States have the opportunity to lead on higher education reform. This issue brief outlines three policy areas for consideration.
Higher Education
Student debt now exceeds $1.5 trillion. We must overhaul a system that, for too long, has incentivized colleges and universities to charge unaffordable prices for degrees that do not always improve the lives of their recipients. Measures of return on investment (ROI) can help ensure that that institutions are accountable for the economic outcomes of the students they plunge into indebtedness.
All Higher Education
Many jobs which were open to high school graduates a generation ago now require a college degree.
Most college accreditors oversee hundreds of degree and certificate programs that leave students worse off financially.
An analysis of programs at schools serving disadvantaged students with a high return on investment.
A three-part proposal to hold colleges accountable for degrees that cost too much and deliver too little.
Additional details on a proposal to make colleges accountable for overcharging for low-value degrees.
South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa produced the highest student returns on investment. Hawaii, Montana, and Louisiana produced the lowest.
The proposed ‘gainful employment’ rule would deny funding to some low-value higher education programs, but there would be collateral damage.