When Europe Comes Alive

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Last week I had the fortune of presenting at the European Association for Institutional Research Conference (EAIR) in beautiful Innsbruck, Austria. For those who don’t often get the opportunity to travel to Europe, let alone international conferences, much of the current dialogue revolves around something called the “Bologna Process” (or Accord). For the uninitiated, the … Continue reading When Europe Comes Alive

Does Money Matter?

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Earlier this morning, InsideHigherEd.com reported on a new study released by “NBER” (the National Bureau of Economic Research) on the importance of money in college access and success. The study looked at the relative importance of finances in the persistence of students in higher education, especially for low-income students. So you don’t have to wait, … Continue reading Does Money Matter?

Rankings, Rankings, and More Rankings

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute In this week’s news, Kevin Carey and Thomas Toch (see “College Rankings: Higher Education’s Battle Royal”) discuss the upcoming US News and World Report Rankings Guide, which will hit the newsstands in a few weeks. Unfortunately, Carey and Toch take a purely populist view of the rankings and related issues. And this has set me … Continue reading Rankings, Rankings, and More Rankings

The Teaching Challenge

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute In this week’s news, we feature a new study by the DC-based Alliance for Excellent Education, which finds that over $1.4 billion is spent at US two-year institutions for developmental (remedial) education. The issue of remediation continues to become an increasing challenge for educational institutions in the US and Canada. Critics of remedial programming suggest … Continue reading The Teaching Challenge

Does P-16 Work?

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute I had the opportunity to present at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s P-16 Summit yesterday morning in Austin, TX. The conference brought together 600 stakeholders from around the state to discuss how to “do” P16 better. The P-16 discussion has grown in the last few years with the acknowledgement that there needs to be … Continue reading Does P-16 Work?