Category: Financial Aid

2017, Financial Aid, Research/Policy

Moving Student Loans from the US Department of Education

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute There is an interesting piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education today on federal student loans. The piece argues whether FSA should be taken out of the US Department of Education and moved to the Treasury Department. What would be the value in doing such a thing? There is some value in this argument. … Continue reading Moving Student Loans from the US Department of Education

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2017, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Politics, Research/Policy, Student Success

New York Takes the First Dive into Free Tuition

by Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute On Friday, the State of New York announced that it would provide free tuition to families earning less than $125,000. The cost of the program is budgeted at $163 million/year in today’s dollars, noting that those costs will escalate in the coming years beyond the cost of tuition. For those who support tuition-free policies, this is … Continue reading New York Takes the First Dive into Free Tuition

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2016, Financial Aid, Research/Policy, ROI/College Outcomes

When Money Trumps Education: A Story of Wealth and Educational Legacy

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute Higher education is about legacy. If a parent goes to a certain university, it is likely that their children will go to college. If the parent graduated from an Ivy-League or very selective institution, it is more likely that their kids will attend that institution. A 2005 study of 180,000 students who attended selective … Continue reading When Money Trumps Education: A Story of Wealth and Educational Legacy

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2016, College Access, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Research/Policy, Retention, Student Success

Improving Minority Student Participation and Retention in Higher Education.

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Back in 2005, I was asked by the Colorado Department of Higher Education to conduct a workshop and provide a Q&A on improving minority participation in higher education. This was on the heels of my 2003 Jossey-Bass publication, Retaining Minority Students in Higher Education with friends and colleagues Laura Perna and Ken Redd. I came across … Continue reading Improving Minority Student Participation and Retention in Higher Education.

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2016, Financial Aid, K12, Politics, Research/Policy

Searching for a Beacon of Light

By Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute I have been in this business for a long time. I always said I would never be like “them.” Them, of course, were the stewards of the business. The old timers. Those with letters. Those with titles. It was not that I did not want those titles. I did. Come on. I still do, … Continue reading Searching for a Beacon of Light

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