Michael D. Parsons – författare

Provides the most intimate view of federal higher education policymaking since Congress and the Colleges. Reveals that, despite the lack of power as measured by conventional standards, higher education associations have succeeded in convincing Congress to dramatically expand the scope of federal student aid programs under the 1992 Higher Education Act.Power and Politics provides the most intimate view of federal higher education policymaking since Congress and the Colleges. The question of power, often ignored by higher education policy analysts and researchers, is the focus of this study of federal higher education policymaking in the 1990s. Conventional measures and assessments of power reveal that the Washington-based higher education associations are not powerful policy actors. However, the associations apparently have succeeded in convincing Congress to dramatically expand the scope and size of federal student aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act (HEA). The 1992 HEA reauthorization and the Clinton student aid agenda provide case studies as the author seeks to resolve the contradiction between conventional measures of power and actual policy outcomes in the federal higher education policy arena.

Much of the twentieth century saw broad political support for public funding of American higher education. Liberals supported public investment because it encouraged social equity, conservatives because it promoted economic development. Recently, however, the politics of higher education have become more contentious. Conservatives advocate deep cuts in public financing; liberals want to expand enrollment and increase diversity. Some public universities have embraced privatization, while federal aid for students increasingly emphasizes middle-class affordability over universal access. In Public Funding of Higher Education, scholars and practitioners address the complexities of this new climate and its impact on policy and political advocacy at the federal, state, and institutional levels. Rethinking traditional rationales for public financing, contributors to this volume offer alternatives for policymakers, administrators, faculty, students, and researchers struggling with this difficult practical dynamic. Contributors: M. Christopher Brown II, Pennsylvania State University; Jason L. Butler, University of Illinois; Choong-Geun Ching, Indiana University; Clifton F.Conrad, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Saran Donahoo, University of Illinois; James Farmer, JA-SIG uPortal; James C. Hearn, Vanderbilt University; Janet M. Holdsworth, University of Minnesota; Don Hossler, Indiana University; John R. Thelin, University of Kentucky; Mary Louise Trammell, University of Arizona; David J. Weerts, University of Wisconsin-Madison; William Zumeta, University of Washington