The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple public policy decisions in each state. These decisions contribute to public higher education funding levels and funding distributions across…

This executive summary presents highlights from the annually-produced State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report for FY 2018. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) publishes the yearly report to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple public policy decisions in each state. These decisions…

Despite overall declines on college enrollment, various accredited and unaccredited providers of postsecondary education delivery are thriving. This success is driven by the economics of the internet and a market structure that allows students to choose and pay for them. Burck Smith, who is the founder of StraighterLine, a company that helps…

The following myths on federal funding for education are debunked in this report: (1) The U.S. education system is flush with cash but leaves students deprived of knowledge; (2) Federal education funding has grown out of control; (3) Money doesn't matter in education; (4) The U.S. spends more than other countries on education; (5) A lot can be…

The immediate drivers to increase publication outputs in higher education are government and research funding, organisational status, performance expectations and personal career aspirations. Writing retreats are one of a range of strategies used by universities to boost publication output. The aims of this integrative review were to synthesise…

Workforce development in the United States today is spread across higher education institutions (primarily public two-year and for-profit colleges), labor market institutions, and workplaces, with public funding from a range of sources. But outcomes for students and workers are weaker than they could be, especially among disadvantaged students and…

Most critical activities in colleges and universities are driven by financial considerations. It is thus important that revenues are found to support these activities or ways identified to streamline costs. One way to cut cost is to improve the efficiency of schools to address the issue of poor quality. In this paper, the cost of poor quality in…

With recent research from the Institute for Higher Education Policy showing that college is unaffordable for as many as 70% of working- and middle-class students, concerns about college costs are mounting. The cost of operating an institution of higher education, with very few exceptions, is reflected in the price of attendance that students,…

This article is an attempt to build an empirical ground for supporting the increased role of public funding in higher education. The rationale for the same becomes pertinent in the current scenario when "public good" nature of higher education is rapidly eroding. Various measures like the proportion of GDP/GSDP spent and the trend of per…

More than 20 states now allow community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees. Florida has been a trailblazer, with 14 community colleges currently authorized to offer bachelor's degrees, and 12 already doing so. Some critics have observed that community college baccalaureates will lead to low-quality degrees, take resources from needy students and…

Chapter 1: In response to tightened budgets and concerns about higher education costs, governments have introduced rules to limit the use of publicly funded aid, particularly at for-profit colleges. In this paper, we use an event study framework to estimate how tuition, enrollments, and loan use changed at for-profit colleges that became…

Higher education productivity, as measured by academic degrees granted by American colleges and universities, is declining. Since the early 1990s, real expenditures on higher education have grown by more than 25 percent, now amounting to 2.9 percent of US gross domestic product (GDP)--greater than the percentage of GDP spent on higher education in…

Innovations within higher education are often prompted through the capture of supportive funding. One of the largest examples of this arose from the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) initiative in England (2005-2010). Drawing on the experience of two such Centres, this paper analyses some of the consequences of that funding.…

Athletics are big business on many college campuses, but does this come with a price tag? This issue brief looks at academic and athletic spending in NCAA Division I public universities between 2005 and 2010. Among a host of findings, this brief shows that the athletic departments of most public colleges and universities competing in NCAA Division…

In this provocative volume, higher education experts explore innovative ways that colleges and universities can unbundle the various elements of the college experience while assessing costs and benefits and realizing savings. "Stretching the Higher Education Dollar" traces the reform continuum from incremental to more ambitious efforts.…