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IHEP History
In 1993, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) was established to provide policy-relevant research to promote college access and success for underserved students. The genesis of the organization grew out of a desire to explore questions of access to postsecondary education from an independent perspective, building on the previous experience of founders Jamie P. Merisotis and Colleen T. O’Brien at The National Commission on Responsibilities for Financing Postsecondary Education.
At that time, IHEP’s agenda was groundbreaking and transformative. Since then, IHEP has become one of the most effective voices for educating policymakers and postsecondary leaders on strategies for and solutions to our nation’s most pressing education challenges. IHEP has leveraged its research, policy expertise, innovative initiatives, and high-profile convenings to improve the condition of access and success for all college students. IHEP has partnered with close to 400 postsecondary institutions to foster and support on-the-ground efforts to increase student success. IHEP has also collaborated with many organizations inside and outside higher education to build broad-based support for our work on behalf of underserved students.
IHEP has led the field in identifying the access and success challenges facing our nation and offering innovative policy solutions for federal, state, and institutional decision-makers positioned to enact change. Our contributions to the postsecondary community are significant, and we proudly acknowledge our imprint on issues of college access and success.
25 Years of Equity-Driven Research and Action
The Institute for Higher Education Policy is celebrating its 25th anniversary. For 25 years, IHEP has been a leading voice in expanding college access and success for all students, and particularly those who are underrepresented. To continue our year-long celebration, we are highlighting our history of equity-driven research, initiatives, and impact through the years.
1993 – The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) is founded as an independent voice on issues of postsecondary access and success.
1994 – The inaugural issue of our early newsletter, Policy Steps, begins our longstanding research interest in expanding access and opportunity for incarcerated students.
1995 – IHEP’s first publication, The Impact of Federal Financial Aid Policy Changes on Community College Students, highlights the relationship between financial aid and transfer and completion for community college students. Our second publication, The Next Step: Student Aid for Student Success, provides recommendations that link federal aid to both access and completion.
1996 – Life After 40: A New Portrait of Today’s -and Tomorrow’s -Postsecondary Students looks at adult learners’ access to and success in higher education.
1997 – Taxing Matters: College Aid, Tax Policy, and Equal Opportunity looks at the impact of higher education tax policies, and how they impact both access and affordability. Missed Opportunities: A New Look at Disadvantaged College Aspirants analyzes the challenges that often prevent students from enrolling in college.
1998 – Do Grants Matter? Student Grant Aid and College Affordability shows that the capacity of grant aid to keep college accessible has been diminished by rising prices and static funding. Reaping the Benefits: Defining the Public and Private Value of Going to College introduces a multidimensional representation of the public and private economic and social benefits of higher education.
1999 – The Tuition Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together raises alarm over the crisis of rising tuition and encourages states and institutions to curb future price escalation. Cost, Price, and Public Policy: Peering into the Higher Education Black Box puts forth a conceptual framework for analyzing costs and prices.
2000 – Creating Role Models for Change: A Survey of Tribal College Graduates looks at the success of Tribal Colleges and Universities in delivering strong outcomes for their students. Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education establishes a set of research-driven quality standards for distance learning.
2001 – A Classification System for 2-Year Postsecondary Institutions offers a new approach to classifying two-year colleges that better accounts for their diversity, size, and purpose. Building Strong Communities: Tribal Colleges as Engaged Institutions explores the expanding role of Tribal Colleges and Universities in serving local communities.
2002 – State Policy and Community College: Baccalaureate Transfer examines the role of state policy in influencing 2-year to 4-year transfer performance. Accounting for State Student Aid: How State Policy and Student Aid Connect focuses on state funding for need-based aid and examines emergency policy strategies.
2003 – Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Issues and Options offers analysis of 10 critical HEA policy issues that faced the 108th Congress.
2004 – Investing in America’s Future: Why Student Aid Pays Off for Society and Individuals analyzes the benefits of an affordable college education for individuals and communities. Higher Education Opportunities for Students with Disabilities: A Primer for Policymakers examines the challenges facing policymakers to best provide for students with disabilities.
2005 – The Investment Payoff: A 50-State Analysis of the Public and Private Benefits of Higher Education builds on our 2004 work by articulating the benefits of higher education on a 50-state basis. Learning to Reduce Recidivism: A 50-State Analysis of Postsecondary Correctional Education Policy is a national survey to better understand what postsecondary correctional education programs exist and how these programs are funded and implemented.
2006 – Convergence: Trends Threatening to Narrow College Opportunity in America tracks a diverse array of higher education factors at the federal, state, and institutional levels that could make college inaccessible and unaffordable in the future. The IHEP-led Global Policy Fellows program convened international higher education professionals to explore policies to improve educational opportunity for underrepresented students.
2007 – Opening the Door to the American Dream: Increasing Higher Education Access and Success for Immigrants advocates for the removal of policy barriers encountered by immigrants seeking access to higher education. College Access for the Working Poor: Overcoming Burdens to Succeed in Higher Education examines the barriers that working, low-income students face in accessing and succeeding in higher education.
2008 – Window of Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students with the Lowest Incomes explores options to strengthen the Pell Grant to best meet the financial needs of low-income students. Increasing Student Success at Minority-Serving Institutions: Findings from the BEAMS Project details the process Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) institutions used to craft data-driven action plans to improve student success.
2009 – The Role and Relevance of Rankings in Higher Education Policymaking provides an overview of national postsecondary assessment efforts. IHEP assumed leadership of the Pathways to College Network, an alliance of national organizations committed to advance college opportunity.
2010 – Cost Perceptions and College-Going for Low-Income Students explores the factors that contribute to the enrollment behavior of low-income students. IHEP joins the National Coalition for College Completion (NCCC), a partnership organization that includes the voice of stakeholders to add critical voices to the national dialogue on degree completion.
2011 – Unlocking Potential: Results of a National Survey of Postsecondary Education in State Prisons offers data and recommendations aiming to increase the policy attention paid to postsecondary opportunities for incarcerated students. Crossing the Finish Line: A National Effort to Address Near Completion lays out a framework through which policymakers and institutions can address near completion as part of national and state attainment goals.
2012 – The Role of Community-Based Organizations in the College Access and Success Movement focuses on the role of CBOs in helping students access and succeed in higher education. Supporting First-Generation College Students Through Classroom-Based Practices captures how 30 minority-serving institutions developed a multipronged approach to support first-generation students.
2013 – Degrees of Hope: Redefining Access for 21st-Century Students -IHEP’s first-ever video documentary -humanizes critical college access issues. Project Win-Win at the Finish Line details the result of a national effort to reengage students with some college, but no degree.
2014 – Minority-Serving Institutions: Doing More with Less makes a case for investing more in MSIs, given their important leadership in improving the outcomes of their students, despite financial challenges. With the Lumina Foundation, IHEP launched the film series Looking Back to Move Forward: A History of Federal Student Aid to help policymakers navigate roadblocks to new policy innovation.
2015 – Serving Their Share: Some Colleges Could Be Doing a Much Better Job Enrolling and Graduating Low-Income Students outlines ways that higher education institutions can improve access and completion for underrepresented students. Access to Attainment: An Access Agenda for 21st Century Students examines the challenges facing 21st century students and presents strategies for addressing these challenges.
2016 – Towards Convergence: A Technical Guide for the Postsecondary Metrics Framework provides foundational details that enumerate the construction of a robust metrics framework. Leading with Data: How Senior Institutions and System Leaders Use Postsecondary Data to Promote Student Success profiles the role that data play in developing impactful institutional policies and practices.
2017 – Limited Means, Limited Options: College Remains Unaffordable for Many Americans asserts that the college affordability problem in America is not only real, but is largely one of inequity. The Potential of Degree Reclamation offers a new vision for scaling degree reclamation, a transformative completion strategy that can help millions of college students achieve their dream of earning a degree.