Historically, private education has been an option mostly for families who could afford the cost or received financial help. Years of research have shown that many families would choose private schools and other educational resources for their children if they did not face insurmountable financial or geographical limitations. Private educational…

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…

This paper studies the causal impacts of public universities on the outcomes of their marginally admitted students. I use administrative admission records spanning all 35 public universities in Texas, which collectively enroll 10 percent of American public university students, to systematically identify and employ decentralized cutoffs in SAT/ACT…

We evaluate whether the Bennett Hypothesis applies to local-level, single-institution promise programs and account for whether colleges have the authority to raise tuition, versus an external entity holding such authority. Using a sample of 29 community colleges affected by promise programs, we analyze changes in tuition across years 2001-02 to…

Background/purpose: This study aims to assess the international competitiveness of Thai Higher Education and the satisfaction levels of Chinese international students, taking into account the previously overlooked experiences of this group. These criteria are crucial for Thailand's objective of positioning itself as a leading educational center in…

Low-income high-achieving students are less likely than high-income peers to enroll in selective colleges. Financial certainty interventions can address administrative burdens that stifle their enrollment, even when colleges are tuition-free for them. However, we do not know whether these interventions are effective when students enjoy admissions…

Scholarship tax credit programs provide a tax credit to businesses and individual taxpayers for donating funds to scholarship granting organizations. Nonprofit organizations manage and distribute donated funds in the form of private school tuition scholarships to eligible students. There are currently 24 scholarship tax credit programs in 19…

The evidence deployed in the policy process is often done so from sources hoping to shape policy along preconceived ideological lines. This chapter presents the data and research cited as evidence in tuition-free community legislation proposed and enacted by 10 states, along with the sources that produced this evidence when applicable. Results…

In this chapter, we explore statewide tuition-free college programs which encourage students to earn Career and Technical Education (CTE) credentials. To map the current landscape of statewide Promise programs, we conducted a policy discourse analysis of all statewide Promise programs while focusing on policy features relevant to workforce…

Dual enrollment--in which students take college credit-bearing courses when still in high school--is becoming increasingly popular. Community college programs account for about 70% of the dual enrollment that more than one million high school students participate in each year nationwide. Yet dual enrollment can be a big financial burden for…

The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) is a multijurisdictional test that law students can use to gain admission to the bar in 37 states and territories. Despite this near-universal applicability and the potential of UBE to affect law schools' admissions, diversity, affordability, and employment outcomes, no research to date has examined the impacts of…

Scholars disagree about the effect out-of-state university students have on potential in-state students. Despite paying a premium to attend state universities, researchers argue that out-of-state students may come at a cost to in-state students by negatively affecting academic quality or by crowding out in-state students. To study this…

This study determined the optimal tuition subsidy necessary to increase two- and four-year college graduation in Texas. The study also estimated the per pupil and total cost of potential subsidies, and compared how they might affect college graduation rates. The goal of this exercise was to provide guidance on how the state could achieve the Texas…

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…

This brief presents the results of a fiscal analysis of the New Hampshire Education Freedom Account Program. The Education Freedom Account Program enables students from low- and middle-income households to access education savings accounts (ESAs) designated for various educational purposes such as private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks,…