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This report from the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), as part of the National Consortium for Open Educational Resources (NCOER), and with the help of a workgroup of institutional, state, and national leaders, examines six principles to help define efforts to identify savings and returns on investment (ROI) from Open Educational Resources (OER) investments. The report offers two frameworks for making those calculations, which can be adapted to local interests and needs. This report will help enhance the consistency and reliability for measuring student cost savings and overall return on investment of OER. Open OER are teaching, learning, or research resources that are offered freely to users in at least one form and that either reside in the public domain or have been released under an open copyright license that allows for its free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with attribution. The impact of this work is national in scope and will be beneficial for elected officials and other policymakers across the nation. [This report was prepared in partnership with the National Consortium for Open Education Resources.]

Challenges to closing the gap between findings from academic research and effective policymaking are not new, and they will not be solved overnight. However, as the entire education sector faces mounting pressure to provide high-quality education under tightening fiscal constraints, all while demonstrating improving student outcomes, the time may finally be right for a renewed spirit of collaboration between higher education researchers and policymakers. This "Policy Insights" is just one component of a partnership between the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) focused on how to better connect rigorous higher education research and appropriate state-level policy. This brief examines why research is not currently more influential in policymaking; how those in the academy can develop a cross-sector, state-level research agenda that is more likely to affect policy change; what policy areas are well-suited for collaboration between policymakers and researchers to increase equity and inclusion within postsecondary education; and what action steps can be taken by those in academe and the policy arena to improve the links between educational research and policy.

If states are to achieve their postsecondary education attainment goals they must take direct and immediate action to address the equity gaps between underserved populations and white and Asian students who are succeeding at higher rates. Not only is earning a postsecondary credential essential for individual economic vitality, but it is necessary to the economic vitality of our states and our nation. Unfortunately, these students are disproportionately impacted by components of the education system that consistently have not served students well. Underserved students are overrepresented in a remedial education system from which few students ever emerge. They are more likely to attend underresourced institutions with fewer structures known to support student success and, as a result, accumulate fewer credits in their first year. All these factors contribute to the gap in completion rates. The data presented in this policy brief support the notion that time is, in fact, the enemy and that many underserved students fail to achieve a higher education credential because the path to a degree is unnecessarily long, costs too much, and does not support success for all students. These data show that few gaps exist across race/ethnicity for students who successfully complete the education pipeline. States and their higher education systems must address the equity gaps at each stage of the education pipeline to make real progress in addressing the attainment gap. The CCA dataset provides state level data that can be examined by race/ethnicity category and institution type throughout each step of the postsecondary education from enrollment through completion. This level of detail has previously not been available and allows states to drill down into the "black box" between enrollment and completion/non-completion to really understand where equity gaps develop or grow.

This report analyzes college completion metrics for the Appalachian Region, compares outcomes of students attending campuses in the Region with those of students attending campuses outside the Region, and offers insight about major stumbling blocks to college progression and completion for students in Appalachia.

This white paper, examines state policies to improve affordability, encourage full-time enrollment, and incent timely completion of postsecondary credentials and degrees. The authors found that existing grant aid programs do not provide sufficient support to allow students with documented need to cover tuition costs and living expenses, nor do they focus on or encourage full-time enrollment and timely completion. Therefore, many students must work at least part time and are unable to devote themselves to full-time study and those who enroll full time based on the federal standard of 12 credit hours per term still have difficulty completing on time. Research has also shown that costs also have a significant negative impact on timely college completion, particularly for low-income students. Focusing on the varying contexts of individual states, they also examine existing policy recommendations that are gaining traction in the national and state-level affordability discussions: (1) Federal/state matching grant program with incorporated maintenance of effort; and (2) State grant aid programs with incentives for students to enroll full-time. [For the update to this report, see ED589770.]

The international imperative for postsecondary education is growing, and the President has asked states to help America once again become the world leader in postsecondary attainment by 2020. It is not surprising that both policymakers and state higher education executives are taking a close look at how colleges and universities utilize resources to optimize efficiency and ensure more people have access to and benefit from affordable postsecondary education. Staffing makes up a large portion of budgets at all institutions of higher education and high quality staff is an essential component of quality education. Given the current context, it is important for systems and institutions to understand current staffing patterns so they can make informed decisions for efficient resource allocation. Current literature in higher education that examines staffing patterns focuses on the distribution of full-time and part-time instructional staff and the composition of staff types (or roles) at colleges and universities. This analysis examines trends in both these areas over time and by Carnegie classification for public colleges and universities. In recent months a number of reports have offered similar analyses of staffing patterns in higher education. The fiscal pressures in higher education are encouraging decision makers to take a closer look at college staffing trends, and these studies are designed to aid this effort. This report adds to the existing literature by digging deep into the overall trends in college staffing in the last ten years to provide state higher education executive offices with additional insight. Appended are: (1) FTE Calculation Details From IPEDS Glossary; (2) FTE Calculation Details From IPEDS Glossary; and (3) Relevant Groupings. (Contains 4 figures, 6 tables, and 6 footnotes.)