Written by Dr. Jacob Fowles What is the return on the investment in higher education for a student? A cursory review of both legislative agendas and scholarly research suggests that this question is as important as it is difficult to answer. Evidence conclusively demonstrates that, on average, earnings for those…

Written by Monoka Venters Starting a new program is a risk — and it’s a risk that often doesn’t pay off. According to a 2020 report from Burning Glass Technologies, 30% of new programs failed to get students across the finish line; specifically, 3,194 of the 10,538 programs that graduated…

Written by Erik Ness, Sean Baser, & Matt Dean The “regulatory triad” serves many functions related to postsecondary educational quality and public accountability. Yet, two actors — regional accreditors and the federal government — have received the lion’s share of attention in the regulation of institutions. Recently, however, higher education…

Written by Sophia Laderman, Jenna R. Sablan, Kelsey Kunkle The education provisions of the FY22 budget reconciliation bill would fundamentally reshape higher education financing. The legislation could result in the most significant federal investments in higher education in over 50 years and would represent a new federal funding strategy for…

Written by James Dean Ward To be eligible to access federal student aid programs, colleges and universities are required to receive authorization from the state or states within which they operate. Over the last decade, the rise in online postsecondary programs created increasingly complicated administrative challenges to state authorization: Institutions…

Written by Neal Hutchens, Frank Fernandez, and Macey Edmondson Students at for-profit colleges and universities too often fall victim to predatory practices, resulting in individuals being overburdened by debt, failing to earn a degree, or possessing poor career prospects. Much of the conversation around bad actor for-profit colleges and universities…

Written by Angela Boatman and Katrina Borowiec, Boston College Growing numbers of students are enrolling in short cycle, occupationally oriented training programs such as badges, bootcamps, and other micro-credentials (Brown & Kurzweil, 2017; Inside Higher Ed, 2020). These short-term credentials promise a new type of educational product closely aligned with…

Written by Rebecca S. Natow, Vikash Reddy, and Victoria Ioannou Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) requires institutions whose students receive federal financial aid to be authorized by their state to act as postsecondary education providers. This state authorization requirement is meant to serve as a form of…

Written by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) In FY 2020, SHEEO surveyed its members to understand the key functions SHEEO agencies perform. Of those key functions, from 2019–2020, managing equity and diversity programs saw an increase from 17 to 23 (42.6% of survey respondents) SHEEO agencies performing this…