Ronald A. Phipps, Ed.D., is a former senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). He manages several large-scale analysis projects in conjunction with state higher education agencies. He also oversees the organization’s projects related to financing of higher education, statewide governance and administration, distance learning and technology, and other topics in the field of higher education policy.

Phipps is the author/co-author of several IHEP studies, including Assuring Quality in Distance Learning: A Preliminary Review, prepared for the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; College Remediation: What It Is, What It Costs, What’s at Stake, prepared for the Ford Foundation; and What’s the Difference? A Review of Contemporary Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Learning in Higher Education, a study to determine the quality and comprehensiveness of the research regarding the effectiveness of technology-mediated distance education. Phipps also authored the widely read report Quality On the Line, which addressed benchmarks for success in Internet-based distance education; and Funding the InfoStructure, a primer on financing technology infrastructure.

Phipps has worked with the state of Massachusetts in revamping the statewide financial aid system, which incorporated the federal Hope Scholarship. He also evaluated the Outstanding Student Recruitment Program, a merit scholarship program in New Jersey. Phipps completed a project developing strategic and business plans for the New Economic School in Moscow, Russia, which offers a master’s degree in economics. In addition, he generated a policy paper on higher education reform initiatives for the country of Kyrgyzstan and conducted analysis on the degree to which outsourcing is used in American higher education.

Phipps has almost four decades of higher education experience as an administrator, researcher, and analyst. He previously served as assistant secretary at the Maryland Higher Education Commission, where he conducted and supervised policy analysis, planning, and research. He also served as executive director of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, and in a variety of administrative and teaching positions in Maryland and Missouri.

An expert on various higher education issues, Phipps is well versed in financing, statewide governance, and distance learning and technology.