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Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010 – January 2010

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities provides critical guidance for 2010 State Policy Issues, providing perspectives on change and Education Innovation.”
– Stephen Gilfus, Gilfus Education Group

American Association of State Colleges and Universities
A Higher Education Policy Brief
January 2010
Top 10 -Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010 – Full Document
by AASCU State Relations and Policy Analysis Research Team

Heres the List:

  1. States’ Fiscal Crises
  2. President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative
  3. Tuition Policy and Prices
  4. Enrollment Capacity
  5. State Student Aid Programs
  6. Federal Focus on Community Colleges
  7. Expansion of Statewide Data Systems and New Reporting Metrics
  8. Veterans Education (Implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and State Issues)
  9. College Readiness
  10. Teacher Effectiveness

Introduction

In 2009, two contradictory movements shaped the U.S. public higher education policy landscape. At the national level, President Barack Obama placed higher education near the top of his policy agenda, focusing on increasing college access and participation by all Americans and backing it with an ambitious slate of proposed federal policies and programs. An invigorated U.S. Department of Education, led by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, is unrolling a vision of reform throughout the K-16 continuum—and has plenty of resources to work with, courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

At the state level, however, rhetoric and policy action were considerably more subdued, with most attention focused on mitigating the effects of state funding cuts to public postsecondary education institutions. This is not to suggest that state policymakers and higher education leaders have completely placed progress and innovation on the backburner. Clearly, however, the main priority is developing short-term solutions to maintaining college affordability while ensuring high-quality instruction in the wake of drastic reductions in state appropriations for higher education.

What higher education state policy issues will be at the forefront of discussion and legislative activity throughout the United States in 2010? Provided here is the consensus of the AASCU state relations and policy analysis staff, informed by continual scanning of state policy activities, current trends, and consideration of events likely to shape the policy landscape. Some issues are perennial in nature, while others reflect near-term circumstances; however, even perennial issues are shaped by current events and take a particular direction in a given year. The influence of any given issue will, of course, vary across individual states. While numerous topics shape state higher education policy, each affecting the issues of affordability and quality, our focus is on the overarching issue of college access.

Top 10 -Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010 – Full Document

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