25 states have introduced programs that offer a tuition-free pathway to degrees or credentials to a substantial portion of their residents. Today's statewide "Promise" programs vary widely in terms of their scope, their generosity, and how they function. As a result, states like Michigan that are considering introducing or expanding…

Despite the increasing number of students learning abroad, little is known about the way international students migrate and how policies influence their decision. This article evaluates one German state's recent policy to charge international students for tuition, while tertiary education remains free elsewhere. For my difference-in-differences…

After trailing the national average for five years, funding per student at public colleges and universities in Wisconsin overtook it in 2021. State and local tax and tuition funding per student dropped nationally after adjusting for inflation and rose in Wisconsin, though it remains lower for four-year campuses in Wisconsin. The state's colleges…

A growing number of states are placing restrictions on whether public universities can increase tuition, and this trend is likely to continue in the future. Yet no research has examined whether tuition caps or freezes have induced more students--particularly from historically underrepresented groups--to enroll in public higher education. In this…

Georgia offers two merit-based scholarships to in-state college students: HOPE Scholarships, which provide partial tuition support, and Zell Miller Scholarships, which provide full tuition support but with stricter eligibility and retention conditions. Studies have examined retention of these scholarships but not other dynamics, including gaining…

The Michigan Legislature passed legislation in October 2021 to create the Student Opportunity Scholarship Program, which would give thousands of families across the state more spending power to help meet their children's educational needs. This report unpacks this proposed education savings account program and analyzes its potential fiscal impacts.

The last 25 years have seen a dramatic shift in tuition fee policy in England. This paper uses Critical Discourse Analysis to understand the motivations behind policy setting, comparing the pivotal reviews undertaken by Dearing, Browne and Augar. It concludes that four themes may have influenced tuition fee policy making: national politics and…

West Virginia's three state-funded medical schools enroll more medical students per capita than any other state in the country. Due to its large number of medical student slots, the state typically can offer all qualified West Virginians the opportunity to complete their medical education in the state. In the academic year of 2023-2024, 27 percent…

While considerable evidence has accumulated on state-funded merit-based scholarships, research on the effects of specific scholarship design choices has been thin, perhaps in part because cross-state comparisons are difficult. As one of the only states to enact major changes in the design of its merit-based scholarship program, Georgia provides a…

Historically, it has been difficult for students and their families to compare how different colleges and programs improve students' chances of landing a desirable job and earning a good salary. The U.S. Department of Education's 2015 release of student earning data was a major step toward remedying this problem. The data offered by the College…

Christopher Martin argues that an interest in strong autonomy supports a right to debt-free higher education and that making tuition free is the best way of enacting that right. We argue that making higher education tuition free would, in the absence of other countervailing measure, maldistribute strong autonomy, even in ideal conditions. We also…

The number of colleges and universities facing financial difficulty is rising rapidly, and the pressures upon these institutions will be exacerbated by the arrival of the "demographic cliff " (18 years out from the fall in birth rates during the 2008/09 economic downturn) in 2026/27. The Forbes annual financial ranking of academic…

The business model of many U.S. higher education institutions is under serious stress from changing demographics, heightened consumer demands, flagging public confidence, and new competitors for educational credentials. Many institutions are struggling to sustain the suite of amenities and support services that students need or expect given the…

Pennsylvania has "the highest cyber charter school enrollment in the country" with student enrollment soaring in 2020-21 due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. School districts paid over $1 billion in tuition for students enrolled in Pennsylvania's 14 cyber charter schools in 2020-21, a $335 million increase over the prior…

The most recent data on tuition, appropriations, and state grant aid present an economic outlook that appears favorable in the West. Tuition rates remained relatively flat for the past decade, total state funding to higher education increased across the region in the past year, and state grant aid continued to increase since 2010-11. Despite these…