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Community colleges can be a catapult to economic mobility, dramatically increasing earnings, and almost all are open admission. But most students that start degrees do not finish on time, and many don’t finish at all. Hari Sreenivasan reports on a program spreading nationally to increase community college graduation rates. It’s part of our series, Rethinking College.

The financing of higher education is undergoing great change in many countries around the world. In recent years many countries are moving from a system where the costs of funding higher education are shouldered primarily by taxpayers, through government subsidies, to one where students pay a larger share of the costs. There are a number of factors driving these trends, including: A push for massification of higher education, in the recognition that additional revenue streams are required above and beyond those funds available from governments in order to achieve higher participation rates Macroeconomic factors, which lead to constraints on overall government revenues Political factors, which manifest in demands for funding of over services, thus restricting the funding available for higher (tertiary) education A concern that the returns to higher education accrue primarily to the individual, rather than to society, and thus students should bear more of the burden of paying for it This volume will help to contribute to an understanding of how these trends occur in various countries and regions around the world, and the impact they have on higher education institutions, students, and society as a whole. With contributions for the UK, USA, South Africa and China this vital new book gives a truly global picture of the rapidly changing situation

This report of the Panel on Quality Improvement in Student Financial Aid Programs examines the quality control of federal student financial aid programs covered by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and offers recommendations calling for sweeping revisions of the present system. The report explores: (1) the quality control practices employed by the Department of Education to measure the accuracy of eligibility of students for awards; and (2) the methods used by program managers, based on this information, to reduce errors. Part 1 describes the new philosophy of continuous improvement as well as Title IV student financial aid programs and the system for distributing the awards. Part 2 discusses the outcome of Department of Education activities to control, improve, and monitor the \"quality of the award\" in the current system. Among the topics addressed are the methodological and statistical integrity of current quality control studies, including the accuracy of estimates of national error rates; a review of the application forms and their instructions; and the potential for risk-based management of audit and review processes. Part 3 looks at the larger picture and recommends changes in the system that should more efficiently reduce the recurring problems identified in Part 2. Appendices include six papers addressing various aspects of student financial aid reform. (Contains over 60 references.) (GLR)

More than two-thirds of American jobs require some kind of secondary education. Unfortunately, kids growing up in a low-income area simply do not have the same resources as wealthier areas when it comes to applying for college or making it to graduation. PeerForward works with students in low-income areas to get them into college by helping them identify their target college, find and apply for financial aid, and consider how their choice of major connects to their future career. PeerForward now is expanding onto college campuses to help students persist to earning a degree. The organization hopes to reach 10,000 college students by 2024. PeerForward is a winner of the Lumina Prize. Discover what they're about here.

Undocumented immigrant postsecondary students face myriad challenges while pursuing a college education. Garcia focuses on the experiences of nine students attending a public comprehensive postsecondary institution in California to assess how different types of social capital help students pursue a college education. She demonstrates how students were wholly or partly reliant on various types of social capital accessed before and during matriculation. Three of the major findings are: institutional agents were instrumental in developing students' social capital, family- and peer-based social capital was important to students' matriculation, and perceptions about immigration status affected students' matriculation and social capital development.

Every branch of the American military provides opportunities for educational benefits and ways to attend college at either no cost or at a cost far below published tuition rates. No military member, veteran, or dependent should have to go through school without knowing what their benefits are or how to obtain them. 'Military Education Benefits for College' guides you in how to access, utilize, and take advantage of your benefits so you can earn the degree you deserve.As a retention non-commissioned officer in the Army National Guard, co-author David J. Renza witnessed firsthand how these education benefits were used as a bargaining tool to encourage people to enlist and/or remain in the military. He also discovered that the vast majority of military personnel, veterans, and their dependents are unaware of what is available to them, and where to find answers to their questions. They needed help.Co-author Lt. Col. Edmund J. Lizotte (Ret.), Director of the Military Program at Post University (and former commander of a recruiting battalion), reached the same conclusion. Lizotte encountered a large population of eligible personnel, many of whom had put off using their education benefits during their military careers. Those who tried to attend college often became confused and discouraged by the perplexing enrollment process required to obtain education benefits.Together, Renza and Lizotte have produced a comprehensive, readable, informative, and indispensable step-by-step guide into every facet of the education journey. From the enrollment process and the classroom experience to the procurement of benefits and determining which type of degree is right for which type of job, 'Military Education Benefits for College' sheds light on the experience of higher education for service-connected students. Their book also dispels myths about the college experience and offers insight from two former military members who have the unique perspective of military admissions counselors and veteran students still using their education benefits to this day.You have qualified on your weapon and you have passed your physical training test. With 'Military Education Benefits for College', you can now improve the most powerful weapon of all-your mind!About the Authors: David J. Renza is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Connecticut Army National Guard for twelve years. As a combat medic, he was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after September 11, 2001. He is a three-time winner of the Army Achievement Medal, and is a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal for his work as a retention NCO. Renza holds a Master's of Arts from the University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education. He is currently a Military Enrollment Counselor with Post University.Lt. Col. Edmund J. Lizotte is a U.S. Army veteran with twenty-five years of service. He has held various positions throughout his career, from platoon and scout platoon leader to battalion and brigade operations officer, recruiting battalion commander, and state logistics officer. Lizotte has received two Meritorious Service medals, five Army Commendation medals, and four Army Achievement medals. He holds a Bachelor's of Science from the University of Massachusetts and is a graduate of both the Combined Arms Staff and Services School and the Army Command and General Staff College. He currently serves as the Director of Military Programs at Post University.

Aspiring college students and their families have many options. A student can attend an in-state or an out-of-state school, a public or private college, a two-year community college program or a four-year university program. Students can attend full-time and have a bachelor of arts degree by the age of twenty-three or mix college and work, progressing toward a degree more slowly. To make matters more complicated, the array of financial aid available is more complex than ever. Students and their families must weigh federal grants, state merit scholarships, college tax credits, and college savings accounts, just to name a few. In College Choices, Caroline Hoxby and a distinguished group of economists show how students and their families really make college decisions—how they respond to financial aid options, how peer relationships figure in the decision-making process, and even whether they need mentoring to get through the admissions process. Students of all sorts are considered—from poor students, who may struggle with applications and whether to continue on to college, to high aptitude students who are offered \"free rides\" at elite schools. College Choices utilizes the best methods and latest data to analyze the college decision-making process, while explaining how changes in aid and admissions practices inform those decisions as well.

So-called \"Blaine Amendments\" in state constitutions are under attack because they may restrict the flow of tax dollars into religious institutions. The prevailing argument against the state Blaine Amendments is that they are unconstitutional expressions of Nineteenth Century anti-Catholic sentiment. Through an examination of Nineteenth Century historical trends and the test of state constitutions, Johnson challenges that argument. While he does not dispute the anti-Catholic currents of the Nineteenth Century, his work demonstrates that Blaine amendment supporters had many different motives other than anti-Catholic bias and that language adopted in state constitutions shows religiously neutral intent. This supports the conclusion that state Blaine Amendments are legitimate exercises of state power.

Colonel Reuben Wells Leonard (1860-1930) was a teacher, civil engineer, militia officer, inventor, businessman, senior civil servant, and philanthropist. In December 1923, he signed the third and final version of the Leonard Foundation trust deed, donating over $500,000 to create a fund for scholarships tenable across Canada. The deed begins with a statement of Leonard's belief that the White Race is, as a whole, best qualified by nature to be entrusted with the development of civilization and the general progress of the world along the best lines. It goes on to recite that the progress of the world depends on the maintenance of the Christian religion and the independence, stability, and prosperity of the British Empire. The student awards created under the trust were therefore available only to persons who were White Protestants of British nationality or parentage. The Leonard Foundation operated under these terms for over 60 years. When the legality of the trust was questioned in the mid-1980s, an Ontario court ruled that it was valid, and it was not until 1990 that the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the initial decision and held that the discriminatory qualifications were unlawful. Leonard's life provides the backdrop for the central subject of Unforeseen Legacies: an exploration of Canadian values and beliefs as filtered through the ideologies of Colonel Leonard, the Leonard Trust, and the law governing private discriminatory action. In part, this study investigates Canada's response to issues of race, discrimination, and tolerance of and respect for difference, then and now. This book is about Reuben Wells Leonard, the Leonard Foundation trust, the litigation concerning the validity of the trust's discriminatory provisions, and the judgments rendered in the Leonard Foundation case. Part biography, part intellectual history, part legal history, it concludes with a discussion of contemporary law and policy.

The Federal Pell Grant Program is the nation's largest need-based grant program. While students' initial eligibility for the Pell is based on financial need, renewal is contingent on meeting minimum academic standards similar to those in models of performance-based scholarships, including a grade point average (GPA) requirement and ratio of credits completed compared to those attempted. In this study, we describe federal satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements and illustrate the policy's implementation in a statewide community college system. Using state administrative data, we demonstrate that a substantial portion of Pell recipients are at risk for Pell ineligibility due to their failure to meet SAP GPA or credit completion requirements. We then leverage the GPA component of the policy to explore the impacts of failure to meet standards on early college persistence and achievement, earning a credential, and transferring to a 4-year college using two methodological approaches: regression discontinuity (RD) and difference-in-differences (DD). Our results across the two approaches are mixed, with the RD providing null estimates and the DD indicating statistically significant impacts, including a negative effect on early college persistence. We conclude by discussing the implications for future research.