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College affordability concerns have led to new "solutions" for financing college costs, such as income share agreements (ISAs). Drawing on a racialized understanding of academic capitalism, we explore the intersection of higher education, markets, and the state in how ISAs are marketed by two public universities. We find ISAs are advertised as market-based solutions, framing universities as altruistic problem-solvers and students as philanthropic investors. Yet, we also find that institutions' website promotion of ISAs is raced and classed, targeting current "traditional," White, upper-middle class students. Finally, we compare institutional narratives to federal guidance regarding ISAs, revealing further blurring between the public sector and private marketplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As US college costs continue to rise, governments and institutions have quadrupled financial aid. Yet, the administrative process of receiving financial aid remains complex, raising costs for families and deterring students from enrolling. In two large-scale field experiments (N = 265,570), we test the impact of nudging high-school seniors in California to register for state scholarships. We find that simplifying communication and affirming belonging each significantly increase registrations, by 9% and 11%, respectively. Yet, these nudges do not impact the final step of the financial aid process – receiving the scholarship. In contrast, a simplified letter that affirms belonging while also making comparable cost calculations more salient significantly impacts college choice, increasing enrollment in the lowest net cost option by 10.4%. Our findings suggest that different nudges are likely to address different types of administrative burdens, and their combination may be the most effective way to shift educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How have changes in the price of enrolling full time at public 2- and 4-year colleges affected student decisions about whether and where to enroll in college? Using local differences in the growth of tuition at community colleges and public 4-year colleges, we study the impact of public higher education tuition prices on the post-secondary enrollment decisions of high school graduates over three decades. We model prospective students' decisions about whether to attend community college, a public four-year university in their state of residence, other colleges, or no college at all, as relative prices change. We identify enrollment impacts by instrumenting tuition prices using policy variation imposed by state appropriations and tuition caps. We estimate that in counties where local community college tuition doubled (about an average for the study period), the likelihood of post-secondary enrollment fell by about 0.05, on a mean of about 0.80. In addition to reducing college enrollment overall, rising tuition at community colleges diverted other students to four-year colleges. Rising relative prices of four-year public colleges similarly diverted some students toward community colleges but did not limit college attendance in the aggregate. We also find evidence of endogeneity in tuition-setting at the institution level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We contribute an alternative explanation of business cycles by using human capital investment as a second sector tied down with accounting methods. Inputs of education expenditure and tertiary student time in this sector enable explanation of a broad set of business-cycle moments. Labor time share, labor productivity, and consumption correlations with output are well explained, a challenge difficult to meet in the one-sector models. Human capital deepening in the human capital investment sector occurs during contractions, while physical capital deepening in the goods sectors occurs during expansions. The external margin from human capital investment clarifies conflicting estimates of the labor elasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data collected from more than 5.8 million high school and college graduates ages 18 to 65 years who participated in the American Community Survey between 2009 and 2021, the authors estimate the internal rates of return (IRRs) for individuals with college degrees in 10 broad majors compared with high school graduates. The analysis shows significant differences in the age-earnings trajectories and IRRs across college majors. Furthermore, quantile regression analyses show that IRR is generally higher at the high end of the earnings distribution compared with the low end. Finally, the authors observed a slight decrease in IRR during the study period, which is consistent with the flattening and even decline in college wage premiums following the 2008 Great Recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of college athletic reclassification for educational institutions in the United States. Most of America's colleges and universities offer athletic opportunities for their students under NCAA governance. The level of competition and associated resource requirements range from relatively low (Division 3) to high (Division 1). In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of institutions that have either reclassified to a higher division, or publicly considered such a move. The resource obligations of reclassification are significant, and administrators must carefully weigh expected benefits and costs with respect to the institution's mission and vision. While several studies (Bell, 2017; Schwarzber, 2014; Frieder & Fulks, 2007; Tomasini, 2005) have focused on reclassification from Division 1-FCS to FBS—the highest level of competition—less attention has been paid to colleges in Division 2 and 3—which comprise two-thirds of NCAA membership. Our study addresses a gap in the literature by analyzing athletic reclassification among schools moving up from Division 2 to Division 1 (FCS and no-football) during the period of 2001–2018. Drawing upon multiple data sources, we construct a panel of 33 schools (14 treatments and 19 controls) to evaluate the impact of reclassification on applications and athletic department budgets. Results from quasi-experimental methods (difference in differences, event study, and synthetic control models) suggest that reclassification significantly increased basketball program revenues and athletic department expenses among the treatment schools. However, we do not find evidence that reclassification raises student applications in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation support for prevention interventions is receiving increased attention, as many organizations receive training in evidence-based practices but do not deliver the interventions optimally. The Body Project, a four-session program, significantly reduces eating disorder symptoms and future disorder onset among group participants when delivered by peer educators at colleges/universities. Costs and cost-effectiveness of the program were examined using data from a randomized trial that compared three levels of implementation support at 63 colleges: (1) a train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop alone, (2) TTT plus a technical assistance (TA) workshop, or (3) TTT plus TA plus monthly quality assurance (QA) consultations. Effectiveness was measured by the production of reliable change in eating disorder symptoms from pretest to posttest. Costs and cost-effectiveness of two levels of implementation support are reported, comparing TTT-only with TTT + TA + QA (effectiveness of the TTT + TA condition did not differ from TTT-only) and using results from an earlier study as a proxy for a no-treatment control. Two perspectives are considered: a sponsoring organization providing the training at multiple sites and a college delivering the intervention to its eligible students. From the perspective of a sponsoring organization, adding both the TA training and QA support improves the cost-effectiveness per eligible student receiving the intervention. From the perspective of costs for a college to deliver the intervention, receiving TA training and QA support is also more cost-effective than the training workshop alone, whether the peer educators are paid or unpaid and whether costs of group supervision are included or excluded. Results converge with previous research showing that more intensive implementation support can be more cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research on college choice indicates parents are the preferred source of information about college, yet little research exists from the viewpoint of parents, and even less research from the viewpoint of rural and minoritized parents. Using Q methodology, this study explored rural parent viewpoints of what makes college possible. The study was framed in social capital, community cultural wealth, and Perna's conceptual model of college choice. Factor analysis showed five distinct viewpoints and three consensus viewpoints among the parents. The five distinct factor viewpoints focused on academic achievement, college costs, the influence of family and friends, hard work, and staying close to home. Most notably, three consensus statements across all five factors indicated parents did not view teacher or school counselor expectations as important for making college possible. Findings can inform college access program planning and school outreach to parents and offer direction for future research on parent and community capital in college access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on educational tourism (Edu-tourism) in Northern Cyprus, this study analysed the effects from different university-related variables such as university-related antecedent, town-related Information, town-related offerings, and town-related facility on Edu-tourists' (international students) town loyalty through university reputation, student town reputation, student town satisfaction and the effect of switching cost on student town satisfaction. Knowing that Edu-tourism has become an alternative form of tourism, especially in island states. In total, a sample size of 250 international students at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) was surveyed. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data. The results revealed that town reputation, influenced by university reputation and student town satisfaction plays a crucial role in students' town loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research examines the impact of socioeconomic status on educational debt and residency matching in orthopaedic surgery. The study reveals that socioeconomically disadvantaged applicants face higher educational debt and lower chances of matching into orthopaedic surgery residency. The high costs associated with the application process create a significant barrier for students from limited socioeconomic backgrounds. The article suggests changes to make the process more equitable and accessible, such as reducing the number of required away rotations and limiting research publication requirements. It calls on organizations like the National Residency Match Program to address these inequities. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the guest editors discuss the theme of the issue, decision making, spending, and consumption in education marketing.

Student loans defer the cost of college until after graduation, allowing many students access to higher lifetime earnings and colleges and universities they otherwise could not afford. Even with student loans, however, the authors find that students psychologically realize the financial costs of a college education long before their loan repayments begin. This early cost realization frames financial decisions between most pairs of colleges as an intertemporal trade-off. Students choose between investments with (1) smaller short-term costs but smaller long-term returns (a lower-cost, lower-return [LC-LR] college) and (2) larger short-term costs but larger long-term returns (a higher-cost, higher-return [HC-HR] college). The authors find that early cost realization increases preferences for LC-LR colleges—preferences that could reduce lifetime earnings—in both simulations and experiments. Preferences for LC-LR colleges are pronounced among financially impatient students and in choice pairs of LC-LR and HC-HR colleges where the equilibrium is set at a low-discount-rate threshold. A return-on-investment strategy, future uncertainty, and debt aversion cannot explain these results. A decision aid synchronizing the psychological realization of costs and benefits reduced preferences for LC-LR colleges, illustrating that the preference is constructed and receptive to interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College is one of the costliest investments many people make; yet, prospective students are often not provided accurate information about the cost of college, nor are they provided information about the likely outcomes upon completion of a degree. Rather than address the problem by focusing on ballooning college debt, we propose that the rules that apply to sellers of other services and investments should apply to colleges. Colleges behave much like competitive firms. They engage in costly efforts to lure students. They sometimes produce false or misleading information that gives students the impression of higher payoffs from a degree than are likely to occur. For-profit firms would face litigation under consumer protection laws for similar behavior. Applying the same truth-in-advertising rules that apply to most firms would help address this problem. Students would better understand the cost and likely return on their investments if they were provided financial information similar to that required to be given to prospective investors in other investments. Finally, colleges act in concert via accrediting agencies to cartelize higher education, often making the costs of college higher than they need to be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As children transition to adulthood, do they remain a major determinant of parental labor supply? To answer this question, we examine how college costs affect the labor supply of mothers and fathers by exploiting the roll-out of nine generous state merit aid programs in the United States from 1993 to 2004, which made college more affordable. Mothers of college-age children decreased their annual hours of work after the introduction of these state-wide programs, while fathers did not adjust their labor supply. Mothers of college-going children were entirely responsible for the decline in hours of work, where mothers of children who did not go to college experienced no change in hours of work. The decline in labor supply was mainly due to adjustments among high-income, married, more educated, and white mothers, whose labor supply was more elastic to college costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, the North Carolina legislature implemented the North Carolina Fixed Tuition Program. This policy ensures that, once enrolled, an undergraduate student's tuition rate at any of the state's four-year public colleges will not increase for eight consecutive semesters of enrollment. While touted as an effort to increase affordability by helping students financially plan for college, prior research has found that these policies prompt institutions to raise the cost of attendance for undergraduate students. This study expands previous work on institutional pricing responses to tuition guarantee programs by both extending inquiry to another state context and by examining changes to revenue streams not included in prior work. Using differences-in-differences and event study approaches, I found that institutions in North Carolina increased in- and out-of-state graduate tuition rates and out-of-state undergraduate tuition rates in the wake of the Fixed Tuition Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]