In 2024, Instructure convened a Commission of higher education and lifelong learning experts to assess emerging policies related to skills development, including the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) and the Growth and Skills Levy (GSL). These policies aim to reform how education and training are funded and delivered to provide flexibility to…

This study uses an asset-based lens to explore the support college students give to others in their social network. Retention literature often categorizes students as passive receivers of social support. Qualitative data comes from a 3-year longitudinal study of college students who graduated from the same urban school district, drawing from a…

Colorado's rural communities face challenges recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, leaders, and special service providers. The Colorado Center for Rural Education (CCRE) has created and implemented a comprehensive system for professional development of effective educators for rural school districts. The CCRE has expanded educator pathway…

This report examines state-funded loan forgiveness and conditional grant programs, designed to alleviate student loan debt and address workforce shortages in high-need fields. These service-contingent programs incentivize graduates to work in targeted occupations or underserved areas in exchange for debt relief.

Classrooms in Europe are becoming increasingly more diverse. While many policies and practices have been adopted to ensure that schools can create inclusive environments for their diverse students, a broader approach to education is needed to ensure that it responds to the background and family context of each child. Close collaboration between…

This research seeks to describe the continuing predicament of R&D funding in the U.S. and to provide support for a return to higher R&D spending as a proportion of GDP to maintain American leadership in innovation. Historically, government investment has funded most foundational scientific research leading to technological advances in…

This report provides the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) with comprehensive information about the status of autism research funding among federal agencies and private research organizations in the U.S. This edition of the report features analysis of funding trends in autism research from 2008-2018, the first breakdown of the…

This essay centers on the voices of leading scholars in science and STEM education on how equity can and should be centered in reviewing proposals for granting organizations. As the decisions made as a result of the reviewing process significantly impact the future directions of the field, we recognize the urgency in considering how equity is…

Social return on investment (SROI), an evaluation method that compares monetized social value generated to costs invested, is in ascendance. Conceptually akin to cost-benefit analysis, it shares some of its challenges; however, these are heightened due to the expressed promise of using SROI to compare programs and inform philanthropic and public…

State support for higher education has been volatile, prompting public universities to pursue alternative revenue sources to supplement state support. While dependence on alternative revenue sources has been raising, the relationship between these revenue sources and graduation rates has not been examined in depth. This study used panel data from…

How causation is approached has, for some time now, been a central debate within the archives of educational research. Despite rich discussion in broader literature, the influence of what has been described as the 'methodology wars' has rarely featured within the field(s) of outdoor and environmental education (OEE). This paper explores causation…

Background: The content presents a conceptually powerful and attractive framework for understanding the proposal development process to capture the complexity of the steps that contribute to successful grant writing. Based on experiences from 15 years in research administration and using real-life examples, the author juxtaposes the diverse roles…

The rapid shift to online instruction at academic institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for streaming media resources offered by academic libraries. This shift prompted many academic libraries to employ new methods to provide access to streaming content. The authors sought to survey academic libraries with the purpose of…

Research administration is a matter of concern for institutions of higher education. While national trends reveal a lack of interest in investing in higher education institutions through federal and state allocations, such institutions have turned to sponsored research as a means of addressing critical issues of instruction, research, and public…

In part shaped by movements like Black Lives Matter, the crisis of the global pandemic, and the political and social turbulence of recent years, many thoughtful conversations have taken place in the philanthropic sector that question the power and privilege inherent in grantmaking and challenge whether conventional norms and practices in…