The Economics of Higher Education

Catalog description

Some of the most important and controversial policy issues we face today concern higher education—such as whether college should be free, college debt should be forgiven, Federal Pell Grants should be increased, and colleges should embrace online instruction. This seminar will provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to understand and analyze these issues and is structured in two parts. In Part 1 (Basics), students will be given a grounding in how the U.S. system of higher education is structured and financed. Part 2 (Issues) will take a data-driven approach to assessing key questions about higher education, with applications to state and national policy issues. Guest speakers will occasionally visit the seminar to share their expertise with the class. In order to be eligible, first year students would have to turn in the homework assignment and attend the first class. See Class Notes for additional information