By Sakshee Chawla, SHEEO senior policy analyst Dr. Taylor Odle, assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with Sara Scudder, college and career access officer with the Idaho State Board of Education, and Wendy Robinson, assistant commissioner for programs, policy, and grants at the Minnesota…

By Andrew Smalley In the 2023 legislative session, state lawmakers considered more than 380 bills related to financial aid for postsecondary education. With lingering postsecondary enrollment declines, ever-rising student loan debt, and declining faith in the value of a degree, states are working to support affordable postsecondary pathways for students. …

By Dillon McNamara In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided significant funding for states and institutions of higher education. This was the first time the federal government distributed stimulus funding for higher education since the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, passed during the Great Recession…

By Jim Purcell, Executive Director, Alabama Commission on Higher Education To address the state of Alabama’s shortage of skilled workers, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey set a postsecondary education attainment goal of adding 500,000 degree holders to Alabama’s workforce by 2025. To support this effort, Governor Ivey and the Alabama State…

Here at SHEEO we continue to focus on helping our members find and implement best practices for increasing educational attainment and expanding student access to college opportunities. That’s why we are excited to introduce a new partnership with the City University of New York’s (CUNY) ASAP|ACE National Replication Collaborative. Over…

By Rachel Burns and Pearson Brown The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act implements the most significant changes to the federal financial aid process since the early amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965. Numerous organizations in the college access and success field have advocated for…

Written by: Lynneah Brown and Rachel Burns, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association Direct admissions is a new approach to college admission that enables postsecondary institutions to make admission offers to prospective high school graduates without having to navigate the many obstacles of the traditional admissions process. This new approach…

Written by: Tom Harnisch, Kelsey Kunkle, and Casey McCoy-Simmons, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association President Biden’s recent announcement of a sweeping federal student loan forgiveness plan has led to renewed questions on the effectiveness of federal policies designed to make college affordable. In response to the Administration’s announcement, Democratic…

Written by: Lynneah Brown and John Lane, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association Implementing and sustaining evidence-based comprehensive student support strategies continues to grow in importance as an effective way to help close the success gap for students from low-income families and students of color. Challenges that were facing students…