Research

Key research, analysis and policy recommendations in the higher education access and affordability field.

Nationwide Trends

“Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America.”
Brookings Institution, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, February 2008.

• Summary: This report warns that widening gaps in higher education between the rich and the poor and between whites and minorities may lead to decreased opportunities for economic mobility. The study reveals that a college education plays a strong role in upward mobility: a college graduate born into the lowest fifth of earners has a 19 percent chance of joining the highest fifty of earners in adulthood and a 62 percent chance of joining the middle class or better.

"Convergence: Trends Threatening To Narrow College Opportunity in America."
Institute for Higher Education Policy, funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, April 2006.

• Summary: This report surveys the higher education landscape and highlights the various converging trends. Several of these trends point to decreasing access and success for students from certain backgrounds, with the overall effect of less opportunity for some students, especially students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. On the financial aid side, federal, state, and institutional aid appears to be shifting towards academically based aid and away from the students with the most financial need.”

"Missed Opportunities Revisited: New Information on Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid."
ACE Center for Policy Analysis, February 2006.

• Summary: New information from the federal government suggests that an increasing number of low- and moderate-income college students—who likely would qualify for financial assistance—do not take advantage of financial aid programs, despite a trend of increased applications for aid among the general student population.

Higher Education in Massachusetts

"From College Access to College Success: College Preparation and Persistence of BPS Graduates."
Boston Higher Education Partnership, 2007.

• Summary: College access defined as college success is the focus of this report. In 2006, the Boston Higher Education Partnership undertook a preliminary study of how high school preparation and the first-year college experience influence BPS graduates' ability to persist and complete a college degree. Our findings suggest both secondary and postsecondary educators must share responsibility to ensure that students are well-prepared and supported to enter and graduate from college.

"Measuring Up 2006: The State Report Card on Higher Education - Massachusetts."
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2006.

• Summary: "Measuring Up 2006" evaluates states on their performance in higher education because it is the states that are primarily responsible for educational access and quality in the United States. The report card grades states in six overall performance categories: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, benefits, and learning.

Analysis and Recommendations

"Mortgaging Our Future: How Financial Barriers to College Undercut America's Global Competitiveness."
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, September 2006.

• Summary: America's global competitiveness depends on the ability of our high school graduates to earn at least a bachelor's degree. As in recent decades, financial barriers are a major factor in preventing large numbers of college-qualified students from earning a bachelor's degree, particularly those from low- and moderate-income families. These bachelor's degree losses are an unmistakable signal that our nation has yet to make the full investment in student aid necessary to secure our economic future--a dire warning that we are requiring millions of students to mortgage their future and ours as well.

"Reclaiming the American Dream."
The Bridgespan Group, October 2006.

• Summary: The transformative effects of higher education are clear; yet access to college is one of the most serious educational and social issues facing the U.S. today. Despite widespread agreement that a college degree leads to better life outcomes for individuals and to a better society overall, only half of students who enter ninth grade eventually enroll in college. Our goal was to identify the supports that appear to make the greatest difference in helping low-income youth enroll in and complete college. Taken together, the findings indicate a clear action agenda for everyone who is committed to improving U.S. Schools and the quality of their outcomes for every student.

"Access Denied: Restoring the Nation's Commitment to Equal Educational Opportunity."
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, February 2001.

"Collision Course: Rising college costs threaten America's future and require shared solutions,"
Lumina Foundation for Education, July 2004.

"Good Policy, Good Practice: Improving Outcomes and Productivity in Higher Education."
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, November 2007.

Other Relevant Studies

"Education Pays 2004: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society."
College Board, 2005.

"Squeeze Play: How Parents and the Public Look at Higher Education Today."
Prepared by Public Agenda for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, May 2007.

"Trends in College Pricing."
College Board, 2007.

"Trends in Student Aid."
College Board, 2007.