The reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals marks a pivotal moment in the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programming in the United States. However, despite this promising development, financial barriers persist, hindering the growth and sustainability of HEP initiatives. This qualitative study delves…

Funding for community colleges varies significantly, even within the same state. Several factors account for these differences, including more generous funding for smaller institutions to compensate for their higher costs per student, unequal local funding from property tax revenues, and political forces. In theory, this variation could lead to…

As populist forces stretch apart higher education and government, colleges lobby in measurable ways to secure scarce funding and respond to accountability regulations. The non-profit and corporate lobbying literature provides a basis of comparison to ask if colleges lobby like corporations, which have been successful lobbyists under challenging…

This brief examines how specific college affordability policies and practices at the federal, state, and institutional levels can be strengthened to close racial equity gaps in college affordability and completion and to support widespread diversity and representation in higher education. By increasing access to financial aid and shifting the way…

The unstable funding of higher education exacerbated by current damaging environmental contexts has created a need to rethink current approaches and opportunities regarding the financing of higher education. States and campuses must strategically leverage the current significant federal investments to meet their postsecondary objectives including…

Differences in funding mixtures across the United States create widely variant levels of unmet need for students. This research examines gaps of unmet need between 2003-4 and 2013-14, particularly considering the presence of any local funding provisions and Pell Grant funding changes. These findings are also considered across state, community…

Young people with foster care history need financial support to attain their educational goals. Are these young people getting the financial support they need for college? How do their financial aid packages compare with those of their peers? To answer these questions, the authors used data from the National Center for Education Statistics,…

Young people with foster care history need financial support to attain their educational goals. Are these young people getting the financial support they need for college? How do their financial aid packages compare with those of their peers? Does the Education and Training Voucher program meet their needs? If not, how can it be improved? To…

Congress has legislation before it to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $550 for low-income students. But students would not be allowed to use the extra Pell dollars at for-profit colleges and universities. This has the for-profit higher education industry claiming discrimination against them in their lobbying campaign insisting that any federal…

The Cal State Student Association (CSSA) and The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) examine trends in college affordability for California State University (CSU) bachelor's degree recipients compared to its original analysis published six years ago. This new report finds that in 2021-2022, nearly two in three CSU bachelor's degree…

The market-based funding model more commonly known as direct student aid, which was adopted by the federal government during the late 1960s and early 1970s, has created a series of unintended consequences that threaten educational equity and the future of public higher education. The economic and societal impacts of the privatization of US public…

This brief is intended as an evidence-based guide for policy analysts and decision makers to inform critical areas in the Higher Education Authorization Act related to racial justice. Our recommendations prioritize combating systemic racism in higher education with a particular focus on disrupting anti-Blackness, though several sections focus on…

This paper provides a brief overview of the current state of federal accountability and the need for change, and a summary of the landscape of state accountability reforms through funding structures for public colleges and universities. It explores key questions or decision points that must be addressed in designing a federal accountability system…

Two federal campus-based financial aid programs, the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS), combine to provide nearly US$2 billion in funding to students with financial need. However, the allocation formulas have changed little since 1965, resulting in community colleges and newer institutions…

The COVID-19 health crisis has laid bare the structural inequity in the financial aid system. The pandemic has hit the lowest-income students hardest, with many struggling to afford the basic technology for online learning on top of new or exacerbated food and housing insecurity. Federal and state dollars predicated on Pell Grant eligibility, time…