While funding cuts are often necessary during economic downturns, reducing state investments in higher education will hamper recovery. If cuts are inevitable, a one-size-fits-all approach will undermine states’ ability to meet future talent needs and ensure equitable opportunity. State leaders should evaluate funding decisions based on their impact on low-income students and students of color, preserving and improving affordability and protecting institutions that serve those learners.
The killing of George Floyd at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve has awakened many Hoosiers to the fact that the racial discrimination we had hoped was a thing of the past still infects every facet of our society.
This year’s CBExchange conference will look at new research on competency-based education and give attendees a chance to see the latest design models and materials for developing programs of their own.
This summer marks the third anniversary of year-round Pell grants, where students can receive extra Pell funding to enroll in summer classes and complete their programs faster. Summer Pell is a critical resource, but it doesn’t begin to solve all of the affordability issues facing today’s students, including federal aid restrictions for many student populations, the pressure of costs beyond tuition (such as childcare), and lack of financing options for quality workforce training programs.
When state funding for higher education erodes, the impact is most severe on low-income students, concludes this report from ITHAKA. The report offers a set of recommendations—including performance-based funding, focusing on productivity, and bolstering need-based financial aid—for states and institutions to help mitigate the challenges caused by declines in state funding and increases in tuition and other student charges.
The 2025 update to HCM's landscape analysis of state investments in short-term credential pathways. The latest and most comprehensive analysis identifies 111 active state-funded initiatives across 34 states.
A shift to skills-based hiring is a good development, but don’t be fooled—the advantage for college-educated workers will continue to grow, Jamie Merisotis writes.
Using National Student Clearinghouse data, this report from the Community College Research Center examines national and state-by-state findings on the postsecondary enrollment and completion outcomes of high school students who began taking dual enrollment college courses in fall 2015, tracked up to four years after high school.
To provide fast and direct economic aid to the American people negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted a series of laws and injected about $4.6 trillion into the U.S. economy. Of this amount, more than $75 billion was directed to institutions of higher education through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds. These funds were intended to serve two main purposes: (1) to provide emergency aid directly to students facing financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to ensure that institutions of higher education could continue serving students in the midst of unforeseen disruptions.
Historically Black colleges and universities have distinguished themselves over the past two years in the face of uncertainty and difficulty. They innovated to embrace remote learning and redirected funds to provide their students with much-needed support. And they received an outpouring of funding: The federal government has allocated more than $6.5 billion to HBCUs over the past two years, and private donors have significantly stepped up their giving.