Postsecondary Postsecondary Education in the United States

Postsecondary Education in the United States

VOLUME 23 NUMBER 1 SPRING 2013

3 Postsecondary Education in the United States: Introducing the Issue 17 An Overview of American Higher Education 41 Making College Worth It: A Review of the Returns to Higher Education 67 Financial Aid Policy: Lessons from Research 93 Student Supports: Developmental Education and Other Academic

Programs 117 Transitions from High School to College 137 For-Profit Colleges 165 E-Learning in Postsecondary Education 187 Access and Success with Less: Improving Productivity in Broad-

Access Postsecondary Institutions

A COLLABORATION OF THE WOODROW WILSON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY AND THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

The Future of Children promotes effective policies and programs for children by providing timely, objective information based on the best available research.

Senior Editorial Staff

Sara McLanahan Editor-in-Chief Princeton University Director, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, and William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs

Janet M. Currie Senior Editor Princeton University Director, Center for Health and Wellbeing, and Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs

Ron Haskins Senior Editor Brookings Institution Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Center on Children and Families

Cecilia Elena Rouse Senior Editor Princeton University Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Katzman-Ernst Professor in the Economics of Education, and Professor of Economics and Public Affairs

Isabel Sawhill Senior Editor Brookings Institution Senior Fellow, Cabot Family Chair, and Co-Director, Center on Children and Families

Journal Staff

Kris McDonald Associate Editor Princeton University

Jon Wallace Managing Editor Princeton University

Brenda Szittya Managing Editor Princeton University

Martha Gottron Managing Editor Princeton University

Lisa Markman-Pithers Outreach Director Princeton University Acting Director, Education Research Section

Reid Quade Outreach Coordinator Brookings Institution

Regina Leidy Communications Coordinator Princeton University

Tracy Merone Administrator Princeton University

The Future of Children would like to thank the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for their generous support.

ISSN: 1054-8289 ISBN: 978-0-9857863-0-4

VOLUME 23 NUMBER 1 SPRING 2013

Postsecondary Education in the United States

3 Postsecondary Education in the United States: Introducing the Issue by Lisa Barrow, Thomas Brock, and Cecilia Elena Rouse

17 An Overview of American Higher Education by Sandy Baum, Charles Kurose, and Michael McPherson

41 Making College Worth It: A Review of the Returns to Higher Education by Philip Oreopoulos and Uros Petronijevic

67 Financial Aid Policy: Lessons from Research by Susan Dynarski and Judith Scott-Clayton

93 Student Supports: Developmental Education and Other Academic Programs by Eric P. Bettinger, Angela Boatman, and Bridget Terry Long

117 Transitions from High School to College by Andrea Venezia and Laura Jaeger

137 For-Profit Colleges by David Deming, Claudia Goldin, and Lawrence Katz

165 E-Learning in Postsecondary Education by Bradford S. Bell and Jessica E. Federman

187 Access and Success with Less: Improving Productivity in Broad-Access Postsecondary Institutions by Davis Jenkins and Olga Rodr?guez



Postsecondary Education in the United States: Introducing the Issue

Postsecondary Education in the United States: Introducing the Issue

Lisa Barrow, Thomas Brock, and Cecilia Elena Rouse

Since the introduction of the GI Bill in 1944, college has been part of the American dream, in large part because it is viewed as a ticket to economic security. Currently, about 21 million individuals attend a postsecondary institution, and the vast majority of high school students aspire to earn a bachelor's degree or higher.1 While the popular image of college may be dominated by Ivy League schools, flagship state universities, and elite liberal arts colleges, in fact only a minority of students attend such institutions. Many go to less-selective regional four-year colleges and universities and vocational institutions, and nationwide close to 40 percent are enrolled in openaccess community colleges. A small but growing number of students are working toward college degrees mostly or entirely online.

Students pursue postsecondary education for a variety of reasons. Some are looking for a broad liberal arts education, while others are more career focused. Still others enroll to take only a class or two to keep up their skills or simply for the joy of learning. U.S. postsecondary institutions serve not only those students with the best academic

preparation but also those who were not well served in the nation's elementary and secondary school system and need a second chance. This range is reflected in the differing degrees of "college readiness" among entering postsecondary students and in the increasing proportion of students who are "nontraditional" in that they are older, from less advantaged families, financially independent of their parents, parents themselves, or working while going to school.

As enrollments in postsecondary education have increased, so have private and public investments in education. Federal, state, and local governments combined contribute about 1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product ($160.9 billion in 2011) to postsecondary education, largely predicated on the belief that it addresses long-standing economic inequalities and leads to economic growth.2 Namely, investment in education benefits the individual in many forms, including higher lifetime income, and benefits society by increasing labor force productivity, which in turn generates faster economic growth. Growing evidence backs these claims. For example, individuals with a bachelor's degree earn 50 percent more during their

Lisa Barrow is a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Thomas Brock is director of Young Adults and Postsecondary Education Policy at MDRC. Cecilia Elena Rouse is dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Lawrence and Shirley Katzman and Lewis and Anna Ernst Professor in the Economics of Education, Princeton University.

VOL. 23 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2013 3

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