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Recent state legislative developments have brought accreditation to the forefront of public higher education conversations. Some accreditation critics state that accreditors have too much influence in higher education suggesting that their efforts may affect institutional autonomy and that they are allegedly structured as legalized monopolies answering to no one (Gillen et al., 2010). There are similar allegations from individuals who, for example, oppose issues focused on critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This has led to some individuals referencing accreditors as agents of the progressive or "woke" movement to influence or conform colleges to a certain ideology. Some have even begun an effort to "de-accredit the accreditors." In this paper, Kathleen Rzucidlo discusses the recognition of accrediting organizations by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and US Department of Education (ED), recent legislation relative to accrediting organizations, and the potential impact of this legislation on not only accredited institutions but students and taxpayers as well.

Given the skyrocketing costs of higher education, some borrowers -- particularly those with low incomes and those who were scammed by for-profit colleges -- genuinely need assistance. But portraying student loan forgiveness as a working-class issue is highly misleading. In fact, data on student borrowing shows that debt relief benefits few working-class families, most of whom never attended college in the first place. This paper dives deeply into the evidence on the economic impact of student loan forgiveness. As the paper shows, proposals from political progressives to forgive all student loan debt (or large amounts such as $50,000 of debt) overwhelmingly benefit affluent Americans. President Biden departed from these more elitist proposals, yet his decision to forgive even a more limited amount is still puzzling. At a time when the economic returns to education are rising and the Democratic Party is losing noncollege voters, it makes little sense to target government aid to people who attended college. The paper goes on to examine the question of why the Democratic Party -- traditionally the party of working-class people -- has become so focused on canceling student loans.

Although the government collects data on the state origins of undergraduate students at each college, no publicly available data exist for where graduates of specific colleges end up, even though this information is vital for local economic and workforce development and estimating the state and local return on public funding of higher education. To address these questions, the authors used data from LinkedIn to develop a new dataset of the destinations of graduates for most colleges and universities in the United States. The authors use these data to characterize how labor markets vary across types of colleges based on ownership (public vs. private non-profit), sector (community college vs. baccalaureate-offering), and selectivity. Findings reveal that the labor markets where a college sends its graduates help explain how colleges affect economic outcomes for students from low-income families. Regional public universities tend to produce more graduates who stay local than do state flagships.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, policymakers, businesses, and workforce advocates were already recognizing that workers were not being replaced by robots, but rather, being called upon to work hand-in-glove with rapidly evolving technology. When the pandemic struck, millions of U.S. companies hustled to change how they did business. Nearly every worker suddenly had to contend with new digital demands -- even those in frontline, essential roles. The impact of the digital skill divide became more acute, weighing disproportionately on workers of color and smaller businesses struggling to survive a tumultuous economy. Now -- as leaders design labor market policies to drive a thriving and inclusive economy -- it is imperative to understand this digital transformation. This report takes a first-ever look at the demand for digital skills in the U.S. economy, as measured by a dataset of 43 million "Help Wanted" ads posted during 2021. The findings in this analysis are unequivocal: (1) there is overwhelming demand for digital skills in the labor market; (2) many workers have not had sufficient opportunity to build such skills; (3) public investments in workforce development and education are especially vital; (4) closing the digital skill divide has major payoffs for businesses; and (5) closing the digital skill divide can also generate economic benefits for individual workers and the broader economy. [This report was written with Nye Hodge.]

The Remediation report is in response to Ohio Revised Code section 3345.061 (H), which requires the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a report recommending policies and strategies for reducing the need for academic remediation and developmental courses at state institutions of higher education. ODHE and the Ohio Department of Education continue to collaborate on a range of initiatives to support student progress and success. The data provided this report coincide with the disruption in both secondary and postsecondary education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Data in the following categories is presented: (1) Enrollment; (2) Remediation; (3) Economic Impact; and (4) Adult Students. The report concludes with seven recommendations. [For the previous year's report, "2021 Ohio Remediation Report: For Fall 2020 Enrolling College Students (Spring 2020 High School Graduates)," see ED619293.]

This brief examines data from 19,934 students with self-reported educational debt in Trellis' Fall 2021 Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS), with special emphasis on their financial security and attitudes toward their loans, debt, and debt forgiveness. Nearly two-thirds of borrowers had accumulated more debt than expected, and 36 percent did not feel that their total debt was manageable. These students were also uncertain of their ability to eventually repay their loans--only 28 percent were confident they would be able to pay off the debt acquired while in school.

Over the years, students gained new skills, making them more productive workers, by studying at America's community colleges. Today, millions of these former students are employed in the U.S. The accumulated impact of former students currently employed in the U.S. workforce amounted to $898.5 billion in added income for the U.S. economy in fiscal year (FY) 2019-20, which is equivalent to supporting 10.7 million jobs. For further perspective, this means that one out of every 18 jobs in the U.S. is supported by the activities of the colleges' former students. The additional income of $898.5 billion created by America's community colleges is equal to approximately 4.1% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the U.S. This report assesses the impact of the increased alumni productivity of America's community colleges on the national economy and the benefits generated by the colleges for students, taxpayers, and society. The results of this study show that America's community colleges create a positive net impact on the U.S. economy and generate a positive return on investment for their main stakeholders.

Ever since students began returning to classrooms in the late summer and fall of 2021, countless news stories have described intense staffing shortages in primary and secondary schools. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the country's K-12 educational workforce, with overworked educators retiring or leaving the profession, insufficient substitute teachers to fill in when COVID hits a district, too few paraprofessionals and teaching assistants there to support students who are struggling after more than a year of virtual learning, not enough bus drivers to get students to and from school, and skeleton crews of custodial and food service workers trying to make do. This report presents data on the characteristics and pay of the K-12 education support workforce, showing trends in employment before and during the pandemic, and discusses how COVID is likely affecting workers' decisions to return to schools. It also presents findings from past EPI research that shows that budget cuts, lack of investment in schools, low relative pay, challenging school climates, and inadequate early career supports led to rising teacher turnover and a shrinking pipeline of qualified teachers in the country's schools long before the pandemic began.

The Michigan Legislature passed legislation in October 2021 to create the Student Opportunity Scholarship Program, which would give thousands of families across the state more spending power to help meet their children's educational needs. This report unpacks this proposed education savings account program and analyzes its potential fiscal impacts.

Steps taken to address racial inequality in the private sector and higher education are not always altruistic. This brief examines the economic impact of having a representative workforce, focusing on the state of North Carolina (NC). It discusses the importance of successful education programming designed to address issues related to Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and people of color (BIPOC) and adult learners through the lens of an equitably skilled workforce, creating a stronger state and nation. Equity in higher education can be accomplished by meeting the needs of marginalized and minoritized populations, particularly BIPOC students. As well, the North Carolina economy can increase its GDP by positively impacting the racial wealth gap. North Carolina Community Colleges as presented in this brief generated $35.3 billion in social benefits in 2019-20, including $23.8 billion in added student income, $8.7 billion in added business income, $2.1 billion in added income from the colleges' activities, and $633.9 million in social savings. The information presented demonstrates that the benefits of North Carolina community colleges is an investment to the future of North Carolina.

Entering the middle of the 21st Century, Texas has the ninth-largest economy in the world, whose success is powered by the increasingly educated workforce. Texans have earned more degrees, certificates, and credentials over the past decade than at any time in history, and Texas has outpaced every other state in growing undergraduate and graduate student enrollment. But the economy is always changing. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated trends that were already underway in how Texans learn, work, connect, and use technology. And, now more than ever before, a growing number of jobs require credentials beyond high school diplomas. To meet these challenges, Texas institutions of higher education must expand opportunities for all Texans to earn degrees, certificates, and other credentials. More specifically, the state must lead the nation in awarding credentials of value that offer purpose in the economy, value in the labor market, and opportunities for good jobs and meaningful careers. The plan will focus on three measurable, data-driven goals: (1) Attainment of Postsecondary Credentials; (2) Postsecondary Credentials of Value; and (3) Research, Development, and Innovation. In the plan, equity will be embedded throughout the goals. All goals will be tied to metrics that are publicly available for students and families, colleges and universities, employers, and policymakers to use in making decisions. These goals can only be achieved collaboratively, working with public and private sector stakeholders to break down historic silos and serving as a resource, partner, and advocate for Texas higher education.

Majoring in business typically pays off. While graduates' earnings and federal student loan debt vary by institution and degree level, the majority of business programs lead to median earnings that are roughly 10 times graduates' debt payments two years after program completion. "The Most Popular Degree Pays Off: Ranking the Economic Value of 5,500 Business Programs at More Than 1,700 Colleges" finds that the economic value of business programs is high compared to the financial returns from other programs, though not as high as returns associated with health, engineering, and computer and information sciences programs. Two years after graduation, associate's degree holders in business have median annual earnings of $30,000 after debt payments. The financial returns from a business degree rise to $43,200 after debt payments for bachelor's degree holders and $51,600 for master's degree holders.

While COVID-19 is capable of infecting anyone, the level of risk is far from equal. Data show that Black and Latino communities, already suffering from deep-rooted economic and health inequalities, have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Latinas, in particular, have suffered some of the most egregious economic and health disparities over the past year. Latinas were already saddled with significant disadvantages pre-pandemic; they had lower wages, higher levels of poverty and were the least likely to have access to health care compared to other demographic groups. COVID-19 compounded these inequities, and the outcomes for Latinas have been devastating. This report surveys the economic, health and social impact of COVID-19 on Latinas from data gathered through 41 interviews. Latinas interviewed lived in states with significant Latino populations, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Texas and Virginia.

This Remediation report is in response to Ohio Revised Code section 3345.061 (H), which requires the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue a report recommending policies and strategies for reducing the need for academic remediation and developmental courses at state institutions of higher education. ODHE and the Department of Education continue to collaborate on a range of initiatives to support student progress and success. The data provided in this report coincides with the outbreak of COVID-19. Data in the following categories is presented: (1) Enrollment; (2) Remediation; (3) Economic Impact; and (4) Adult Students. The report concludes with seven recommendations. [For the previous year's report, "2020 Ohio Remediation Report: For Fall 2019 Enrolling College Students (Spring 2019 High School Graduates)," see ED612329.]

Despite decades of research that points to the importance of family and staff engagement, the average school district in the United States is not designed to empower families and teachers to shape school improvement. The COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to change that. Pandemic-fueled disruption helped seed ideas with families and educators about how to improve schools, and stimulus funding requirements for public input gave them an opportunity to communicate their vision as part of historic federal investments in K-12 education. Between January 2020 and September 2021, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) conducted interviews with parents and teachers in four New England high schools and analyzed district communication in 86 New England school systems. Echoing national trends, few school systems communicated their plans to engage families and educators around stimulus investments. Where they existed, engagement strategies were often inequitable and failed to give families and teachers the support they needed to offer actionable input. School systems interested in better approaches to engaging the public must not start from scratch. Past experiences of including educators, families, and communities in the work of school improvement offers many lessons and suggests new, creative strategies worth trying.

The COVID-19 pandemic may be one of the greatest challenges our provincial education system has ever addressed. In the spring of 2020, many governments around the world ordered schools to suspend in-person instruction for most of their students, requiring education systems to pivot almost overnight to online or remote teaching and virtual education. Classrooms moved into living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and kitchens and most teacher-student interactions were tied to the availability or strength of an internet connection. According to an Angus Reid Institute poll (May 2020), more than 80% of Canadian students surveyed said they were attending school online. On March 17, 2020, British Columbia declared a provincial state of emergency due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19. Public and independent schools in the province suspended in-classroom teaching in accordance with guidance from the Provincial Health Officer. BC was one of two K-12 educational systems in Canada to successfully restart in-class instruction in June 2020. In-class instruction was available to all students, with approximately 36% of kindergarten to grade 5 students and 16% of grades 6 to 12 students attending school in person on a part-time basis (school density targets in place). Most students continued their learning remotely on a district to district (and/or individual independent school) basis. At the time of the writing of this report (February 2021), there are jurisdictions across Canada and globally where schools have not yet reopened to in-person learning or have reopened only to close again in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the wider community. This report reviews evidence of learning impacts from the 2019/20 school year and documents the delivery of education and its impacts during the 2020/21 school year (up to February 2021), to support government and partners who must manage the educational consequences of this global pandemic. [The following are contributors to this report: Jon Duan, Lindsay Forestell, Sridevi Ganti, Nicole Gardner, Matthew Hall, Roger Hazleden, Karla Helgason, Jeremy Higgs, Karlic Ho, David Hosick, Pat McCrea, Bonnie Robert, and Brett Wilmer.]

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, public colleges and universities have prioritized the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors while continuing to offer an exceptional, affordable learning environment. Public higher education has been agile and responsive. In March 2020, the state system institutions transitioned more than 173,000 students from in-person instruction to alternative or online instruction, with limited exceptions for certain labs and practicums. These institutions added over 4,800 more nurses, doctors and other credentialed allied health professionals to the state's health care workforce during the COVID-19 crisis in spring 2020. This annual report reflects significant progress as a state system, continued commitment to excellence and innovation, and strong partnerships with common education, CareerTech, and the business community to meet Oklahoma's workforce needs. No other entity in state government drives economic growth and strengthens workforce development as directly and comprehensively as public higher education. There is no better investment to move Oklahoma forward in this dynamic, global economy. The following contents are included in this annual report: (1) Role of the State Regents; (2) Higher Education Update; (3) Strategic Direction; (4) Higher Education in Oklahoma; (5) Academics; (6) Financial Aid; (7) Student Preparation; (8) Economic Development; (9) Fiscal; (10) Institutional Highlights; and (11) Administrative Organization. [For the 2019 report, see ED609065.]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression. Although countries responded quickly to support displaced workers with assistance packages and funding for education and training, additional measures might be needed. Each country's economic recovery will most likely depend on how well its workforce is prepared to meet the needs of the changed labor market. Providing workers with opportunities to upskill or reskill is of major importance in meeting these challenges and improving low- and middle-skilled workers' reemployment prospects. This qualitative study examines measures taken in response to COVID-19 in adult education and training (AET) in seven countries. The findings are based on key informant interviews with international experts and online sources they provided. Some countries have increased government funding for vocational and continuing education or offered financial support for post-secondary students while others have provided funds to employers to offer training and retraining for their employees. [This paper was published in: "Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning" v23 n1 p201-210 Jun 2021.]

Even as the U.S. education system becomes more ethnically and racially diverse, many racial disparities persist with regard to school segregation, educational resources, and ultimately educational outcomes. These disparities harm students individually and have significant societal impacts as well, including economic consequences. Educational resources are misallocated in ways that may reflect racial discrimination. Black and Hispanic students often leave school with substantially lower levels of human capital and, as a result, have lower lifetime earnings on average. Together, these misallocations and losses in human capital are what this brief calls the "economic burden of racism." In estimating the main economic burdens of racial disparities, this brief attempts to include all the resources that are affected by racism, measured in dollars. The brief's conservative estimates point to the need for more complete and precise data; thus, the brief concludes with recommendations regarding policymaker-funded research.

For multilingual learners (MLs) and their families, the COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate and inter-related consequences for their economic stability, educational opportunities and outcomes, and social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being. Supportive learning environments and conditions may help students overcome the negative effects of adverse experiences, such as those MLs faced during the pandemic. As in-person instruction continues, schools and districts should continue to take action to support the social and emotional well-being of MLs. This publication examines the areas of impact of MLs and COVID-19 and recommendations of how they can be supported in schools.

In this report, we present the results of a thought experiment in which we estimated the potential costs and benefits to society of achieving equality in educational attainment and related workforce outcomes by race/ethnicity, class, and gender. We conducted this thought experiment to clarify the role that education can play in reducing inequality. While education has significant value that cannot be measured in monetary terms, we focused in our analysis on monetary outcomes such as earnings, tax revenue, and effects on GDP, along with secondary effects on incarceration costs, public health expenditures, and other public programs, using a stepwise analysis to simulate what would happen if various income, racial or ethnic, and gender equity gaps were closed. We first measured the effect of closing attainment gaps by earnings and race within the population so that low-income adults (those without earnings and those in the bottom 40 percent of earnings) matched the educational attainment of adults in the top 60 percent of earnings, and so that adults from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups matched the educational attainment of White adults. We then examined the marginal gains that would be possible if, in addition to closing attainment gaps, we were able to eliminate federal student loan debt for new completers of college credentials. After exploring the gains that could be possible based on increases in attainment and elimination of student debt for low-income additional credential holders, we conducted a stepwise analysis to estimate the earnings gaps that would remain between White men and other race/gender groups at various equity thresholds. For example, we estimated the wealth gaps that would remain after accounting for new potential cumulative savings (accrued as a result of closing earnings gaps), with the constraint that only 55 percent of wealth on average currently comes from self-generated earnings. By focusing on savings as a first step to accumulating wealth, we were able to analyze wealth at the individual level and build a proxy link between education, earnings, and overall wealth accumulation. We found that simply equalizing attainment by earnings and race/ethnicity would result in 30.5 million more people earning a college credential (a certificate or an associate's degree or above), bringing the total share of Americans with a college credential to 63 percent. We found that reaching this target would have an initial cumulative cost of at least $3.97 trillion, but would create annual benefits to society of more than $956 billion in increased tax revenue, increased GDP, reduced public health expenses, reduced criminal justice expenditures, and reduced reliance on public support programs. The personal benefits of these gains translate to $1.03 trillion in additional annual earnings, corresponding with a $3.17 trillion increase in potential cumulative savings over the course of workers' remaining careers. If we were able to equalize attainment without creating additional debt for new low-income completers, the increase in potential cumulative savings would rise even higher, to $3.76 trillion. It's tempting but inaccurate to interpret these numbers as suggesting that the investment we describe here would pay off in slightly more than four years. Our thought experiment assumes that all costs and benefits are realized immediately, but the harsh reality is that neither costs nor benefits would occur instantaneously. In fact, constraints related to capacity, readiness, and efficiency suggest that even in the best-case scenario--in which substantial systemic reforms allowed more low-income students and students from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds to enroll and succeed in the postsecondary education system--it would take at least 34 years just to fill the gaps at various levels of educational attainment. In this scenario, annual benefits would begin to exceed annual costs after more than nine years and would continue to grow until the annual public benefit reached the maximum of $956 billion annually. Even after equalizing attainment, gaps in earnings and wealth could still take generations to close due to unrelenting inequalities in the workforce, the role of intergenerational transmission in maintaining wealth gaps, and deep structural inequalities maintained over hundreds of years though discriminatory policy and practice. Substantial sustained investment will be required for postsecondary education to realize its full potential to contribute to the public good. [For the executive summary, see ED612642.]

Many Americans would agree that all people should have equal educational opportunity and equal pay for equal work. And yet, inequality in postsecondary education access, college completion, and post-college outcomes such as wages stubbornly persists, along with the impression that achieving equal outcomes would be too expensive and would take too much time to accomplish. A thought experiment that the authors conducted in partnership with the Postsecondary Value Commission demonstrates that equality in postsecondary education would have considerable value to society. While equalizing educational attainment would be costly and time-intensive, balancing the costs with the potential societal benefits shows that an investment in postsecondary equality is money well spent. The top-line finding of the analysis is that equalizing postsecondary educational attainment by economic status and race/ethnicity would require an initial public investment of $3.97 trillion. The fiscal case for the societal value of economic and racial/ethnic justice in postsecondary education is even stronger today than it was before COVID-19 devastated American life. As higher education is forced to rethink its business model, it has the opportunity to more fully realize the potential of educational equity and recommit to enhancing the public good. Racial and economic justice need to be central goals, not secondary concerns or politically correct conceits unsupported by action, as postsecondary institutions reinvent themselves for the current era. [For the full report, see ED612641.]

This year, Newark Kids Count looks a bit different. Rather than a comprehensive data report, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) will be releasing smaller "snapshots," showing the impact of the pandemic on children and families with data currently obtained that can provide some insight for stakeholders in Newark. This first data snapshot looks at unemployment rates, COVID-19 testing, and SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) utilization in Newark. While many of the public data reflecting the realities of the pandemic in Newark are not yet available, programmatic data showing access to different types of economic and nutritional supports provides some insight into the experiences of Newark's families. [For the second data snapshot, see ED613548.]

Charter schools and district schools are both public schools serving public school students and operating within the same public education ecosystem. For nearly as long as charter schools have been in existence, there has been concern about how these innovative public schools that generally sit outside the jurisdiction of the school district might potentially impact other public schools that sit within the school district--or even cause harm to the district itself. One of the most common misperceptions of charter schools is that they take financial resources from the local school district, thereby causing a negative "fiscal impact" on the district and hurting the overall public education system. This report discusses Rhode Island law on the relevance of public charter schools' "fiscal impact" on school districts as a basis for limiting charter growth. Following a brief summary of the status of public charter schools and the relevance of their 'fiscal impact' under Rhode Island law, the report briefly lists arguments school districts and others make on this basis for resisting charter growth, then outlines a series of affirmative and responsive legal and policy reasons why arguments of this sort should not generally block charter growth in the state. Facts, data, arguments, and citations supporting analysis in the main body of the report are laid out in greater detail in appendices cross-referenced at the end of paragraphs of the report. While this report is a deep dive into the specifics of Rhode Island's charter sector, many of the fiscal impact arguments and rebuttals made are also relevant in other states.

As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. Most student parents are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and first-generation students--characteristics that can overlap to create steep obstacles in their efforts to achieve success. COVID-19 has disproportionately increased the caregiving, financial, and emotional burdens on these student parents and their families. For many, this has led them to suspend their educational plans at higher rates than students without caregiving demands. This memorandum serves as a call to the Biden-Harris administration to include parenting students and their families in its policymaking efforts tied to postsecondary education, early care and education access, and social welfare. It provides policy recommendations to prioritize student parents and their families' wellbeing and contribute to the development of sustainable and equitable pathways to educational attainment. The recommendations span four areas: (1) supporting student parents' college access and success; (2) building affordable pathways to college for student parents; (3) expanding caregiving support and child care access for student parents; and (4) increasing basic needs security for student parent families.

As California policymakers start to chart a path forward beyond COVID-19, it is important to first understand and reckon with the pandemic's impact on child care programs and individual educators. This research paper presents findings from a survey of 953 California ECE programs and providers in June-July 2020. The results provide an in-depth view of the past year's devastation and highlight the unseen costs of operating a child care program throughout the pandemic with little-to-no support. Survey responses paint a grim picture of early educators fearing for their own health and the health of their families, of providers taking on personal credit card debt to cover program expenses, and a constant scramble to both find and afford essential cleaning supplies in order to meet new health and safety regulations. The key findings from this study should inform the strategic, equitable, and urgent allocation of American Rescue Plan Act stabilization funds in California over the coming months.