a…

Federal free-college policies are now at the center of the Democratic higher education agenda. Sen. Bernie Sanders helped move the idea into the mainstream during the 2016 presidential campaign, and other lawmakers have since worked to advance the policy in Congress. Joe Biden effectively put free college on the ballot in 2020 when he fully…

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an important tool to help students find financial assistance. Not only do students fill out the FAFSA to apply for federal aid for post-secondary education, but also to be considered for aid by states, institutions, and private funders. Thus, filling out the FAFSA, specifically, and applying…

The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant challenges for higher education across the UK. This year's cohort of university applicants now face months of uncertainty, as they try to make decisions on their future amid exam cancellations and a new system to determine grades, all without face-to-face support from their school. For students currently…

This is the second Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee hearing this year focusing on college affordability. The focus is on institutions that are breaking with "business as usual" to implement promising strategies and practices, innovations, and initiatives to improve college affordability. The panel emphasizes efforts at…

The Federal Pell Grant Program, which provides need-based grants to millions of college students, is the federal government's largest education expenditure. It consumes over half the Department of Education's annual budget and in 2010-2011 cost taxpayers about $36 billion per year. Although the program started out as a way to provide college…

This article reviews the implementation of the student loan scheme in China, based on results of the national survey of 100,000 student loan recipients in 2007. By calculating student expenditure on campus, analysing factors which affect family economic status and also considering the possible family contribution, the gap between students' needs…

This hearing is the third of three on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and focused on the core mission of the act, removing financial barriers to college. Statements and testimony are included from: Honorable Jason Altmire, Congressional Representative from Pennsylvania; Honorable Ruben Hinojosa, Chairman, Subcommittee on Higher…

Creative ideas recently emerging to help families cope with rising educational costs are reviewed, including state and federal level savings plans, alternative loan programs, guaranteed access plans, and public service proposals. (Author/MSE)

The relationship between tuition increases and maintaining access to higher education for students from middle-income families as well as those from disadvantaged backgrounds is discussed. Tuition and its relation to financial aid is examined. (MLW)