Category: College Affordability

2009, College Access, College Affordability, Research/Policy

The American Higher Education System: May it Rest in Peace

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute I’m not sure when it happened, but sometime recently the US Higher Education System passed away, quietly in its sleep, of causes undisclosed to the public. The System, which leaves behind an over-bloated four-year system, an underdeveloped and underskilled two-year system, and an illegitimate proprietary system, had not been well for quite some time. To those … Continue reading The American Higher Education System: May it Rest in Peace

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2009, College Affordability, Financial Aid

Drowning in Debt?

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute Yesterday, the Education Sector released a new analysis of federal financial aid data (National Postsecondary Student Aid System/NPSAS) illustrating trends in loan burden and other statistics over the years. As one might expect, the news, while illuminating, wasn’t particularly “good.” The big conclusions in the analysis are that (1) more students are taking on more debt … Continue reading Drowning in Debt?

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2009, College Access, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Research/Policy

From Hydrocarbons to Higher Learning: The Arabian Peninsula’s Education Boom

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute Last week, the National Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) unveiled its recommendations for changes to the current federal financial aid system. This comes at the heels of what undeniably will be a sea change in the present system by the Obama Administration. NASFAA has called this offering a National Conversation Initiative, which included town … Continue reading From Hydrocarbons to Higher Learning: The Arabian Peninsula’s Education Boom

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2008, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Research/Policy

$17,000 a Year… Scary as Hell!

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO of Educational Policy Institute and EPI International My friends and colleagues at The College Board (dot.com, no less), led by the industrious Sandy Baum, released the annual Trends in College Pricing report yesterday. As many of our readers know, I am quite familiar with the Trends reports, having co-directed that series in the late 1990s. In fact, I had dinner … Continue reading $17,000 a Year… Scary as Hell!

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2008, College Affordability, K12

And Education is… Forgotten

By Watson Scott Swail, President and CEO of Educational Policy Institute and EPI International Unless you’ve been holed up in your 1950s-era bomb shelter (or in Indiana Jones lead-lined refrigerator!), the last week has been non-stop politics, with a quick entertainment break called Hurricane Gustav. I can’t remember the last time two conventions were back-to-back, but I’m guessing that the media needs a break. Poor Wolfie. He … Continue reading And Education is… Forgotten

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