Higher education is a critical tool for social mobility, but today, students and their families face significant challenges. It is against this backdrop that the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) convened the Task Force on Higher Education Financing and Student Outcomes. This group has identified several areas of federal policy ripe for reform that…

Over half of jobs in the U.S. require training beyond high school but not a four-year degree. These skilled jobs are the backbone of America's economy, and filling them is critical to America's success in the 21st century. Every day, in communities coast to coast, working people, students, and families are looking for opportunities to get ahead.…

In this brief, the authors review some of the main goals of state student financial aid programs and provide a few examples of how these programs are organized. They also describe how state programs vary in terms of who benefits. They then discuss various possible designs for joint federal-state policymaking in this area and study their impact.…

Policy analysis issues in a recent study of quality control in the basic grant delivery system are reviewed, and the validity of the findings as reported is discussed. The study's design and implementation, derivation and presentation of findings, and relevance of the findings to the study's policy recommendations are examined. (MSE)

In response to Fischer (HE 527 626), the author considers a proposal to simplify need analysis in Pell grants and other federal need-based student aid as a good start toward getting policymakers to achieve more consistent assessments of student financial need, but more work by many parties to create a system producing more realistic need…

Research on changes in the design of the federal Pell Grant Program between 1973-74 and 1988-89 is reported, with focus on changes in the formulas used to calculate the Student Aid Index and the payment schedule, especially with reference to actual direct and indirect college attendance costs. (Author/MSE)

This analysis looks at proposals for the 1997 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. These proposals include graduation-contingent aid providing "incentives" for completion; creation of federal student aid block grants to reduce the federal government's role and provide states and institutions more flexibility in awarding student…

Background questions to support a federally-sponsored assessment of major student aid delivery system options are addressed. Attention is directed to: (1) information needed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to decide about changes to the delivery system; (2) reasons that delivery system redesign is a critical issue; (3) what can be learned from…

The Job Training Placement Act (JTPA) of 1982, a federally funded program directed by individual states, provides financial assistance to any state education agency responsible for education and training. Section 123(b) of the JTPA requires states to match the federal assistance with income from other sources. This paper reports on the study…

The debate about school choice continues in the absence of much data about its effects on student achievement, or on anything else. This volume assembles such data. The papers in this book present recent empirical results, showing that the specific features of the choice program make a great deal of difference in influencing student outcomes. The…

The interrelationships of state programs and federal student assistance are examined, based on a survey of 50 governors' offices. Attention is directed to: the impact on states and aid recipients of federal funding reductions; the current and longer-run outlook of the state fiscal position; and views of state officials responsible for carrying out…

The 1992 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) made changes in the need analysis formulas that determine the expected family contribution (EFC) used in awarding Title IV Federal student aid, altered the definition of an independent student, lowered the family size offset for independent students without dependents, eliminated home…

This Congressionally requested memorandum compares the Pell Grant provisions contained in the recent new versions proposed by the Senate and House with the current program. The first section describes the program, pointing out that students' eligibility for Pell Grants and the size of their awards depend on three factors: the amount they and their…

Hearings on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that were held in Burlington, Vermont, in 1986 are presented. Included is Vermont's unified position concerning the relative merits of House and Senate versions of the Higher Education Act. In Vermont, a special committee composed of representatives from all sectors of higher education…

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Jobs Initiative is a six-city workforce initiative aimed at helping disadvantaged adults earn their way out of poverty. Between 1995 and 2002, the initiative enrolled more than 17,000 adults and placed 8,090 people in jobs. Most Jobs Initiative participants were working 18 months after enrollment in the program, and…