What does business want from higher education? What does higher education want from business? To shed light on these issues, the author conducted an interview with presidents of two distinctly different higher education systems, James H. Craiglow and Stephen J. Reno. Craiglow is the chancellor of Antioch University, a private five-campus…

This article describes how Fidelity, the largest mutual fund company in the United States, has transformed a traditional college recruiting program into a holistic college partnership that emphasizes the interdependence of its parts. Fidelity's enhanced internship program embraces the "try before you buy" philosophy, which benefits both the firm…

In few places is higher education so ingrained in a region's economic vitality as in New England. Students from all over the world enroll in New England's institutions of learning and research, bringing resources to finance their education and living expenses that reverberate throughout local and state economies. Human capital-based industries…

The annual "America's Best Colleges" issue of "U.S. News & World Report" is to the news magazine what the annual "Swimsuit" issue is to "Sports Illustrated." Both are best sellers that make big money for their publishers. And both succeed because they are sexy, glamorous, superficial and largely without redeeming social value. But "America's Best…

Reforms in America's colleges and universities seem to be driven not by quest for quality, but rather, by the need to deal with financial woes. In addition, trends such as the changing shape of the global economy and the unprecedented push for educational accountability are pushing higher education to consider education reforms. In this article,…

One challenge facing colleges and universities today is that an entire generation of scholars will be retiring in critical numbers over the next several years. A national survey conducted three years ago by the University of California at Los Angeles revealed that nearly one-third of the nation's full time professors were age 55 or older. Now,…

In this article, the authors discuss the problematic trends affecting New England's human capital. These trends include migration to other states of New England's graduates due to high cost of living; more than 60 percent of college dropouts; and the decision of most companies to outsource jobs in India and other countries.

The impacts of foreign immigration on population and labor force growth during the 1990s varied widely across U.S. geographic regions, divisions and states. New England was far more dependent than nearly all other regions on the new wave of foreign immigrants to achieve its population growth and labor force growth during the past decade. In fact,…

Despite increased competition from other states, New England remains a very popular education destination for both undergraduate and graduate students. As with commerce, New England has a "balance of trade," with students flowing in and out of the region. As a region, New England enjoys a notable "positive" net migration of…

Merit-based financial aid has been a growth industry in the United States over the past decade. Much media attention has focused on the use of merit aid by colleges and universities to try to attract academically talented students. In this article, the author argues that merit aid programs are the wrong tools for helping develop a skilled…

Congress has begun to rewrite the Higher Education Act, the federal law that authorizes student aid programs like Pell Grants, student loans, Federal Work-Study, TRIO and GEAR UP. This will mark the eighth time that the law has been formally revisited since it was enacted in 1965. It is still early in the process and it is uncertain what the…

This author states that American higher education ignores about 90 percent of the environment in which it operates. Colleges change admissions requirements without even informing high schools in their service areas. Community college graduates are denied access to four-year programs because of policy changes made only after it was too late for the…

Recent headlines about spiraling college prices combined with congressional proposals to penalize colleges and universities that increase their tuitions much faster than the rate of inflation could lead one to conclude that America faces an unprecedented crisis in college affordability. Closer examination of what students actually pay for college,…

Perhaps more than any other measure of higher education, college completions provide an indication of the contributions of this important sector to the economy and to society at large. Measured by the number and kinds of degrees and certificates awarded during a given period, completions represent the output produced by colleges. Degree…

Maine faces a unique challenge. State residents earn high school diplomas at one of the highest rates in the nation. Yet the percentage of Maine adults who hold college degrees is below the national average. Consider the following statistics: 87% of Maine high school freshmen graduate from high school in four years, 67% of those graduates intend…