Office of Planning & Budgeting

Higher Ed Policy


March 9, 2011

NYRB Assesses Recent Higher Ed Literature

The New York Review of Books has published a high level review of the recent spate of ‘higher education in crisis’ books. In Our Universities: How Bad? How Good?, Peter Brooks takes a look at common themes contained in four recent publications on the state of higher education in the US. Read the whole piece…


More on the Public/Private University Resource Gap

Two higher education news stories leapt out at us this morning as emblematic: Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced 50 percent state funding cuts for four-year public institutions. The largest institution, Penn State, would see its state subsidy reduced from $465 million per year to $233 million. The University describes the proposed cuts as devastating:  “A…


March 3, 2011

GAO Details How For-Profit Colleges Exploit Veterans

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report and recommendations, DOD Education Benefits: Increased Oversight of Tuition Assistance Program is Needed, ahead of another Senate hearing focused on the conduct of for-profit colleges, this time held by Senator Tom Carper. The GAO report focused on the DOD Military Tuition Assistance Program, which provides tuition benefits…


February 25, 2011

Harvard Report Challenges Goal of ‘BA for All’

Earlier this month the Pathways to Prosperity Project, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, released a final report: Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century. The report lauds the current goal to increase college participation and attainment in the US, but cautions against a ‘one size…


February 18, 2011

University of Wisconsin Poised to Receive Greater Autonomy?

Current protests in Wisconsin have dominated press coverage of Governor Scott Walker’s proposed 2011-13 state budget this week. Lost in the shuffle may have been news that the proposal contained a provision that would lead to greater autonomy for Wisconsin’s largest public institution of higher education, the University of Wisconsin at Madison. UW Madison Chancellor…


February 14, 2011

Virginia Close to Passing Major Higher Ed Reform

Virginia’s Governor, Robert McConnell, endorsed all of the recommendations made by the Higher Education Commission he created last year to explore policy options for higher education reform. The resulting Virginia Higher Education Act of 2011 has moved quickly through both the House and Senate and may soon be on its way to the Governor. The…


January 26, 2011

New OPB Brief on Institutional Autonomy

The economic outlook for state budgets remains bleak and additional steep cuts to public higher education inevitable, making it imperative to re-imagine how institutions can become more efficient and self-sufficient while remaining effective and accountable to the public. For many institutions greater autonomy from the practices and requirements of state government seems attractive, and this…


January 17, 2011

A New Normal?

In A New Funding Paradigm for Higher Education, the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) puts the Great Recession into context and discusses the cyclical nature of state funding for higher education, which has historically followed a pattern of major cuts in poor economic periods followed by generous reinvestment in good times. Considering the…


January 14, 2011

Economist Emphasizes Continuing Value of College

Inside Higher Ed has published a long but excellent piece called College Is Still Worth It by Anthony P. Carnevale, Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. If you have the time, check out the Center’s full report from last summer, which projects America’s workforce and educational needs for the coming…


January 10, 2011

Another Budget Blow to Public Higher Ed in CA

Today, newly elected California Governor Jerry Brown released his first proposed state budget. The 2011-12 budget proposes over $12.5 billion in spending cuts and over $12 billion in new revenue generation to close an existing deficit of over $25 billion. Cuts include 10 percent pay reductions for state workers, cuts to Medi-Cal and Welfare, and,…



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