Education has always been a key driver in our nation's struggle to promote social mobility and widen the circle of people who can enjoy the American Dream. No set of educational institutions better embodies the promise of equal opportunity than community colleges. Two-year colleges have opened the doors of higher education for low-income and working-class students as never before, and yet, community colleges often lack the resources to provide the conditions for student success. Furthermore, there is a growing racial and economic stratification between two- and four-year colleges, producing harmful consequences. Bridging the Higher Education Divide faces those grave realities in unblinking fashion. Led by co-chairs Anthony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library and former president of Amherst College, and Eduardo Padron, the president of Miami Dade College, the task force recommends ways to reduce the racial and economic stratification and create new outcomes-based funding in higher education, with a much greater emphasis on providing additional public supports based on student needs.The report also contains three background papers: "Community Colleges in Context: Exploring Financing of Two- and Four-Year Institutions" by Sandy Baum of George Washington University and Charles Kurose, an independent consultant for the College Board; "School Integration and the Open Door Philosophy: Rethinking the Economic and Racial Composition of Community Colleges" by Sara Goldrick-Rab and Peter Kinsley of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and "The Role of the Race, Income, and Funding on Student Success: An Institutional-Level Analysis of California Community Colleges" by Tatiana Melguizo and Holly Kosiewicz of the University of Southern California.

"The economics of American higher education are driven by one key factor--the availability of students willing to pay tuition--and many related factors that determine what schools they attend. By digging into the data, economist Nathan Grawe has created probability models for predicting college attendance. What he sees are alarming events on the horizon that every college and university needs to understand. Overall, he spots demographic patterns that are tilting the US population toward the Hispanic southwest. Moreover, since 2007, fertility rates have fallen by 12 percent. Higher education analysts recognize the destabilizing potential of these trends. However, existing work fails to adjust headcounts for college attendance probabilities and makes no systematic attempt to distinguish demand by institution type. This book analyzes demand forecasts by institution type and rank, disaggregating by demographic groups. Its findings often contradict the dominant narrative: while many schools face painful contractions, demand for elite schools is expected to grow by 15+ percent. Geographic and racial profiles will shift only slightly--and attendance by Asians, not Hispanics, will grow most. Grawe also use the model to consider possible changes in institutional recruitment strategies and government policies. These "what if" analyses show that even aggressive innovation is unlikely to overcome trends toward larger gaps across racial, family income, and parent education groups. Aimed at administrators and trustees with responsibility for decisions ranging from admissions to student support to tenure practices to facilities construction, this book offers data to inform decision-making--decisions that will determine institutional success in meeting demographic challenges"--

Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, the author reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how US federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival

This volume provides an in-depth analysis of the critical dimensions of higher education in India. It focuses on the growth and expansion of private higher education and public policy. The volume discusses issues related to the growth of for-profit and not-for-profit private higher education institutions and their implications at the policy level. It outlines the role of such institutions towards the internationalization and global ranking of the Indian higher education system. The book discusses the trends in internationalisation adopted by private higher education institutions and explains the resulting impact on aspects such as the diversity of programs, skill formation, employability, pedagogic practices, standards, curriculum development, and research and development, as well as the wider externalities in terms of promoting India’s soft power and international relations with other countries. While outlining the challenges of Open Distance Learning (ODL) and online education in India, the book also discusses the use of ICT, OER, and MOOCS among others to address the challenges of the ODL system. This volume will be of interest to teachers, students, and researchers of education, public policy, political science, international relations, law, sociology, economics, and political economy. It will also be useful for academicians, policymakers, and anyone interested in the internationalization of Indian Higher Education.