Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) is a program within the Ford School that brings together nationally-recognized education policy scholars focused on the generation and dissemination of policy-relevant education research.

Showing 241 - 270 of 658 results

“Is student debt hampering the housing recovery?” No, says Dynarski in Brookings

May 4, 2016

“The striking gap in homeownership is not between college-educated people who did and did not borrow, but between those with and without a college education,” writes Susan Dynarski in “The dividing line between haves and have-nots in homeownership:...

State & Hill

Tackling educational disparities “in the classroom, on campus, and beyond”

Apr 22, 2016

Once, she was a first-generation college student from a working-class suburb of Boston. Now, she is an internationally renowned professor of education policy with the ear of the White House. So Susan Dynarski knows that education can be...

Dynarski in NYT Upshot, "How to use tax credits to increase college attendance"

Apr 19, 2016

Susan Dynarski’s latest New York Times Upshot contribution explores “How to use tax credits to increase college attendance.”“Taxpayers will file for $20 billion in tax credits for college expenses they paid in 2015, but while those who get [the...

In Brookings, Dynarski investigates effects of slashing student loan interest rates

Apr 14, 2016

Susan Dynarski considers the effects of student loan interest rates in “What does cutting rates on student loans do?” The piece appears in Evidence Speaks, a weekly publication of the Brookings Institution's Center on Children and Families. Dynarski...

Dynarski in Sunday NYT, why talented black and Hispanic students can go undiscovered

Apr 9, 2016

Susan Dynarski’s economic view, “Why talented black and Hispanic students can go undiscovered,” was published in this Sunday's New York Times. “Public schools are increasingly filled with black and Hispanic students, but the children identified as...

Dynarski's FAFSA reform championed by American Enterprise Institute writer

Apr 5, 2016

Susan Dynarski's proposal to eliminate the FAFSA form was among the reforms championed by an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) writer and research assistant in an article published Tuesday, April 5.In "Fix student aid and FAFSA to help more...

Dynarski on the effects of Boston’s charter high schools on college prep, entry, choice

Apr 1, 2016

“Stand and Deliver: Effects of Boston’s Charter High Schools on College Preparation, Entry, and Choice” a journal article by Joshua Angrist, Sarah Cohodes, Susan Dynarski, Parag Pathak, and Christopher Walters, has been published in the April 2016...

News

Apply now to inaugural Detroit Data Fellowship and use stats for social impact

Mar 30, 2016

Want to use your data skills to develop solutions to social challenges facing the city of Detroit? The Detroit Data Fellows Program is a two-year, full-time post-graduate fellowship during which participants work with city agencies to analyze...

Dynarski voted president-elect of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)

Mar 21, 2016

Susan Dynarski was voted president-elect of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) during the organization’s 41st conference, March 17-19, 2016. Dynarski will serve as president-elect in 2017 and will become the organization’s 43rd...

C.S. Mott Foundation grant allows Mills and colleagues to research wind energy in MI

Mar 18, 2016

Last month, CLOSUP Program Manager Sarah Mills received an $80,000 award from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to investigate community attitudes about wind energy in Michigan. Mills will work in collaboration with CLOSUP Director Barry Rabe...

Megan Blair (MPP '16) wins Innovation in Action competition for early learning social enterprise

Mar 14, 2016

On March 9, Megan Blair (MPP ’16) led team "Formativity" to a victory in the U-M School of Public Health’s annual Innovation in Action competition.Innovation in Action is a five-month competition that gives multidisciplinary teams an opportunity to...

News

Former White House Deputy Director James Kvaal is next Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence

Mar 10, 2016

The Ford School community will welcome former Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council James Kvaal as a Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence this fall. The White House announced Mr. Kvaal's departure this morning,...

President Barack Obama and James Kvaal in the Oval Office

News

Michigan Radio interviews Brian Jacob about latest research on MI high school curriculum reforms

Mar 9, 2016

Last week, Brian Jacob, Susan Dynarski and two colleagues from Michigan State released a new paper, "Are expectations alone enough? Estimating the effect of a mandatory college-prep curriculum in Michigan." The paper examines the effect of the 2006...

Jacob on teacher applicant hiring and teacher performance in DC public schools

Mar 1, 2016

“Teacher Applicant Hiring and Teacher Performance: Evidence from DC Public Schools” a journal article by Ford School Professor Brian Jacob, Jonah E. Rockoff, Eric S. Taylor, Benjamin Lindy, and Rachel Rosen, has been released as an NBER working...

Dynarski in NYT Upshot: We need to get students across the finish line to graduation

Feb 22, 2016

The United States has a college dropout crisis, says Susan Dynarski in her latest New York Times Upshot piece.While 60 percent of the population now goes to college, more than a quarter of these students drop out with no credential, she says. And...

Robin Jacob quoted in NPR story on executive function coaching

Feb 2, 2016

A story on the NPR website, “The Science of Getting Kids Organized,” looks at coaching students to build executive function—categories of skills the brain uses for general organization and judgment. Robin Jacob, who published an overview of studies...

Jacob, Dynarski on the effect of a mandatory college-prep curriculum in Michigan

Feb 1, 2016

“Are Expectations Alone Enough? Estimating the Effect of a Mandatory College-Prep Curriculum in Michigan” a journal article by Brian Jacob, Susan Dynarski, Kenneth Frank, and Barbara Schneider, has been circulated as an NBER working paper this...

Brian Jacob, Sue Dynarski, and members of the Education Policy Initiative stand along the winding main staircase of the Ford School's home, Weill Hall

Sue Dynarski on the startlingly poor performance of private school vouchers

Jan 28, 2016

In “When winners are losers: Private school vouchers in Louisiana,” Susan Dynarski describes a newly released study of the impact of Louisiana’s private school voucher program, which provides students from low-income families and low-performing...

Forbes highlights Dynarski Brookings paper, dispelling student loan default myth

Jan 14, 2016

In a new paper for Brookings, "The Trouble with Student Loans? Low Earnings, Not High Debt," Susan Dynarski debunks the popular notion that more student debt leads to higher student loan default rates.In fact, research shows that default rates are...

Ford School faculty, alum make Education Week list of top 200 policy, practice influencers

Jan 6, 2016

Ford School faculty members David Cohen, Susan Dynarski, and Brian Jacob made the 2016 RHSU Edu-Scholar list of the top 200 U.S.-based university scholars, “who are doing the most to influence education policy and practice.”The list, which was...

News

On Michigan Radio, Alford Young Jr. calls for increased faculty diversity

Jan 6, 2016

In a recent interview on Michigan Radio, Alford Young Jr. discusses the lack of faculty diversity in the U.S. with Michigan State professor Django Paris. According to the article, 3.3 percent of University of Michigan faculty members are black,...

Chronicle of Higher Ed recognizes Susan Dynarski among top ten influencers, agitators of 2015

Dec 14, 2015

Susan Dynarski is among the top ten influencers and agitators recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education for shaking up higher ed “in the classroom, on campus, and beyond.”In “Sensible Explainer,” the Chronicle’s Beckie Supiano lauds Dynarski’s...

Brian Jacob on harnessing the value of ‘failure’ in education research for Brookings' Evidence Speaks

Dec 10, 2015

In Harnessing the value of ‘failure,’ Brian Jacob describes the high “failure rate” in educational intervention research trials and what can be done to learn more from null results. Jacob’s piece appears in Evidence Speaks, a weekly publication of...

Brian Jacob to use behavioral nudges to encourage teacher retention at high-needs MI schools

Dec 2, 2015

Brian Jacob, professor of economics, education and public policy at the University of Michigan, was awarded a $486,501 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to study the relationship between behavioral nudges and intrinsic motivation.Jacob,...

Brian Jacob co-authors op-ed criticizing proposed mandatory retention in Michigan schools

Oct 30, 2015

In an op-ed titled "Why rush to hold kids back?" published by The Detroit News on October 29th, Brian Jacob and Michael Lombardo applaud a new state legislature bill proposing Michigan’s first comprehensive reading program.“One provision in the...

Dynarski named NASPAA "Public Service Matters" Spotlight Award recipient

Oct 21, 2015

Professor Susan Dynarski has been named a recipient of the "Public Service Matters" Spotlight Award by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) for her ongoing work on college affordability and student debt....

Marriage is not a silver bullet says Michelmore of her recent research on family stability

Oct 13, 2015

A new study published in Demography, co-authored by the Ford School's Katherine Michelmore, examines the change over time in the stability of married and unmarried American couples with children. The number of children born to unmarried women in...

Susan Dynarski honored by Michigan for tackling barriers to education for low-income youth

Oct 8, 2015

On September 21st, State Representative Adam Zemke, State Senator Rebekah Warren, and Governor Rick Snyder honored Professor Susan Dynarski with a special tribute from the state for her work on the HAIL (High Achieving Involved Leaders) Scholarship...

Chronicle of Higher Ed, Inside Higher Ed report on Stange study of attainment gap

Oct 6, 2015

Research shows that recent high school grads who attend a four-year college are 50 percent more likely to earn a bachelor’s within six years than those starting at community colleges. In a new NBER Working Paper, Kevin Stange and Jonathan Smith of...

“No, student borrowers don’t need to worry about loan market turmoil” writes Dynarski

Oct 2, 2015

In “No, student borrowers don’t need to worry about loan market turmoil,” published by the New York Times Upshot on September 29, 2015, Susan Dynarski explains why concerns that financial market turmoil will put student borrowers at risk are...