In recent decades, education leaders and researchers have increasingly sought to disaggregate key higher education outcome data--graduation rates, attainment, employment, and income--by race and ethnicity in order to uncover and narrow equity gaps. The same is true, recently, for affordability, especially as it relates to the differential impact…

It is imperative for policy makers and institutional leaders to commit to expanding high-quality postsecondary pathways that can meet today's students and deliver on the promise of a personally and professionally rewarding career. Competency-based education (CBE) is focused on actual student learning rather than time spent in class or focused on…

A science department on the campus of the University of Illinois has received numerous national awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching. The secret to their success? For nearly two decades, they have collaboratively used evidence-based instructional practices (EBIP) in their introductory level courses. Despite these successes and efforts…

As tuition levels rise, predictability is an increasingly important consideration of college financing. In this article, the authors explore contemporary policy tools intended to enhance tuition predictability. They specifically consider guaranteed tuition plans. The authors begin their discussion by considering the prevalence of guaranteed…

The newest student activist movement appears to be amplifying what some higher education practitioners have talked about for a long time: students of color have been granted access to an educational opportunity that was not as advertised, and the result is not good enough. Others are shining the spotlight on race, class, identity, and equity as…

A startling number of students arrive at the doors of colleges and universities lacking the essential skills and knowledge required to succeed there. If given the proper tools and supports, the great majority of these students would be able to achieve their goals in and outside of the classroom. But most of them are shuttled off to developmental…