Conducting Public Policy Analysis

Running head: HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY 1

HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY 3

Higher Education Policy

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Higher Education Policy

Affordable higher education is a public policy that raises issues in any state with some states performing better than others. The affordable higher education policy enables families to meet education prices through lowering of tuition prices. The policy focuses on educational expenses such as tuition and educational options to ensure lower income families can afford to give their children education. The affordability policy provides for state financial aid and Pell grants which greatly reduces the price of higher education (Hillman et al., 2015). The affordability policy provides for low-priced colleges and universities which is made available to applicants who are motivated. Low priced community college is as a result of the policy.

The current status of the affordable higher education is that it is declining resulting in a public issue. Rising costs have been experienced over the past couple of years affecting people from different classes of the economy. Public colleges are increasing tuition fees in order to recapture funds resulting in higher costs of higher education. The erosion of affordability is brought about by increasing costs and leading to many students missing out. Focus on this policy is due to low income families missing out on the opportunity to get higher education. The families are faced with unplanned tuition hikes when they are considering enrolling in the institutions.

Stakeholders influencing the affordability policy include the states and federal government which provide for funding. The funding streams by the federal and state governments are almost equal in size. The federal government provides financial assistance to individual students while the state provides finances for the operations that occur in the public institutions. The research projects in the public institutions are financed by the federal governments. The public is a stakeholder also where they engage the federal government in the issues which affect them such as raised fees. The public relies on the government and regulate the policy ensuring deserving students enroll and meet the costs of education.

Reference

Hillman, N. W., Tandberg, D. A., & Sponsler, B. A. (2015). Public policy and higher education: Strategies for framing a research agenda. San Francisco, California: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company, at Jossey-Bass.