Topic: Higher education costs
Past Event
May 21, 2019
Improving Access, Affordability and Success in American Colleges and Universities
Catharine Hill at the Third Biennial Brasenose Undergraduate Access Symposium
On Tuesday, May 21, at 5:30 pm, Catharine Hill is speaking on “Improving Access, Affordability and Success in American Colleges and Universities” at the Third Biennial Brasenose Undergraduate Access Symposium: Access to Higher Education at Oxford and Other Places. More information about this free symposium is available on the Brasenose College website.
Blog Post
May 15, 2019
What Can We Learn from Publicly Available Data on College Students’ Income Distribution?
In January 2017 researchers at the Equality of Opportunity Project—now called Opportunity Insights—released detailed data on the financial circumstances of undergraduate students at each of the vast majority of American colleges and universities. Covering students born between 1980 and 1991, and relying on tax records held by the Internal Revenue Service, the publicly available Opportunity Insights data provided a nuanced look at the family income distribution as well as subsequent earnings of a generation of college-goers. The Opportunity Insights dataset…
Research Report
May 15, 2019
Better Than We Thought
Comparing Publicly Available Data on College Students’ Income Distribution
In January 2017, a valuable new information source was introduced to the higher education community. Researchers at the Equality of Opportunity Project—now called Opportunity Insights—released detailed data on the financial circumstances of undergraduate students at each of the vast majority of American colleges and universities.[1] Covering students born between 1980 and 1991, and relying on tax records held by the Internal Revenue Service, the publicly available Opportunity Insights data provided a nuanced look at the family income distribution as well…
Past Event
May 21, 2019
Elevating Student Voices: Advancing Equity Through College Affordability
Martin Kurzweil at IHEP's 2019 National Policy Summit
On Tuesday, May 21, Martin Kurzweil will be participating in IHEP’s 2019 National Policy Summit, “Elevating Student Voices: Advancing Equity Through College Affordability.” The summit will take place in Washington DC. More information about IHEP is available on their website.
Past Event
June 5, 2019
Martin Kurzweil at Eduventures Summit 2019
Martin Kurzweil is taking part in Eduventures Summit 2019 in Boston from June 5-7. For more information, please see the event website. About the summit: The search for a truly new higher education business model must grapple with product, time, cost, and structure and address these important questions: Should most schools buy courses from the best rather than build their own? Could the value of a bachelor’s degree be packaged in 60 credits rather than 120? Could life off-campus…
Issue Brief
April 9, 2019
Challenges to Higher Education’s Most Essential Purposes
In his 2000 Romanes Lecture, entitled “At a Slight Angle to the Universe, the University in a Digitized, Commercialized Age,” William Bowen anticipated many of the challenges higher education faces today. His incisive summary of the most important purposes of higher education offers a useful framework for assessing how higher education is fulfilling its uniquely important role supporting a vibrant democratic society. Those responsible for higher education’s well-being, including presidents, administrators, trustees, faculty, and government policy makers, would do well…
Issue Brief
April 9, 2019
Technology, Georgia Tech, and the Future of Learning
An Interview with Charles Isbell
I invited Charles Isbell, Professor of Computer Science at Georgia Tech to join me at the October 2018 Bowen Colloquium, a forward-looking gathering of college and university presidents and other leaders. In addition to his work in Artificial Intelligence, Professor Isbell is the Associate Dean in the College of Computing responsible for overseeing Georgia Tech’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS). Our conversation covered a wide area, from the unsustainable costs of traditional modes of instruction to his…
Past Event
May 30, 2019
Access & Affordability: Flipping the Conversation
Martin Kurzweil Speaks at Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges Conference
On Thursday, May 30, Martin Kurzweil is speaking at the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges’ conference, “Access & Affordability: Flipping the Conversation.” This conference, held at Muhlenberg College, is part of LVAIC’s year-long series, “Facing Higher Education’s Future.” For more information about the conference, please see the event website.
Past Event
March 5, 2019
Martin Kurzweil at SXSW EDU
Who Does Online Education Really Serve?
On Tuesday, March 5, Martin Kurzweil is speaking as part of a panel session on “Who Does Online Education Really Serve?” at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas. Martin will be joined on the panel by Jill Buban, Chief Academic Officer at Unizen, Robert Ubell, Vice Dean Emeritus of Online Learning, at New York University, and Jeffrey Young, Senior Editor at EdSurge. The panel will run from 4 – 6:00 pm. For more information and to register, please see the SXSW…
Blog Post
November 15, 2018
What’s the ROI for Instructional Reform?
New Tool Provides Estimates
Last year, Ithaka S+R published Instructional Quality, Student Outcomes, and Institutional Finances, a white paper commissioned by the American Council on Education (ACE) that explored the relationship between institutional finances and instructional quality, asking whether improvements in instructional quality can increase a postsecondary institution’s net revenue. It’s an important question, as many higher education institutions are under strong pressure to improve student learning outcomes as they face increasing financial constraints. The conventional view is that increases in instructional quality…
Blog Post
June 27, 2018
New Research from the American Talent Initiative on Community College Transfer to Top Colleges and Universities
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) just released new research suggesting that, each year, 50,000 high-achieving, low- and moderate-income community college students do not transfer to any four-year institution. Approximately 15,000 of these lower-income students have the academic credentials to be successful at even the most selective colleges and universities, having earned a 3.7 GPA or higher at their community college. ATI’s research demonstrates that enrolling more lower-income freshman is not the only viable strategy for increasing socioeconomic diversity…
Research Report
June 27, 2018
The Talent Blind Spot
The Case for Increasing Community College Transfer to High Graduation Rate Institutions
In addition to expanding access and enhancing educational quality, there is a compelling economic case to be made for increasing transfer students. Specifically, supporting community college transfer pathways may offer four-year colleges a financially sustainable strategy to provide an affordable education to substantially more low- and moderate-income students.
Blog Post
May 22, 2018
Taking a Closer Look at College and University Endowments: New Report
A new report from Sandy Baum, Cappy Hill, and myself, out today, provides an overview of college and university endowments. We seek to inform the public policy debate by exploring how endowments are structured and used, and discussing the extent to which the favorable tax policy for higher education institutions serves the public interest. We find that the distribution of endowment assets is highly skewed across institutions. The median endowment per student for all postsecondary institutions is $12,600, while…
Research Report
May 22, 2018
College and University Endowments
In the Public Interest?
The fact that a handful of colleges and universities control billions of dollars in endowment funds has captured the attention of Congress and the public. Is it in the public interest for these institutions to continue to receive the full exemption from income taxation for the donations to and income from endowments?[1] The passage of the recent federal tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which imposes an excise tax of 1.4 percent on the net investment…
Blog Post
May 8, 2018
Check out Catharine Bond Hill’s Opinion Piece in Inside Higher Ed
Can Higher Ed Change America’s Negative View?
In today’s Inside Higher Ed, Ithaka S+R’s managing director Catharine Bond Hill asks “Can Higher Ed Change America’s Negative View?” In the piece she explores why higher education institutions have lost the public’s trust and sketches out how colleges and universities can regain it. …
Blog Post
March 2, 2018
Invest in Talent to Move the Dial on Socioeconomic Diversity on Nation’s College Campuses
Invest in talented young adults, and they will help us solve the world’s problems. That was the charge of Dan Porterfield, president of Franklin & Marshall College and incoming president of the Aspen Institute, to college and university presidents who gathered February 22-23 in New York City for the American Talent Initiative annual presidential summit. The effort, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and co-led by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R, has an ambitious goal: attract, enroll and…
Blog Post
February 28, 2018
Insights from the William G. Bowen Colloquium on Higher Education Leadership
Last November, we held the inaugural William G. Bowen Colloquium on Higher Education Leadership. Named for our late, founding board chair and president emeritus of Princeton University and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the event brought together 50 higher education leaders and experts to discuss several contemporary challenges including diversity and inclusiveness, free speech and student activism, and the role of technology in higher education. Today, Kevin Guthrie, Cappy Hill, and I are publishing three papers…
Research Report
February 28, 2018
Technology in Higher Education
Reflections from the Bowen Colloquium on Higher Education Leadership
“Properly conceived, information technology will enhance, but not replace, traditional modes of teaching and learning. It will also permit the delivery of educational content to a wider variety of others interested in subjects that lend themselves to distance learning – at home and at odd hours.” —William G. Bowen, “At a Slight Angle to the Universe: The University in a Digitized, Commercialized Age,” Romanes Lecture, Oxford University, October 17, 2000.
Blog Post
December 20, 2017
Endowment Tax Provision: Counting Students Is No Easy Feat
After the House of Representatives and Senate passed two versions of a GOP bill to overhaul the tax code, a conference committee released a near-final version last Friday that was passed by the House on Tuesday. The Senate then passed a bill with slight tweaks on Wednesday, necessitating a House re-vote. The House is expected to pass the bill midday Wednesday and the President is expected to sign within the coming days. While some of the controversial measures…
Blog Post
November 20, 2017
Will Devoting Funds to Excelsior Help Students?
Free tuition at all public institutions in a state sounds great. Such a message could encourage students to attend college who would otherwise think it unaffordable, and/or could help students to stay in college. However, given the particular policies associated with New York’s Excelsior Scholarship, what the future holds for Excelsior Scholarship recipients may not be all positive. Due to these potential negative consequences, New York State’s funds for this program could be better spent expanding existing services…