The recently released MDRC evaluation of the Detroit Promise underscores the community college completion challenge. Despite adding financial incentives and intensive supports to free tuition, only 29 (five percent) of 390 students who started in the program earned at least…
Governor Whitmer with lots of bi-partisan and business community support has established the goal of 60 percent of Michigan adults having a post- secondary credential by 2030. The Lumina Foundation––which has been at the center of the national effort to…
Imagine extracurriculars being school. That is the theme of a fascinating and important New York Times column by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine entitled High School Doesn’t Have to Be Boring. (Mehta is an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate…
The story we are told over and over again is for today’s students getting a four-year degree is no longer a good value for many. It may have been for their parents’ generation, but no more. Everything from student loans…
Governor Whitmer's first State of the State address marks a major turning point in the state's approach to improving the well being of Michiganders. One now public investment driven. After nearly three decades of disinvesting in education and infrastructure in…
High schools that understand their mission to be the preparation of students who can be successful in any environment they choose after leaving high school--especially in pursuit of a college degree--also understand that they need data on how their alumni…
I'm sure some of you are asking yourself "what does cosmetology schools have to do with crushing student loans?". The preeminent story––which we are told over and over again by the media and way too many of our business and…
Over two decades of research has taught us one fundamental lesson: Talent = economic growth. The key to retaining and attracting talent is creating places where people want to live, work and play. Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg got…
A recent Detroit Free Press article entitled GM's job cuts shift to a new kind of worker needed is worth checking out. It is a pretty dramatic example of the reality that––even for those with STEM degrees (in this case engineers)––the…
At least rhetorically––not so much when it comes to funding––there is a lot of support on a bi-partisan basis for community colleges. They are seen as critical to preparing workers for the skilled trades and other mid-skill jobs. Occupations employers…