Briefings Provide State Policymakers with Tuition
and Aid Data


The College Board is taking valuable data and analysis from the annual higher education trends reports directly to state leaders and policymakers.

Pilot programs in Washington and Mississippi have been well received, and a third program is scheduled in California.

In Washington, Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst for the
College Board and professor at Skidmore College, and Patricia Steele, an education policy analyst, led discussions with legislative staff, higher education professionals and state association leaders about the three major reports, "Trends in College Pricing," "Trends in Student Aid" and "Education Pays."

The "Education Pays" segment has special appeal, said Baum,
a co-author of the reports, because people are really interested
in the benefits that a more educated population can bring to
their states.

"I think it's helpful for state policymakers to have a national context for evaluating their own policies," she said. We are trying to help them understand better the issues of sticker price and net price as well as the trade-offs between appropriations for instruction and for student aid and merit-based and need-based aid. Also it is important to see how much averages can hide, how much variation in price and aid patterns there is both within
and across states and institutions."

Steele, who also contributed to the reports, said, "These reports provide information in a timely way that people cannot get anywhere else. This is a service we can provide to educators, using the national data as a backdrop but tailoring the discussions to what is specific to that state."

Kris Zavoli, senior director for state government relations and regional membership for the College Board, said the audience in Washington enjoyed a discussion about policy with the experts who could give context to the data. "The people in Washington really appreciated seeing the data and how the state compared nationally," she said. "The 'Education Pays' chart was of particular interest to show the differences in income for people with a high school diploma, a college degree and some college."

The briefings also give the College Board an opportunity to discuss the CollegeKeys Compact™ and discuss the College Board's work in advocacy with an engaged audience, Zavoli said.