Recommendations to Inform the Department of Education’s Research and Evaluation Set-Aside Authority
Published Jan 2023
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 granted the U.S. Secretary of Education the authority to set aside up to 0.5 percent of funding from certain Higher Education Act (HEA) programs within Department of Education (ED) for the purpose of carrying out rigorous and independent evaluations and conducting data collection and analysis of HEA programs. With input gathered from leading evaluation and higher education policy experts, IHEP and Results for America released five recommendations that outline how the set-aside funds can be best allocated to support administration of effective programs and practices authorized under HEA.
- Set aside the full 0.5 percent of funds and pool these funds to be distributed across research studies according to opportunity and need.
- Prioritize evaluating HEA-funded interventions to develop widely applicable lessons that support the continuous improvement of HEA programs and maximize the impact of taxpayer dollars.
- Fund a combination of evaluations, data collection, and data analysis to produce a well-rounded and timely evidence base from which to make policy and practice decisions.
- Infuse equity into the policymaking process by engaging with researchers, evaluators, and practitioners who are proximate leaders.
- Make publicly available and widely disseminate data and key findings to ensure decision-makers can leverage this evidence base to make informed decisions.
Read the full recommendations.