International
‘Unfair’ student loan system must be reviewed | For an 18-year-old with limited experience of the earnings and tax system, it’s not easy to foresee the long-term effects of borrowing the average £44,000 cost of a degree.
The HEC in crisis | In a shattering blow to Pakistan’s higher education sector, the finance ministry has slashed the development budget of all universities of Pakistan by more than 60 percent. The original budget allocated for the higher education sector in 2016-2017 was Rs21.48 billion. But only Rs8.42 billion has been released.
U.S. National
Scholars’ Research Challenges College ‘Mismatch’ Theory | Low-income students could have a better shot at upward mobility if they had greater access to more colleges with a record of good student outcomes, but “income segregation” is getting in the way, several scholars argue in a new study released Monday. Titled “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility,” the study found that children from both poor and affluent families ended up with “very similar earnings” based on the college they attended.
On Administrative Spending, Which Colleges Get the Most Bang for the Buck? | Administrative costs are a popular target for groups concerned about the rising price of college. A new report puts that spending in context and finds that large, public research universities are the most efficient compared with smaller and private institutions.
The Rose-Colored Glasses Come Off: a Survey of Business Officers | Chief business officers increasingly agree that higher education is in the midst of a financial crisis, according to the 2017 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College and University Business Officers. Some are also starting to lose faith in the idea that they can overcome revenue shortfalls using the often-cited strategy of increasing enrollment.
U.S. States
Leaders Clash on New Mexico School Spending | As the sixth week of a public education funding lawsuit comes to a close on Friday in Santa Fe, both sides are adamant: New Mexico’s schools say the state needs to spend more on public education. The state says schools just need to spend smarter.
Paying for higher education results might help Hoosiers | Should public colleges and universities get a funding boost for helping students graduate — especially the economically disadvantaged and those going into high-demand jobs? If you think the answer is yes, you might be encouraged by a new study that shows the funding boost appears to be working — helping more Hoosiers obtain education and training critically needed in a fast-changing economy.
NM’s colleges facing ‘a whole new world’ | There’s a sea change underway in higher education, and colleges and universities in New Mexico – and elsewhere – are attempting to adjust.
State Funding Cuts Matter | New research in the journal Economics of Education Review finds the appropriation-cut-to-tuition pass-through rate has averaged 25.7 percent since 1987. In other words, for every $1,000 cut from per-student state and local appropriations, the average student can be expected to pay $257 more per year in tuition and fees.
How students are overcoming the nation’s education inequality | Standing on the stage of the Thomas & Mack Center for the 2014 College of Southern Nevada graduation, Carlos Holguin couldn’t quite believe it. Not only was he the first in his family to go to college, he was the commencement speaker and Regents’ Scholar, an honor that would pay for his further education at UNLV.
Seminole State among top performers in Florida College System | Seminole State College of Florida has gone gold, achieving the highest level for performance funding in the Florida College System (FCS). The College also will receive $3.06 million in additional funding, up from $1.08 million last year.
Study: Outcome-based funding could enhance graduation, retention | Research for Action, an independent research organization, has been looking for several years at the impacts of outcomes-based funding (OBF), finding that it enhanced outcomes for full-time students, full-time Pell recipients and full-time students of color in Tennessee and Ohio, The Indianapolis Star reports.
Has California Found the Answer to More Equitable Developmental Education? | However, more recently the California Assembly’s Committee on Higher Education unanimously passed the AB 705 bill. This policy requires all community colleges to prioritize high school grades as an important indicator for placement. Often students are required to take DE based on hard cut-off scores from standardized tests and placement tests. Through Bill AB 705, institutions still will consider those test scores but will weigh them less heavily in favor of high school grades, which will hold more weight than in times past.
Institutional
Mizzou’s Policy May Disadvantage Low-Income Students | In an effort to curb student debt, the University of Missouri (Mizzou) has taken a controversial step: placing limits on what students can charge on their university accounts.
Study Examines Enrollment and Completion Rates at Minority Serving Institutions | A first-of-its kind report on enrollment and completion outcomes for students of color at minority serving institutions (MSIs) reveals a number of disparities between what is actually taking place and what is being reported in graduation rates by the federal government.
Debating the Right Spending Ratio | ACTA [American Council of Trustees and Alumni] released new research today in an attempt to give trustees a financial benchmark for administrative spending and instructional costs. The group crunched 2015 data from more than 1,200 four-year nonprofit institutions to come up with median ratios of administrative spending to instructional spending for colleges and universities of various sizes and classifications.
Another Edge for the Wealthy | A new research paper suggests that demonstrated interest has become another way wealthy students have an extra edge — and recommends that colleges consider policy changes as a result.
Assessing the Intangible in Our Students | Measurable learning goals of content and skills that students acquire in college are important. But, with apologies to Wittgenstein, about those things we may not be able to measure, we cannot remain silent. Otherwise, in the public eye, institutions of higher education may become two-dimensional skill-development, content-acquisition centers.