Washington Monthly’s College Rankings Are Overrated

By: James Murphy This Monday, the US News Best Colleges lists will be released for the 36th year in a row. Whether it’s college football teams, local Thai restaurants, or public schools, people can’t seem to get enough of rankings. Since we’re not going to get rid of rankings, let’s make them better. That is

Quality, Online College

By Michael Dannenberg & James Murphy What college professors did this past spring—moving courses online with no preparation—was nothing short of heroic. But it also was not very good. Colleges need to aim higher this fall. During the initial shift to online learning, the primary concern for administrators, rightly, was ensuring students could connect to instruction.

Phase IV COVID-19 Bill Recommendations

By Michael Dannenberg Leading education policy wonks offered and discussed their recommendations for a Phase IV COVID-19 bill in a Twitter chat (#CARES4Ed) led by Education Reform Now a couple of weeks ago. Online participants included influential voices at the Alliance for Excellent Education, Bellwether Education Partners, Center for American Progress (CAP), The Education Trust,

Online Students Deserve a Real Education

By James Murphy & Michael Dannenberg Millions of college students and professors are getting their first taste of online college this spring as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s telling there have been no loud cries to keep this ad-hoc learning going next semester and beyond, but that remains a possibility so we need

Sanders v. Biden on Higher Ed

by Michael Dannenberg Below is our 30,000 feet high view of the main difference between Senator Sanders and Vice President Biden’s 2020 Presidential campaign higher education plans. — Editor’s Note: Late breaking **UPDATE** at the conclusion of this piece. — The trade publication Inside Higher Ed already has done fine job summarizing the details of the

Higher Ed: Do Better or Pay a Price

There’s a rumor in D.C., and it’s one that could pose a challenge for Democrats. The buzz in Washington is that President Trump, concerned about a populist challenge from the Warren – Sanders left on student debt, may choose to tackle the rising price of college. Unnamed administration officials have floated a series of trial balloons,

Ideas to Make College “Fairer”

By Michael Dannenberg  In wake of the on-going national college admissions scandal, every candidate for state or national office should be asked a simple question: “How do you plan to make college cheaper, fairer, and better?” Not just cheaper, but fairer and better because we’ve got serious equity and quality challenges in higher education. A

Ideas to Make College “Cheaper”

by Michael Dannenberg Over the next several weeks, we’re regularly going to identify an education goal and put forth in brief at least one new idea and a short, pro-con analysis. Most of the time, we’ll put forth a series of ideas to consider. Batter up. Make College “Cheaper” for Families, Debtors, and Taxpayers. Almost

A Real College Promise for Maryland

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will soon be taking a victory lap for signing into law a half-measure on college affordability: free tuition to any Maryland community college for state residents who enroll within two years of high school graduation or obtaining a GED. In all likelihood, Hogan also will pump his expansion proposal to provide an additional two years of

No Commencement in the Commonwealth

ERN Report Reveals Bay State’s White-Latinx College Graduation Gap Ranks as 37th Worst in the Country Research—Supported by Latinx Organizations in Massachusetts—Analyzes What’s Going Wrong for Latinx Students and Others & Makes Recommendations for How the Commonwealth Can Increase College Affordability and Close Graduation Gaps at the Same Time WASHINGTON, D.C. – Education Reform Now – a progressive think tank and advocacy organization