Another College Costs Calculator
For families across North Carolina, the most confusing part of the college decision is no longer writing application essays but trying to pin down a price that often feels deliberately…
The Cost of Tuition Discounting
Public universities have spent years insisting that rising tuition is unavoidable. State funding, they say, hasn’t kept pace. Costs are up, and quality must be maintained. But a new brief…
Wyoming’s Higher-Ed Funding Choice
Last week, Cowboy State Daily—Wyoming’s largest news outlet—published a piece titled “UW Seeks Extra $54 Million On Top Of Its $440 Million State-Funded Budget.” Cowboy State Daily’s reporter did a…
Financial Responsibility in the Higher Education Compact
Introduction According to recent Pew Research Center polling, seven in 10 Americans believe the higher education system is headed in the wrong direction. Majorities of Americans also give colleges low…
Higher Ed’s Diseconomies of Scale
In Texas, we take pride in doing everything BIG. That seems to apply to our university systems, as well. While other states have one or two public university systems, we…
Black Americans Are Discarding “College for All”
The largest changes in college enrollment by black students have nothing to do with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), which banned affirmative action (“diversity”) in undergraduate admissions. SFFA…
Clearer Student-Loan “Guidance” Isn’t Enough
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a reorganization of its Federal Student Aid (FSA) ombudsman’s office into a broader “Office of Consumer Education and Ombudsman.” The aim is twofold:…
UNC Should Keep Tuition Frozen
At the September meeting of the UNC Board of Governors Budget and Finance Committee, the UNC System announced that, for the first time since 2017, institutions may be allowed to…
Understanding the N.C. Central Housing Protests
Following complaints about unhealthy residence-hall living conditions, as well as protests that resulted in the arrests of a professor and others, N.C. Central University has completed what it calls “one…
Happiness Isn’t Stapled to a Diploma
For decades, college was seen as the ultimate standard of success: the pathway to a good job, financial stability, and, for most, happiness. However, many people (including myself) have begun…