All Research
Op-Ed
Our Wishlist for Higher Ed Reform
…2.0. We should first acknowledge how much lawmakers accomplished in the first reconciliation effort. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” introduced long-overdue accountability in higher education, finally tying colleges’ access to…
Blog Post
Beware Graduate Programs Masquerading as “Professional” to Increase Student Debt
…numerous speakers representing graduate schools clamored for their programs to be labeled “professional.” A representative of the Council on Social Work Education argued that “a [Master of Social Work] provides…
Blog Post
The Senate’s Higher Education Reforms Are Strong (But Could Be Stronger)
…outcomes. The Senate will need to approve the full package, and lawmakers must reconcile its differences with another higher education reform plan recently passed the House. There are more steps before these…
Op-Ed
What’s in House Republicans’ Student Loan Overhaul
…where lawmakers have proposed their own set of student loan reforms that differ on some points. However, the policies in the House package stand a better chance of becoming law than any…
Blog Post
Turn Public Service Loan Forgiveness into a State Block Grant
As Congress negotiates a bill to overhaul the federal budget, lawmakers looking to save money should note $30 billion in potential savings hiding in plain sight. The Public Service Loan…
Op-Ed
Increasing Financial Aid Isn’t the Solution to High College Costs
…federal Pell Grant, which advocates claim has lost its “purchasing power” over time. This narrative is misleading. In fact, policymakers have made financial aid programs such as Pell Grants far…
Blog Post
Congress Can Block Student Loan Cancellation—Forever
…extend the 2017 tax cuts, increase funding for immigration enforcement, and pursue other priorities. Lawmakers will need to find budget offsets to pay for all this. Most of the savings…
Op-Ed
Some College Graduates Are Taking Lower-Paying Jobs
…Employers will also need to address bias in hiring practices against people without college degrees. Policymakers must focus on creating more non-college pathways for these individuals to develop and prove…
Blog Post
Don’t Write Off Workforce Pell Grants
…by an average of $4,000. High-quality programs such as FastForward shouldn’t lose out on federal funding simply because other workforce education courses demonstrate worse outcomes. Policymakers should adopt a posture…
Blog Post
End Federal Loans for Graduate School
…willing to step in and help these students pay for their educations. Indeed, a thriving private market for graduate student loans existed before Congress removed limits on federal lending. But if policymakers…
Op-Ed
How Trump Might Fulfill His Higher-Education Campaign Promises
…to pay for specific education initiatives. In particular, Trump could urge lawmakers to use the endowment tax revenue to expand financial assistance for students who are not pursuing four-year college…
Op-Ed
How Workforce Education Can Boost Earnings and Fill Jobs
…Pell Grants began to cover the cost. Still, the instinct to level the playing field between traditional higher education and workforce training is a good one, and policymakers ought to…