The States and Public Higher Education Policy


Book Description

Affordability, access, and accountability have long been among the central challenges facing higher education—and they remain so today. Here, Donald E. Heller and other higher education scholars and practitioners explore the current debates surrounding these key issues. As students and their families struggle to meet rising tuition prices, and as state funding for higher education dwindles, policymakers confront issues of affordability within state and institutional budgets. Changing demographics and challenges to affirmative action complicate the admissions process even as colleges and universities seek to diversify enrollments. And issues of institutional accountability have forced the restructuring of higher education governing boards and a reexamination of the role of public trustees in governance. This collection analyzes how issues of affordability, access, and accountability influence the way in which state governments approach, monitor, and set public higher education policy. The contributors examine the latest research on pressing challenges, explore how states are coping with these challenges, and consider what the future holds for public postsecondary education in the United States.




Public Policy and Higher Education


Book Description

Amid changing economic and social contexts, radical changes have occurred in public higher education policies over the past three decades. Public Policy and Higher Educationprovides readers with new ways to analyze these complex state policies and offers the tools to examine how policies affect students’ access and success in college. Rather than arguing for a single approach, the authors examine how policymakers and higher education administrators can work to inform and influence change within systems of higher education using research-based evidence along with consideration of political and historical values and beliefs. Special Features: Case Studies—allow readers to examine strategies used by different types of colleges to improve access and retention. Reflective Exercises—encourage readers to discuss state and campus context for policy decisions and to think about the strategies used in a state or institution. Approachable Explanations—unpack complex public policies and financial strategies for readers who seek understanding of public policy in higher education. Research-Based Recommendations—explore how policymakers, higher education administrators and faculty can work together to improve quality, diversity, and financial stewardship. This textbook is an invaluable resource for graduate students, administrators, policymakers, and researchers who seek to learn more about the crucial contexts underlying policy decisions and college access.




What's Happening to Public Higher Education?


Book Description

State preferences for higher education spending : a panel data analysis, 1977-2001 / Michael J. Rizzo -- Do tenured and tenure-track faculty matter? / Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Liang Zhang -- The increasing use of adjunct instructors at public institutions : Are we hurting students? / Eric P. Bettinger and Bridget Terry Long -- The effect of institutional funding cuts on baccalaureate graduation rates in public higher education / Gary L. Blose, John D. Porter, and Edward C. Kokkelenberg -- The effects of a changing financial context on the University of California / Gerald R. Kissler and Ellen Switkes -- Assessing public higher education in Georgia at the start of the twenty-first century / Christopher Cornwell and David B. Mustard -- Changing priorities and the evolution of public higher education finance in Illinois / F. King Alexander and Daniel Layzell -- Michigan public higher education : recent trends and policy considerations for the coming decade / Stephen L. DesJardins, Allison Bell, and Iria Puyosa -- North Carolina's commitment to higher education : access and affordability / Betsy E. Brown and Robert L. Clark -- State support for public higher education in Pennsylvania / Donald E. Heller -- The changing accessibility, affordability, and quality of higher education in Texas / Lisa M. Dickson -- Higher tuition, higher aid, and the quest to improve opportunities for low-income students : the case of Virginia / Sarah Turner -- Public higher education in Washington State : aspirations are misaligned with fiscal structure and politics / William Zumeta -- Consequences of a legacy of state disinvestment : plunging state support reduces access and threatens quality at University of Wisconsin system institutions / David W. Olien -- Why we won't see any public universities "going private" / John D. Wiley -- Concluding remarks / F. King Alexander.




Public Policy and Higher Education


Book Description

Public Policy and Higher Education provides readers with new ways to analyze complex state policies and offers the tools to examine how policies affect students’ access and success in college. Rather than arguing for a single approach, the authors examine how policymakers and higher education administrators can work to inform and influence change within systems of higher education using research-based evidence along with consideration of political and historical values and beliefs. Raising new questions and examining recent developments, this updated edition is an invaluable resource for graduate students, administrators, policymakers, and researchers who seek to learn more about the crucial contexts underlying policy decisions and college access. Special Features: Case Studies—allow readers to examine strategies used by different types of colleges to improve access and retention. Reflective Exercises—encourage readers to discuss state and campus context for policy decisions and to think about the strategies used in a state or institution. Approachable Explanations—unpack complex public policies and financial strategies for readers who seek understanding of public policy in higher education. Research-Based Recommendations—explore how policymakers, higher education administrators, and faculty can work together to improve quality, diversity, and financial stewardship. New epilogues and a revised Part III—reexamine themes and encourage critical thinking about inequality and policy change




Higher Education Accountability


Book Description

Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, the author reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how US federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival




Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free


Book Description

Universities tend to be judged by the test scores of their incoming students and not on what students actually learn once they attend these institutions. While shared tests and surveys have been developed, most schools refuse to publish the results. Instead, they allow such publications as U.S. News & World Report to define educational quality. In order to raise their status in these rankings, institutions pour money into new facilities and extracurricular activities while underfunding their educational programs. In Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free, Robert Samuels argues that many institutions of higher education squander funds and mislead the public about such things as average class size, faculty-to-student ratios, number of faculty with PhDs, and other indicators of educational quality. Parents and students seem to have little knowledge of how colleges and universities have been restructured over the past thirty years. Samuels shows how research universities have begun to function as giant investment banks or hedge funds that spend money on athletics and administration while increasing tuition costs and actually lowering the quality of undergraduate education. In order to fight higher costs and lower quality, Samuels suggests, universities must reallocate these misused funds and concentrate on their core mission of instruction and related research. Throughout the book, Samuels argues that the future of our economy and democracy rests on our ability to train students to be thoughtful participants in the production and analysis of knowledge. If leading universities serve only to grant credentials and prestige, our society will suffer irrevocable harm. Presenting the problem of how universities make and spend money, Samuels provides solutions to make these important institutions less expensive and more vital. By using current resources in a more effective manner, we could even, he contends, make all public higher education free.




The States and Public Higher Education Policy


Book Description

Affordability, access, and accountability have long been among the central challenges facing higher education -- and they remain so today. Here, Donald E. Heller and other higher education scholars and practitioners explore the current debates surrounding these key issues. As students and their families struggle to meet rising tuition prices, and as state funding for higher education dwindles, policymakers confront issues of affordability within state and institutional budgets. Changing demographics and challenges to affirmative action complicate the admissions process even as colleges and universities seek to diversify enrollments. And issues of institutional accountability have forced the restructuring of higher education governing boards and a reexamination of the role of public trustees in governance. This collection analyzes how issues of affordability, access, and accountability influence the way in which state governments approach, monitor, and set public higher education policy. The contributors examine the latest research on pressing challenges, explore how states are coping with these challenges, and consider what the future holds for public postsecondary education in the United States. Praise for the first edition "Affordability, access, and accountability will continue to be hot-button issues as legislators at all levels address constituents' concerns about their children's future... Any administrator who wants to gain a deeper understanding of these issues... might do well to spend some time with these essays." -- University Business




Creating a New Public University and Reviving Democracy


Book Description

Public universities are in crisis, waning in their role as central institutions within democratic societies. Denunciations are abundant, but analyses of the causes and proposals to re-create public universities are not. Based on extensive experience with Action Research-based organizational change in universities and private sector organizations, Levin and Greenwood analyze the wreckage created by neoliberal academic administrators and policymakers. The authors argue that public universities must be democratically organized to perform their educational and societal functions. The book closes by laying out Action Research processes that can transform public universities back into institutions that promote academic freedom, integrity, and democracy.




Public Policy and Higher Education


Book Description

What is the relationship between the campus and the Capitol and how can the two work together for the benefit of all? State and federal policymakers, staff members, faculty, and campus administrators alike ask these important questions on a daily basis. Each of the many stakeholders affected by postsecondary public policy has a unique story to tell, one that adds to the rich and complex understandings of how public policy is made. This reader provides one of the few comprehensive works on public policy and higher education. Since the first edition was published, the scholarship and resulting literature base has grown substantially, and this second edition represents the benefits of the greatly expanded literature base.