China's recent implementation of the three-child policy is expected to have profound implications for population dynamics, leading to potential changes in preschool enrollment and subsequent demand for preschool teachers. This study addresses this issue by utilizing population forecasting software (PADIS-INT) to project population growth trends…

As in other Confucian societies in Northeast Asia, higher education has long been respected and valued in Japan, and Ph.D. holders are regarded as critical for their economic and social contributions. However, despite tremendous efforts by the government to expand doctoral education, the enrollment rate in Japanese Ph.D. programs has steadily…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education for all children, particularly for children with disabilities. Many preschools closed, offered distance learning or nothing at all, or operated in a hybrid format. We examined the impact of enrollment on young children's social and emotional adjustment for children with and without disabilities, as well as…

Among students in the 2024 ACT-tested graduating class, over 374,000 took the PreACT 8/9® or PreACT test before taking the ACT. This issue brief compares the ACT scores and college enrollment rates for students who took a test from the PreACT Suite of Assessments versus those who did not. The brief also examines average PreACT-to-ACT gain scores…

The Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY2025 (H.Con.Res. 14) includes reconciliation instructions for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce (EDW) and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) to reduce spending within their jurisdictions by at least $330 billion and at least $1 billion, respectively,…

The Rural Early College Network (RECN) aimed to help rural Indiana schools more quickly implement the Early College (EC) model with fidelity and increase the number and quality of Early College programs throughout rural parts of the state. The initiative was led by the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of…

In 2023, 2.5 million high school students participated in dual enrollment -- programs that allow them to take and earn credit for college-level courses. Research shows that dual enrollment leads to better student outcomes, such as higher graduation rates, college enrollment, and credit accumulation. However, access to these programs is…

While the Indiana Commission for Higher Education pursued an historic agenda during the 2023 legislative session aimed at reversing declining trends and catalyzing opportunities, Commissioner Lowery believed that deep and long-term improvements would require collaborative and concerted efforts by five key sectors of civil society for genuine…

Since 2003, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has produced the annual State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report to broaden understanding and enable analysis of state-level and national funding and enrollment trends over time. The SHEF report supplies important context and trend analysis to help inform state…

In this report, the authors analyze student attrition before the census date (which is the date by which community colleges count students as officially enrolled for each term) across community colleges in Texas, Kentucky, and California. They explore the magnitude of this issue, delve into the factors contributing to early student departures, and…

All states require prospective public-school teachers to satisfy licensure requirements to be eligible to teach, including passing one or more licensure tests as a primary requirement. But licensure testing is controversial, with critics arguing it is an unnecessary barrier to entry into the teaching profession. With the onset of the COVID-19…

Educators and policymakers have for decades endeavored to increase access to postsecondary education, aware that more and more jobs were requiring some amount of education after high school. Between 1983 and 2021, the percentage of jobs that required some postsecondary education more than doubled, and this trend is expected to continue. Despite…

The federal Pell Grant program provides over 6.2 million students each year with financial assistance for college and college-related expenses. Its funding levels, however, are not a given and can fluctuate year-to-year in each budget set by Congress. Inconsistent funding levels are one factor that can impact many students' opportunity to attend…

Background/Context: Inequitable access to higher education continues to be driven by socioeconomic inequalities (Wolniak et al., 2016). Aid spending by state governments has been found to bolster higher enrollment and degree awards at two-year colleges (Monarrez et al., 2021). Where federal funds have taken on a larger portion of funding in the…

As the cost of college continues to rise, free community college has emerged as a strategic policy intervention aimed at improving access to higher education and alleviating the burden of student loans. While free community college offers a potentially lower-cost pathway through college, limiting financial aid exclusively to community colleges…