Earlier this year, the Carnegie Postsecondary Commission released its inaugural vision paper, “Revitalizing Higher Education: A Blueprint for Transformative Change.” As a precursor to this release, we commissioned the HEA Group to produce three baseline papers, as the Commission considered ideas and endeavors that will lead to transformational change of the American higher education system, and promise increased access, affordability, and meaningfully improved outcomes for students enrolled in postsecondary school, especially those furthest from opportunity.

Understanding College Access

This paper provides a general overview on college access. Specifically, who attends college nowadays, where they come from, and the disparities between those populations.

Understanding College Affordability

This paper examines how much college costs students at institutions across the United States. Beyond the average student, it also looks at the out-of- pocket costs for low- and moderate-income students, specifically those from families with incomes below $75,000 per year.

Understanding College Economic Outcomes

This paper examines the economic outcomes that students obtain by pursuing a postsecondary credential in the United States. Specifically, it looks at how much they earn, whether there are differences between demographics, and whether they earn more than someone with no college experience.