Although the community college's original intent was to fulfill a mission dedicated to offering a low-cost, high-quality education to its community, fulfilling its mission is has become more difficult based on ever-increasing financial stresses being placed upon it by various constituent groups. As such, a growing piece of the community college…

As COVID-19 continues to impact various business sectors, university administrators have steadily pushed for all academic units to resume on campus operations and activities; conversely, faculty and students have expressed increased interest in continuing online teaching/learning. We aim to mitigate this "tug-of-war" between…

The purpose of this case study is to understand higher education administrators' perceptions of New York State's tuition-free initiative, the Excelsior Scholarship. A comprehensive literature review offers insights into a select history of higher education policy, as well as the current condition of public higher education. Guided by a…

New York State (NYS) launched the Excelsior Scholarship in 2017. It is designed to make college tuition-free for students who attend publicly funded institutions and meet certain criteria. Is this scholarship a good investment for taxpayers of NYS? How long does it take taxpayers to recover their investment? This case analysis takes a perspective…

Each year, NASSGAP completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year…

The price of a college education has consistently risen at a rate exceeding inflation. The price increases have strained students and their families paying for college. In addition, the manner in which colleges increase their prices can vary widely from year to year, making it difficult to plan for the increases in college expenses. In 2011, New…

Faced with major economic disruption, New Yorkers are likely to turn to higher education. But while the Excelsior Scholarship program is growing, City University of New York (CUNY) students and community college students statewide continue to be underserved. Despite its well-intentioned purpose, New York State's flagship free tuition program--the…

This dissertation examines the impact of state educational programs on the economics of education and labor, focusing on the New York State (NYS) STEM Incentive Program and China's tuition-free policy for vocational secondary education (VSE). The first two Chapters analyze the effects of the NYS STEM Incentive Program, an initiative implemented in…

College tuition at public institutions across the country rose by 36.2 percent on average over the decade 2008-09 to 2018-19. The average total cost of college, accounting for all expenses such as room and board, across all institutions public and private grew by 22.4 percent. Students and their families are borrowing an enormous amount of money…

Independent school leaders are continually faced with the challenges of declining enrollment and expanding public options and currently lack a mechanism to understand what influences parents' reenrollment choices. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a theoretical framework for reenrollment decisions in secular and Catholic…

This Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report focuses on international higher education financing, discussing the concept of 'targeted free tuition' -- the idea that, while tuition fees backed by income-contingent loans can improve access, they still do not do enough to help people from the very poorest households, who are typically the…

Since the fall of 2017, New York has offered free tuition to eligible residents attending its state-funded two-year and four-year colleges under its unique Excelsior Scholarship program. We use the difference-in-differences and generalized synthetic control estimators to document that institution-level enrollment effects are negligible. Our study…

Many students have concerns about the affordability of college, which may interfere with their potential success. However, foster care alumni have unique needs when making the transition into postsecondary enrollment. Compared to completion rates for the general population, postsecondary education outcomes for youth with foster care experience lag…

For years, rising tuition costs have dominated the conversation around college affordability. This report examines the average education costs for students attending both two-year and four-year colleges within the State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) systems. This report also compares costs to average grant…

Nearly 43 million college student borrowers across the United States owe more than $1.56 trillion in outstanding federal student loans. The number of student borrowers in the country has increased by 1.3 million, or 3.1 percent, over the past five years, while the amount of outstanding student debt in the country has increased by a whopping $…