Inputs, Outcomes, Quality Assurance: A Closer Look at State Oversight of Higher Education

A mid growing concerns about the quality and cost of American higher education, policymakers are searching for reforms that can both increase the supply of affordable and effective postsecondary options and maintain consumer protection. Much of the focus has tended toward the federal student aid programs and policies that govern access to those programs. Though states play an important role in authorizing postsecondary institutions to operate in their state, observers have paid comparatively less attention to how they carry out that responsibility. This article aims to present lessons for regulatory reform by examining how states organize their authorization process.