Author: Educational Policy Institute

The Educational Policy Institute (EPI) is a Virginia-based, not-for-profit think tank on education and the social sciences. EPI conducts evaluation and policy studies on various educational issues from Pre-K to workforce outcomes in the United States, Canada, and beyond. Visit us at www.educationalpolicy.org.
2010, College Affordability, Politics, Research/Policy

Taking it to the Streets: Student Protests and Higher Education Policy

by Watson Scott Swail, CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International This past Wednesday, British higher education students took to the streets of London to decry the Conservative government’s plans to significantly raise tuition fees. It has been reported that the government plans to raise the fees by as much as three times the current price to £9,000, or about $14,000 US/CDN. The protest involved an estimated … Continue reading Taking it to the Streets: Student Protests and Higher Education Policy

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2010, Research/Policy

Innovation, Exploitation, and Instigation (and it still isn’t enough!)

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International Last week I was privileged to participate in a special seminar hosted by Stanford University’s SCOPE Center and the Canadian Education Association (CEA) at the University of Toronto. The event, Achieving Equity through Innovation: A Canada-United States Colloquium, featured educators, practitioners, and policymakers from the US and Canada, including Jim Shelton of the US Department of Education, … Continue reading Innovation, Exploitation, and Instigation (and it still isn’t enough!)

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2010, K12

Where the Hell is Superman?

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, EPI International & Educational Policy Institute If you are an educator, and unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past month, everyone is talking about Waiting for Superman, the new documentary by Davis Guggenheim, the producer/director of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Oscar a few years back. Superman has brought much-needed focus … Continue reading Where the Hell is Superman?

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2010, Politics

Learning to Give

I was going to write on the MESA project findings in Canada this week, a project led by EPI over the past five years in partnership with Queens University. However, I’ll put that off for another week due to an article in yesterday’s Globe and Mail.

It seems billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are in China on their international tour to recruit the richest people in the world to join the “Giving Club” (my coin, not theirs). Continue reading Learning to Give

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2010, College Access, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Politics, Research/Policy

The DREAM Act and the Party of “No”

It is of better valor to stay outside of the political arguments, and I most often heed that advice. But events of last week are forcing me to reconsider said advice.

Last week, the DREAM Act was voted down in the Senate on a party-line vote. The DREAM Act allows students who are, by birth, illegal immigrants to gain access to in-state tuition and financial aid for college. As well, it allows them to fast-track for citizenship. Continue reading The DREAM Act and the Party of “No”

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