Today’s students are more diverse across multiple areas than any previous generation of college students. Students represent various ages, income levels, and races. They’re more mobile and may not live on campus. Most participate in the workforce, either full-time or part-time. Work and family responsibilities beyond the classroom—whether tha...

WASHINGTON (October 31, 2019) — Today, Emily Bouck West, Deputy Executive Director of Higher Learning Advocates, released a statement on the final rule on accrediting agencies regulations by the U.S. Department of Education (ED): “Today’s final accreditation regulation fails to help today’s students. Today’s students deserve a transparent...

WASHINGTON (October 21, 2019) — Julie Peller, executive director of Higher Learning Advocates, made the following statement to express support for the Advancing Competency-Based Education Act introduced by Senator Maggie Hassan and Congressman Joe Neguse: “Today’s students take multiple pathways to and through higher learning. High-quality co...

Financial aid has not kept pace to serve today’s students. Historically, the majority of financial aid recipients had a similar profile. Today, financial aid recipients are significantly more diverse. The profile of today’s college students continues to evolve, and at Excelencia in Education, we are focused on a significant part of this evolvin...

Legislative action around the Higher Education Act is heating up. Senator Alexander has dropped a pared down version of HEA and the House just introduced their HEA reauthorization bill. As Congress considers reauthorization of the law that governs all student aid programs, they should consider reforming Federal Work Study (FWS), a program failing t...

I was sitting on the edge of my cot surrounded by thick concrete and rusted paint-chipped bars that kept me caged in like an exotic pet. My cell was the size of a parking spot. If I stretched out my limbs, each would extend to the corners of my confined living quarters. I could barely…

The federal role in financial aid policy tends to dominate the conversation around reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). However, rethinking financial aid cannot occur without the participation of one of the primary providers of student financial aid: states. Despite the major role that states can play in the financial aid system, they...

Three out of four college students today have at least one “non-traditional” characteristic. They didn’t enroll in college immediately after high school. They’re working adults and aren’t living with mom and dad. In fact, a quarter are parents themselves. Yet our higher education systems are built for an 18-year-old attending full-time. T...

Editor’s Note: Mysia Perry is a LEDA Career Fellow and an Oldham Scholar in her junior year at the University of Richmond majoring in American Studies and minoring in Sociology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.  Insights & Outlooks (IO): Tell us about your pathway to college. Have you encountered any financial challenges along the&h...

In 2009, at the beginning of what would turn out to be a short-lived undergraduate career, I arrived at one of America’s most selective universities with an idealistic vision of what college could be. But I was dismayed to find that in class after class, theory trumped practice, and lectures superseded experiences. Frustrated, I returned…

It seems the time is right for bold solutions on student debt – presidential candidates are proposing to forgive some or all of America’s education loans, states are attempting to regulate loan servicers, and even Secretary DeVos has called the current situation a crisis. But there are many steps on the path to big change,…

Over the past generation, there has been a sea of change in how we pay for college. Over the years, states have cut funding for colleges and universities while enrollment grew. The trend was turbocharged by the Great Recession, driving up tuition and student debt.  State funding is not only declining but also distributed inequitably.…