In 2021, California launched the Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) program (AB 130), requiring public schools with kindergarten to provide free, high-quality, inclusive pre-kindergarten to all four-year-olds regardless of birth date. Starting in 2022, it increased the original age-eligibility for Transitional Kindergarten (TK)--students turning five…

This policy brief examines whether Maryland faces an enrollment cliff in higher education by analyzing high school graduation projections and historical college enrollment data.

Three-quarters of a century after Milton Friedman popularized the idea, universal school vouchers have suddenly become a reality in 17 states since 2021. These new policies promise to be one of the most far-reaching reforms in U.S. education history. We make two contributions to understanding this policy. First, we provide a rich description of…

In most states across the country, public K-12 enrollment is declining. This is a decade-long, national trend that accelerated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and is projected to continue. Although enrollment decline varies substantially among and within states, many states have put temporary or permanent policies in place to address the…

In 2017, Finland began levying tuition fees on non-European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) international students. Using data from multiple Finnish government sources, we study the impact of tuition fee reform at various stages of the higher education enrollment selection process. Outcomes examined include how the policy change affects…

Teacher production has important implications for our education system. Leveraging more than a decade of national data, the authors examine the supply of teachers and changes in the reserve pool of teachers in the United States. They find a substantial decrease in the teacher supply coinciding with the increase in demand for teachers starting in…

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted student learning and the delivery of public education. Across the United States, most public K-12 schools saw widespread enrollment declines during the 2020-21 school year, with many reporting continued declines in subsequent school years. But the District of Columbia (DC) stands out as one of the few…

Globally, private universities enrol one in three of all higher education students. In Japan, which has the second largest higher education system in the world in terms of overall expenditure, almost 80% of all university students attend private institutions. According to some estimates up to 40% of these institutions are family businesses in the…

This paper aims to explain the unsuccessful relationship between the awareness of prominent international education brands and enrollment intention. A serial mediation model encompassing perceived congruity and brand attitude was developed and was tested using the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique involving 132…

As the financial challenges facing the U.S higher education industry mount, colleges and universities seek new activities that can improve their financial situation. Online education programs are often viewed as a promising option due to growing student interest and the substantial net revenue generated by early entrants that leveraged economies…

Latine college students in the United States face increasing isolation in universities designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). We contend that this pattern is not just a function of Latine selection into particular universities. Using enrollment data for public four-year undergraduate institutions from 1990 to 2019, we show that White…

Pursuant to California Senate Bill 117, Section 19, Schedule 1, Provision 2(d)(2), the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the Board of Governors for California Community Colleges are pleased to release the Enrollment and Retention Funding report. This report details the use of one-time funding allocated to California community…

Charter schools are a permanent and growing part of America's public education system, serving nearly 4 million students in more than 8,100 schools nationwide. Charter schools are experiencing consistent, nationwide growth, adding over half a million students over the last six years (+15%) even as the overall school-age population shrinks. This…

This brief examines national trends in the representation of first-generation college students over a 24-year period. Using data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS), the analysis finds a significant decline in the proportion of first-generation students enrolled in…

Using national data from the US Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the US Census Bureau, trends in graduate school enrollment percentages for Hispanic and White students from 2002 to 2018 were analyzed and compared. Major findings from three regression analyses included: (1) a strong, statistically…