Resources

Issue Brief

Does Basic Needs Funding Improve Persistence Among College Students? Findings on How HEERF Dollars Impacted Student Persistence at SNHU

October 17, 2023

In this paper, CHEPP releases findings on the impact of HEERF dollars distributed during the pandemic at SNHU on student persistence. It finds that students were nearly 15% more likely to stay enrolled in the next semester if they received basic needs support. These findings suggest there is a tremendous opportunity to help today’s learners persist and succeed by offering broad basic needs support nationally. According to a 2019-20 survey conducted by the National Postsecondary Student Aid (NPSAS), nearly a quarter of surveyed students reported low or very low food security and eight percent reported experiencing homelessness in the prior month. As policymakers consider how federal policy can support learner success, funding greater basic needs supports appears to be critical to keeping learners enrolled and advancing social and economic mobility.

Letter

Public Comment Letter Regarding the Confidentiality and Disclosure of State Unemployment Compensation (UC) Information

September 22, 2023

CHEPP submitted the following public comment to the US Department of Labor’s Request for Information (RFI) Federal-State Unemployment Compensation (UC) Program; Confidentiality and Disclosure of State UC Information. Specifically, this comment answers the questions regarding access and use of UC data by private, postsecondary institutions of higher education. CHEPP supports institutions of higher education having access to UC data to help inform academic program development, improvement, and closure. Access to this data would also help inform students’ decisions regarding degree pathways and economic outcomes for different careers, as well as improve higher education institutions’ understanding of program outcomes by region, informing student academic and career advising.

Issue Brief

Postsecondary CBE: A Primer for Policymakers

July 27, 2023

Competency-Based Education (CBE) holds the potential to unlock opportunity for millions of learners by offering them the option of demonstrating their learning, untethered from the 'seat time' required in completing credit hours. In a new primer for policymakers, CHEPP and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) unpack what CBE is, what CBE is, how it works, the potential benefits to learners, and how institutional practice is driven by federal higher education policy. The goal of this primer is to provide policymakers with valuable information about CBE as they consider how institutions of higher education can meet the needs of more learners across the country.

Letter

Comment Letter to the Senate HELP Committee regarding the reauthorization of ESRA

April 19, 2023

CHEPP submitted the following comments to a request for input from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee regarding its consideration of the reauthorization of the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA). To help inform the ESRA reauthorization process, CHEPP’s comments explain how education research can better capture data that is relevant for today’s higher education learners. The letter also asks Congress to use ESRA to improve reporting on innovative practices to better inform higher education policies, as well as improve data collection on college students with disabilities.