School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)
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Browsing School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) by Content Type "Fact sheet"
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- Affirmative Actions and its FutureSkrentny, John D. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2012-08-01)“Affirmative action” refers to rules and practices intended to give a boost to the formerly excluded and make America more equal for women and people of disadvantaged racial groups. Media attention often focuses on affirmative action in university admissions, but similar practices are found in a wide range of institutions, from government and private sector employment offices to programs that disperse grants and contracts. In all cases, affirmative action promotes equal opportunity without spending much money. But political controversies swirl around affirmative action – and opponents have pressed challenges in the courts. The Supreme Court will soon rule on a legal challenge to the admissions policies of the University of Texas – and the results may reverberate widely. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the challenges of affirmative action and alternatives that might work.
- Can Lessons From Abroad Help Solve The Crisis In U.S. Public Higher Education?Schulze-Cleven, Tobias (Scholars Strategy Network, 2015-03-01)Public universities in America are in crisis. A sector that once served to reduce inequality now operates in ways that tend to exacerbate it. Tuitions and student indebtedness are skyrocketing; administrators grab disproportionate salaries; and partisan gridlock has opened the door to for profit providers who waste public funds. As U.S. public universities head ever further down unsustainable paths, other countries may offer models for cost-effective higher education. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the question can lessons from abroad help solve the crisis in U.S. public higher education?
- College Affordability And The Reauthorization Of The Higher Education Act Of 1965Heller, Donald E. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2014-10-01)Congress debated the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the primary legislation chartering the federal government’s role in U.S. postsecondary education. The previous reauthorization happened in 2008 and the resulting legislation, totaling more than 400 pages, gives Congress many issues to tackle. This time, one of the most pressing concerns is the rising price of college, which has created a crisis of affordability for many American students and their families. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the college affordability.
- Do Public Universities Use Resources To Widen Opportunity?Dar, Luciana; Yoshikawa, Sarah (Scholars Strategy Network, 2013-11-01)State universities and other public institutions of higher education were created in the United States for the purpose of widening access – and political leaders still argue that these institutions make it possible for wider arrays of Americans to attend and graduate from college. This goal continues to be touted, despite the fact that state governments have sharply cut back their contributions and forced public universities to find other ways to survive in competitive markets. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the question do public universities use resources to widen opportunity?
- How Federal Government Policies Have Helped Women Earn College Degrees?Rose, Deondra (Scholars Strategy Network, 2014-01-01)Scholars have long recognized that higher education brings knowledge and skills that translate into economic gains and enhanced political engagement, but little attention has been paid to the shifting impact of U.S. policies on college attendance by men and women. Once a male bastion, American higher education has become much more welcoming to women since the mid twentieth century. Starting in 1981, women earned the majority of bachelor’s degrees, and by 2003 U.S. colleges enrolled 1.3 women for every man. During the academic year 2012-13, women constituted a remarkable 57% of all U.S. college students. Striking shifts in gender dynamics have been powerfully influenced by U.S. policies that fuelled mass access to college following World War II. At first, the G.I. Bill enlarged opportunities for men; thereafter, federal financial assistance and regulations gave women students a big boost and eliminated – indeed ultimately reversed – the college gender gap.
- How The Ways College Authorities Talk About Diversity Can Undercut Efforts To Fight Racial InequalityWarikoo, Natasha (Scholars Strategy Network, 2016-07-01)Although the benefits of a diverse learning environment are clear, affirmative action overall was originally intended to further multiple goals: to promote greater access for African Americans into elite, predominantly white colleges; to make up for the historical effects of racial segregation; and (on many campuses) to counter previous policies of outright racial exclusion. Today’s students, however, hear little about these broad goals. Instead, students hear from colleges that affirmative action will benefit them. Most students have internalized this message, which has troubling implications for how America’s college students think about race and meritocracy In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the question how the ways college authorities talk about diversity can undercut efforts to fight racial inequality?
- How U.S. Higher Education Promotes Inequality? And What Can Be Done To Broaden Access And Graduation?Mettler, Suzanne (Scholars Strategy Network, 2014-10-01)A few decades ago, going to college seemed to be the surest route to the American dream, a path to greater opportunity for most young people. Yet today the U.S. system of higher education is evolving into a caste system with separate and unequal tiers. To be sure, more students from all backgrounds attend college and graduate with valuable degrees. But far too many from low-income and middle-class families depart early with no degrees and crippling levels of student debt. U.S. higher education as a whole is increasingly reinforcing rather than reducing class differences – and federal and state government policies need to change course. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis about the question how U.S. higher education promotes inequality? and what can be done to broaden access and graduation?
- The Need To Simplify Financial Aid For College StudentsScott-Clayton, Judith (Scholars Strategy Network, 2014-10-01)In 1965, the Higher Education Act expanded financial aid for U.S. college students, and since then enrollment rates have risen dramatically. But enrollment of low-income students has not kept pace, and gaps in college enrollment between students from high- and low-income families are greater now than they were a generation ago. Uncertainty about the availability of financial aid fuels inequality – as does the sheer complexity of applying for aid. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis about the need to simplify financial aid for college students.
- Weighing the Costs and Benefits of a College EducationWebber, Douglas A. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2017-05-01)Questions about college affordability and student debt have dominated headlines recently. As the price of attending college has steadily outpaced inflation, the necessity of having a college degree to be competitive in the labor market has also grown. That raises an obvious question: Is attending college still worth the cost? The answers are of great interest to both policymakers and prospective students. The author draws some insights and analysis around this issue.
- When Affirmative Action is Banned, Minority Applicants to College Have a Harder Time – Even in Neighboring StatesBlume, Grant H.; Long, Mark C. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2014-01-01)The consideration of race as one factor in college admissions was once legally acceptable all over the United States – as codified in the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the 1978 Bakke case. Over the last fifteen years, however, statewide bans and patchwork judicial rulings have banned affirmative action in some states, while allowing a limited version to continue in others. Researchers have looked at the impact of banning affirmative action on college admissions for particular states or universities. But, the authors are the first to analyze the effects nationwide. The bans do matter, they find, influencing institutional practices and making admission to selective public universities harder not only for minority students applying in states where preferences have been ruled out, but also for those applying from neighboring states.
- Why California Needs Specific Educational Data On Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, And Pacific IslandersRob, Shorette; Mazyck, Jamal E. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2016-03-01)It is no secret that unequal access to education produces racial disparities in the United States – and the state of California is no exception. Many studies document how California’s public higher education system struggles to reduce disparities in college access and success for black and Latino students. Yet conversations about race and educational equity sometimes overlook the Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders who account for one in every seven people in the state. A persistent myth overstates the performance of Asian American students. Despite being people of color, they are often pigeonholed as “model minorities” who have figured out ways to overcome systemic barriers, pick themselves up by their bootstraps, and achieve educational success above and beyond other ethnic groups. However, this misleading model minority mythology has been fueled by mishandled and misleading educational data. They authors argue that a meaningful change cannot reproduce unless the data can be analyzed appropriately.
- Why Free College May Not Soon Happen - And Might Not Be The Most Pressing ChallengeLoss, Christopher P. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2017-10-01)In this analysis, the author argues why free college may not soon happen, and might not be the most pressing challenge in the United States. The author also inquires if the cost of attending college is really the main barrier to unlocking the documented benefits of higher education. In reality, the challenge and policy solutions may be more complex.
- Why Higher Education Is A Must For Low-Income MothersDodson, Lisa; Deprez, Luisa S. (Scholars Strategy Network, 2017-05-01)The authors draw some insights and analysis around the question why higher education is a must for low-income mothers?
- Why Historically Black Colleges And Universities Remain Vital In U.S. Higher EducationRob, Shorette (Scholars Strategy Network, 2015-02-01)Many observers, including journalists, have sounded the alarm that historically black colleges and universities in the United States are in danger of losing their identity. “Historically Black Colleges are Becoming More White,” blares one headline; and another asks “White Students at Black Colleges: What Does It Mean for HBCUs?” Questions are being raised about the future of these longstanding institutions. That’s the great news. But the problem is that claims about what is happening in historically black colleges and universities are largely false and feed popular misunderstandings of their continuing nature and contributions. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the question why historically black colleges and universities remain vital in U.S. higher education?
- Why The United States Should Improve Support For Colleges and Universities Serving Hispanic StudentsNuñez, Anne-Marie (Scholars Strategy Network, 2015-04-01)The author draws some insights and analysis around the question why the United States should improve support for colleges and universities serving Hispanic students?
- Why Universal And Life-Long Higher Education Is The Next Step In Advancing The Social ContractBlessinger, Patrick (Scholars Strategy Network, 2015-04-01)Nearly a century after John Dewey published the landmark book Democracy and Education, the principles of learning he espoused for democratic societies are applicable to higher education. He saw education as the primary vehicle through which democracies develop socially responsible citizens, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and values to become full participants in the economy and democratic social order. By now it is clear that, in an increasingly complex and risk-filled world, all citizens require increasingly prolonged periods of learning beyond basic schooling. Higher education for all becomes a gateway to lifetimes of learning. In this context, the author draws some insights and analysis around the question why universal and life-long higher education is the next step in advancing the social contract?