Revolution, Not Reformation

By Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Well, it’s another school year. Students around the country have started the sojourn back to their elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools—the pathway to enlightenment for some; the tunnel of darkness for others. This year’s return is framed by a political discussion that has raised the platform of education as a federal issue. Although we … Continue reading Revolution, Not Reformation

The Nature of the Beast: College Tuition and Fee Charges for 2014-15

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Last week the College Board released the 2014 Trends in College Pricing and Trends in Student Aid reports. As a former co-author of these reports, I remain critically interested in tuition and cost of attendance trends. Each year, I update our annual projection of the future tuition and fee costs at US institutions of higher … Continue reading The Nature of the Beast: College Tuition and Fee Charges for 2014-15

FM and IM—You Say Potato, I like Potahto: But We Can’t Call the Whole Thing Off

By Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute A recent article published by the Chronicle of Higher Education titled “Are Poor Families Really Paying Half Their Income at Elite Colleges?,” penned by Beckie Supiano and Soo Oh, reminded me of the old Gershwin tune, “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.” The graphic-based brief uses data from the University of Notre … Continue reading FM and IM—You Say Potato, I like Potahto: But We Can’t Call the Whole Thing Off

The Continuing Nightmare: Tuition and Fees will Double in Less than 20 Years

by Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute There is always a lot of talk about college costs and future issues in higher education. I’ve written extensively about our inability to recast the higher education system due, in part, to the sheer weight of historical antecedents. That is, the system is burdened by the largess and bureaucratic nature of the system itself. Large systems … Continue reading The Continuing Nightmare: Tuition and Fees will Double in Less than 20 Years

Robert Reich and College Affordability

By Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute Last week, Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration, send this out on his Facebook account: HOW TO PAY FOR COLLEGE. This week I start teaching the second semester here at Berkeley. Many of my students and students at other universities are drowning in debt – which is distorting their career … Continue reading Robert Reich and College Affordability