The recent trends in college costs could have a number of far-reaching public policy implications. A growing inability to pay for costs could lead more students to make their educational choice on the basis of price, shifting from the private to the public sector. (MLW)

Identifies the political forces affecting state decision making during four Minnesota legislative sessions--1955, 1971, 1976, and 1981--that either passed or retained measures for private school tax deductions. The study focuses on the central features of the legislative process and the implications of those features for education policymaking.…

Reviewing public education versus private education concerns, the author outlines the dangers of privatization and presents a strong argument for strengthening public education. (MD)

Critiques Chester Finn's analysis (EA 518 431, this issue) of teachers unions, outlining the ambiguities in Finn's theories. (MD)

Satirical projection of the future of education up to 1994 when, says the author, public school enrollment will have dropped to only 13.2 percent of all school children and tuition tax credits will have led to a greatly expanded enrollment in private schools and increasing computer sales. (JBM)

Tax credits and vouchers raise questions about the relationship between schooling and society: the tension between professional and parent, the role and place of values in education, the extent to which private schools should receive government aid, and the extent to which such aid might lead to government control of private schools. (MLW)

Regional exchange programs of reciprocity for out-of-state students are discussed and specific programs are reviewed. They offer a viable alternative to the nonresident student who faces higher costs by attending a public institution of higher education outside his home state. (LBH)

As Congress debates the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), it should heed Friedrich Hayek's warning that democracy is "peculiarly liable, if not guided by accepted common principles, to produce over-all results that nobody wanted." One result of the federal government's student financial aid programs is higher tuition…

College tuition is frequently compared, in press and politics, to the US median family income. That is, however, a highly misleading benchmark since schools with need-based financial aid rarely charge students from median income families the reported sticker price. Working from the financial aid records of individual students at twenty-eight…

This edition of the "Fact Book" continues a tradition that began in 1956. Comparative data and trends for colleges and universities in the states that are members of the Southern Regional Education Board are presented in a national context. The "Fact Book" contains detailed national, regional, and state data on: educational attainment and…

In this report, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, investigated the factors that explain change over time in enrollments and credit hours (participation) at the community campuses of the University of Alaska using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Sections include: (1) Background; (2) Factors…

The United States is in need of new strategies to address the historic inequity of access to its colleges and universities. Australia, with its system of deferred tuition and income-contingent repayment, can serve as a source of insight and guidance in addressing this problem and function as an interesting and helpful comparative case. In this…

This document contains information about selected trends in higher education enrollment and finance in Connecticut. It opens with a summary of the state's operating budget for fiscal years (FY) 2003-2005. The report then examines higher education in a statewide context and general fund and operating budget expenditure trends. Comparative funding…

This publication provides an overview and discusses underlying issues of the college savings and prepaid tuition plans that are emerging in the states. Two papers offer different vantage points on college savings and prepaid plans in financing postsecondary education. The first paper, "The Evolution of State Plans" (Barbara M. Jennings),…

This study examined relative spending patterns in higher education and corrections in California during the administration of Governor Pete Wilson. Data were obtained from the California Postsecondary Education Commission and the Department of Corrections. It was found that over the last 10 years, spending for higher education decreased as a…