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.
2006, Research/Policy

In Search of Better Data

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute My commentary today focuses on the important issue of data in education. Perhaps serendipitously, I attended two events this week in Washington, DC focusing on this issue. The first was the quarterly meeting of the Data Quality Campaign, a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve data collection efforts across the … Continue reading In Search of Better Data

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2006, Politics

The Aftermath

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute On Wednesday I reported on the early outcomes from the U.S. election. At that time I stated that it wasn’t quite the “tsunami” that some had predicted. In hindsight, I guess it was. Montana trickled over, and then so toppled George Allen in Virginia. In the end, the Democrats took over the House AND the … Continue reading The Aftermath

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2006, College Access, College Affordability, Financial Aid, K12, Research/Policy, Student Success

Do We Know What to Do?

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute This has been a busy week for educational researchers and for EPI. Two major conferences are happening as I write this commentary: the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in Anaheim, California, and the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) in Washington, DC. Both deal, in part, to expanding access and success at the … Continue reading Do We Know What to Do?

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2006, College Access, STEM, Student Success

Cosby and the Engineering Kids

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute NOTE: This post was written in 2006, far before the more recent failings of Mr. Cosby (January 17, 2019, WSS) This week I had the honor of attending a fundraising gala in New York City for the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering, better known as NACME. If you don’t know them, you may … Continue reading Cosby and the Engineering Kids

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2006, Retention, Student Success

Increasing Student Success

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute I write this week’s commentary from beautiful Hilton Head, South Carolina, where we are hosting our fall Retention Retreat. Not a bad gig, I must say. Most interesting is to hear stories from our participants, who hail from over 25 institutions across the US and Canada, from two-year, four-year, and proprietary institutions. This is the … Continue reading Increasing Student Success

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