Why Access Matters?

an aerial view of people listening and taking notes at a seminar

Our country has shifted its conversation from college access to college completion as the new measure of success, sometimes overlooking the fundamental premise that you have to start to finish. Or, as they say when the Powerball jackpot nears record amounts, “You gotta be in it to win it.” Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.…

Read More

More Than Access

portrait of a man

I remember having a conversation with my mother when I was first considering college as a young teen. She urged, “Yo quiero lo mejor para ti. I want you to have the best education–to have a better life than I could ever make for myself. I want to be there to see mi hijo (my…

Read More

Access and Outcomes Are Not at Odds

an aerial view of Grad students tossing graduation caps

For more than 150 years, access to higher education, regardless of a student’s financial background, has been the driving force behind efforts to make good on the transformative promise of education. It is a paradigm that began with the Morrill Land-Grant Acts in the late 1800s and was later dramatically shaped by the GI Bill,…

Read More

To All the Students Who Earned Their Spot in College

For all of us who were first in our families to go to college. Who worked fast food or retail to make as much extra cash as possible. Who had to convince our worried immigrant parents to turn over their taxes so we could fill out FAFSA and then shock them with the news that…

Read More

Filing the FAFSA Matters: When Students File May Matter More

stacks of vinal records in crates

Several weeks ago CampusLogic released a data snapshot on the patterns in FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) filings during the 2018-19 aid year. The piece, Timing Is Everything: FAFSA Filing Trends, offers a never-before-seen look at the data from a form that more than 18 million individuals looking for financial assistance to make…

Read More

Student-Centric State Leadership: A Q&A with Zakiya Smith Ellis

Students walking into schools with backpacks

Zakiya Smith Ellis, New Jersey’s Secretary of Higher Education, has played a significant role in shaping federal policy around higher education affordability and outcomes over the past decade. She served as a senior advisor at both the White House and the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama administration, working on high-profile initiatives such as…

Read More

Reach Higher: Five Years of Building a College-Going Culture

woman on a dune with both arms raised toward the sun and sky

Five years ago, we launched Reach Higher at a College Signing Day event in San Antonio, Texas. Former First Lady Michelle Obama, a first-generation college graduate herself, wanted to create an initiative that would inspire students to continue their education past high school. She wanted to change the national conversation around higher education and shine…

Read More

Higher Education Act Recommendations

a person with head down behind a stack of books

Higher Learning Advocates is working to shift federal policy from higher education to higher learning—education and training beyond high school that leads to a degree, credential, or employment. While more students are participating in higher education than ever before, there is a vast and growing disconnect between federal policy and the needs of today’s students,…

Read More