By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute I did some fact checking this morning, and, as of yesterday, the average gallon of gas in the US cost $4.11. That’s over a dollar higher than a year ago and almost three times the price of regular unleaded in 2003. Even at our previous peak during the Iran crisis in 1979, gas was only … Continue reading Welcome to the New America
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute With the “real” start of this election year in the United States, which is being followed with fervor around the world (e.g., “Is Obama or Clinton going to win the nomination?” says a European colleague to me in Ljubljana, Slovenia in April), much of the focus is on the “next generation” of voters. This group, which … Continue reading The Rise of The Millennials
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute As I sit at the Student Financial Aid Research Network Conference in Baltimore this morning, I thought it prudent to talk about financial aid today. Anyone with a pulse has certainly noted the travails of the student loan industry in the United States over the past year. When the Republicans were in power, the Dems squawked … Continue reading Calling Their Bluff
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO of Educational Policy Institute and EPI International One of our Australian articles posted in this week’s Week in Review discusses a new merit-pay program introduced in New South Wales. Just yesterday, I sat next to Reg Weaver, the President of the 3.2 million member National Education Association (NEA) at our Retention 2008 conference in San Diego, and the two of … Continue reading School Reform and Money: Can the Former Work Without the Latter?
By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO of Educational Policy Institute and EPI International For a little US news this week, last night, the House of Representatives killed a $163 billion bill to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the first time that a large congregation of the GOP has joined the House Democrats in doing so. This was a somewhat unexpected occasion, but one that certainly … Continue reading The Most Important Payback of Them All
The Swail Letter on Higher Education 