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 271 - 300 of 673 results

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...

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,...

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...

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

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...

Dynarski describes the merits of new FAFSA process in New York Times op-ed

Sep 29, 2015

Last week, in her New York Times Upshot piece on higher education policy, Professor Susan Dynarski outlined a critical change in federal financial aid.According to the new rules, students hoping to begin college in September 2017 can file the FAFSA...

Education Policy Initiative informs new pilot scholarship designed to enhance diversity at U-M

Sep 17, 2015

Last weekend throughout the state, an estimated 1,000 economically disadvantaged high school students with high GPAs and ACT scores found a major opportunity in their mailboxes from the University of Michigan. The students received a customized...

Susan Dynarski celebrates long-awaited transparency around student debt data

Sep 14, 2015

Susan Dynarski, who has long argued for transparency of data surrounding student loans, student debt, and student outcomes, celebrates a big new win in her New York Times Upshot column, "New Data Gives Clearer Picture of Student Debt."Until now,...

Susan Dynarski highlights surprising reality surrounding student loan default in NY Times

Sep 8, 2015

On August 31st, Susan Dynarski illuminated findings regarding loan default among college students in The New York Times article, “Why Students with Smallest Debts have the Larger Problem.”According to the latest U.S. Department of Education data,...

New York Times editorial board says it’s “Time to fix the Fafsa,” citing Susan Dynarski's work

Aug 27, 2015

“Legislators and the Department of Education have been trying for years to radically simplify [the Fafsa],” writes The New York Times editorial board in "Time to fix the Fafsa." They’re referring to the 100-plus-question form students and families...

“To gain a student, eliminate a form,” writes Susan Dynarski for The New York Times

Aug 21, 2015

In this Sunday’s New York Times “Economic View,” Susan Dynarski explains why recent efforts to simplify the Fafsa, the financial aid application for aspiring college students, don’t go far enough. Dynarski’s prescription? Eliminate the form...

News

EPI, Excellent Schools Detroit release K-12 scorecard

Jun 29, 2015

The 2015 Excellent Schools Detroit (ESD) K-12 Scorecard — which the Ford School’s Education Policy Initiative (EPI) helped develop — was released last week. More than 200 schools, including private and charter schools, were evaluated and assigned...

epi-excellent-schools-detroit-release-k-12-scorecard - content image

U-M receives $4 million federal grant for predoctoral research training program in education sciences

Jun 9, 2015

The University of Michigan has received a $4 million federal grant to establish a predoctoral research training program in education sciences.The grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences unites U-M's School of...

Sue Dynarski’s latest NYT TheUpshot column takes on income gap in college graduation

Jun 2, 2015

In a June 2 column in the New York Times, Ford School professor Susan Dynarski writes that “class trumps ability when it comes to college graduation.”Dynarski cites a recent publication from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which...

U-M researchers share Department of Ed grant to study online learning, virtual schooling

May 26, 2015

By Greta Guest, Michigan NewsUniversity of Michigan researchers will share in a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to launch a three-year study of virtual schooling in Florida.The study will...

Education Policy Initiative releases timely brief as Congress debates bipartisan FAST Act

May 15, 2015

As Congress debates reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and with it the bipartisan FAST Act bill introduced by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), the Ford School’s Education Policy Initiative releases a timely new...

Susan Dynarski cited by Senator Elizabeth Warren at hearing on reauthorization of higher education act

May 7, 2015

Susan Dynarski’s New York Times article, “We’re frighteningly in the dark about student debt,” was cited by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) during the May 6 committee hearing, “Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: The Role of Consumer Information...

Dynarski edits special journal issue devoted to promising new research enabled by longitudinal datasets

Apr 28, 2015

Susan Dynarski is guest editor of a special issue of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. The May 2015 issue is dedicated to new and powerful longitudinal datasets that are helping educational researchers better understand how policies,...

Sue Dynarski quoted in MarketWatch article on Ivy League's 'hidden poor'

Apr 22, 2015

Sue Dynarski was quoted in a MarketWatch story addressing the struggles of low-income and first-generation students at Ivy League schools. While Columbia University served as the backdrop for “The Ivy League’s hidden poor,” published today, the...

“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...

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...