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
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute She’s already starting to look presidential. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner and the candidate that many observers now feel has a lock on the presidency (not necessary a good indicator this far out from the election), is putting real issues on the table while the other Democrat and Republican candidates are still getting their collective … Continue reading Hillary Taking Charge in Postsecondary Education
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute This week there has been much talk about increased funding for the Pell Grant program in the United States. For those new to this discussion, the Pell Grant, named after former Senator Claiborne Pell, is the federal government’s “foundation” program for student aid, providing need-based aid to low-income students. That roughly equates to those students … Continue reading The Problem with Pell
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute It seems appropriate, as we prepare to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States, that today I focus on issues of access and opportunity. It was almost 44 years ago. August 28, 1963, to be exact, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the infamous march on Washington. The March followed years … Continue reading The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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
The Swail Letter on Higher Education 