Policy Topics

Education

Showing 601 - 630 of 1249 results

“We’re frighteningly in the dark about student debt” writes Dynarski for The New York Times

Mar 21, 2015

The United States government has a portfolio of roughly $1 trillion in student loans, many of which appear to be troubled writes Susan Dynarski in the business section of the Sunday New York Times. Dynarski’s column, “We’re frighteningly in the dark...

Dynarski argues for better educational attainment data in Brookings report

Mar 13, 2015

Susan Dynarski recently co-authored “How can we track trends in educational attainment by parental income? Hint: not with the Current Population Study,” posted March 12 by the Brookings Institution.With Matthew M. Chingos of Brookings, Dynarski...

Dynarski on how to boost graduation rates at community colleges

Mar 12, 2015

In this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama put forth a plan to make a student’s first two years of community college free. But is that plan viable? Susan Dynarski sees problems that must be fixed before it can conceivably work.“How...

Jacob testifies in Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial, cites figure ‘288 septillion’

Feb 10, 2015

Brian Jacob was called to testify last week as a witness for the prosecution in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial, in which prosecutors allege a dozen educators engaged in a “widespread, cleverly disguised” conspiracy to improve their...

Do placement exams bar students from higher ed? McFarlin says no. Read Education Week story

Feb 5, 2015

Education Week highlights Isaac McFarlin Jr.’s latest study in “Failing a Placement Exam Does Not Discourage College Enrollment,” posted by Caralee Adams on January 15.“State test cited in lower college enrollments,” a 1995 Dallas Morning News...

saac McFarlin discusses his research on Texas Top 10 Percent Plan with NPR image

Wisconsin state aid cuts prompt universities to examine tuition hikes

Jan 30, 2015

Governor Scott Walker’s (R-WI) proposed cuts to the University of Wisconsin system are the largest the system has ever faced, according to UW-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank in the recent Inside Higher Ed article, "Deep Cuts in Wisconsin," by Ry...

Dynarski talks education and tax reform with LA Times

Jan 30, 2015

The White House is backing down on a minor provision detailed in the Obama administration’s tax reform proposals, but Susan Dynarski doesn’t think that provision should be given up on so easily. The Los Angeles Times’ Kathleen Hennessy writes...

Dynarski highlights behavioral ‘nudges’ that can lessen education disparities in NYT Upshot column

Jan 20, 2015

Vast inequalities currently exist in the U.S. education system – there is little debate among experts on this issue. And while it’s the ambitious system-level reform proposals that garner widespread attention, several seemingly simple...

Michigan Daily covers Janet Napolitano's talk on politics and public service

Jan 15, 2015

Janet Napolitano’s lecture and Ford School visit was highlighted in a Michigan Daily article, “Napolitano calls on students to engage in public service,” published today.The story, written by Anastassios Adamopoulos, recapped Napolitano’s address,...

Newly endowed education policy fund honors the life and legacy of Maggie Weston (MPP ’08)

Jan 12, 2015

Margaret E. (Maggie) Weston (MPP ’08) passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on July 24, 2014 at 32 years of age. A new endowed fund, established by Maggie’s parents Lawrence and Kathryn Weston, will benefit future Ford School students who share...

Obama’s college proposal a bid to rev the economy says Wolfers

Jan 10, 2015

“If [Obama] succeeds in persuading more of the next generation to continue beyond high school…there’s a strong chance the rate of economic growth will be bolstered for decades to come,” says Justin Wolfers in his January 9, New York Times Upshot...

Ford School faculty members make Education Week list of most influential education scholars

Jan 7, 2015

Four University of Michigan scholars, including three Ford School faculty members, made Rick Hess’s Education Week ranking of the most influential U.S. scholars in education policy--those who contribute most substantially to public debates about...

Dynarski's FAFSA-on-a-postcard proposal gaining traction says LA Times

Jan 7, 2015

The "FAFSA-on-a-postcard legislation is gaining traction," writes LA Times reporter Carla Rivera in the January 6 article,"Move to simplify federal student aid application form gains traction." In the coming days, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN)...

Susan Dynarski speaks with All Things Considered about college ratings

Jan 5, 2015

"Do you want to inform consumers? Drive down tuition prices? Hold colleges accountable? No one rating can do all those things," Professor Susan Dynarski tells NPR’s All Things Considered in the December 19 story, “The fate of the administration’s...

Chamberlin analyzes charter school deal for Detroit Free Press

Dec 19, 2014

National Heritage Academies (NHA), the largest charter management company in Michigan, has what the Detroit Free Press’ Jennifer Dixon calls “an unusual arrangement with its schools.” John Chamberlin analyzes that arrangement in Dixon’s “Public...

State & Hill

The Power of Policy

Dec 17, 2014

Public policy is a principled guide to action, designed to lead to the greater good. As we celebrate our centennial as America’s first graduate-level training program in public administration, we take a moment to reflect on the powerful role policy...

State & Hill

Serving the public, without going broke: the best investment

Dec 8, 2014

By Jeff Mortimer In the present, John Chamberlin is teaching an undergraduate course on U.S. inequality, even though he’s officially retired. In the past, he taught statistics, and values and ethics in public policy, and led the launch of the...

Serving the public, without going broke: the best investment

Ford School faculty member, alum join White House College Opportunity Day of Action

Dec 4, 2014

Professor Susan Dynarski and alum Brandy Johnson (MPP ‘09) traveled to Washington, DC for the Obama Administration’s College Opportunity Day of Action on December 4, 2014. They joined President Barack Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Biden,...

Dynarski speaks with Marketplace about student loan debt increase

Nov 13, 2014

Susan Dynarski spoke with Marketplace Morning Report for a November 13 story discussing new statistics on student loan debt released by The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). The cost of getting a bachelor’s degree remains on the...

News

Education Policy Initiative studies Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction

Sep 26, 2014

A current Education Policy Initiative study is the topic of the September 26 MLive article by Roberto Acosta, “University of Michigan studies reading system that Flushing woman created; state officials interested in results.” The system is...

Slow down, get college ratings right, Dynarski tells White House

Sep 22, 2014

“The Obama administration seems intent on putting [college] ratings in place in short order,” writes Dynarski in “Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition,” published in the Sunday, September 21 edition of The New York Times. “Along with...

“For inspiration in college ratings, look to health care,” says Dynarski

Sep 16, 2014

“The Obama administration is preparing a system of college ratings that it hopes will improve college quality and hold down tuition by arming consumers with better information,” writes Susan Dynarski in The Upshot, The New York Times’ curated blog...

Brian Jacob receives grant to study educational reform effectiveness

Sep 1, 2014

Brian Jacob has been awarded a $98,487 grant from the Spencer Foundation to study the effectiveness of No Child Left Behind waiver-related reform programs on schools across the country. The study is titled School Reforms and Educational Inequality?...

Correlation still does not imply causation

Sep 1, 2014

In an August 6 article in “The Upshot,” The New York Times' curated blog on politics, policy, and economics, Susan Dynarski describes the perils of mistaking correlation for causation.In the article, Dynarski critiques a recent paper by Esther M....

Correlation still does not imply causation image

Lower interest rates won't stop student loan defaults; Dynarski argues for income-dependent repayment

Sep 1, 2014

Student loan interest rates have risen from 3.86 to 4.66 percent this fall, and critics are arguing that the government should lower rates again or risk lower college attendance and more defaults on student debt. According to Susan Dynarski, though,...

Lower interest rates won't stop student loan defaults; Dynarski argues for income-dependent repayment image

Later start for school days not flashy policy, but would improve education

Aug 27, 2014

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy statement that American high schools should start later in the day for health reasons, reports Dan Weissman of Marketplace Morning Report in the August 25 episode "High school will keep starting...

Later start for school days not flashy policy, but would improve education image

Guiding American math education reform

Jul 25, 2014

Ford School Professor David Cohen and his wife, Magdalene Lampert, cited in Elizabeth Green's July 23 New York Times Magazine article, "Why Do Americans Stink at Math?"; the article will be published in the Sunday print edition.American teachers,...

Guiding American math education reform image

Kevin Stange awarded Spencer Foundation grant

Jul 24, 2014

Ford School professor Kevin Stange has been awarded a $49,854 grant from the Spencer Foundation to study the effects of tuition deregulation on public high school graduates in Texas. The grant comes through the foundation's Education and Social...

Kevin Stange awarded Spencer Foundation grant image

Business Insider echoes calls for 2-question aid application

Jul 10, 2014

"Student aid applications are a burdensome gauntlet, and complexity is most damaging to students with the least resources," writes Dennis Zeveloff in a July 9 article, "Why We Should Cut the Federal Financial Aid Form from 130 Questions to 2,"...

Obama EO on student loan relief doesn't go far enough image

NY Times publishes "answer on a postcard"

Jun 19, 2014

Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo) have proposed a bipartisan bill to dramatically simplify the college financial aid form. They announced their proposal in the op-ed column, "An Answer on a Postcard," published by The New...