SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association)

🔎NEW REPORT: Using publicly available federal award data for Minority-Serving Institutions from the U.S. Department of Education, our latest report discusses trends in state and federal funding for MSIs. Find an overview of federal award changes since the 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), an analysis of trends observed from the data, and how the findings could inform future funding and support for MSIs. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/dSq3EBVN Jessica Colorado

💻NEW REPORT: Check our latest Quarterly Policy Review to see state highlights about economic and workforce development, access and enrollment, college affordability, value, ROI, student success and college completion, state budgets, etc., and a policy spotlight on Rhode Island Reconnect from the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner. https://lnkd.in/d7YPbCkN

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid opens doors to securing money for college. The #FAFSA is now open for students planning to attend college during the 2025-26 school year. https://lnkd.in/eenpmUck

📢It’s time for students to file their 2025-26 FAFSA! Help spread the word during the U.S. Department of Education's #FAFSA Week of Action, Dec. 9-13. First-time filers and their contributors need to create an FSA ID to get started. Check out fafsa.gov for resources - including links to helpful YouTube videos from Federal Student Aid an Office of the U.S. Department of Education.

If you’re in Chicago attending the National Association for College Admission Counseling's Elevating Equity in College Access and Admissions: Illinois Practice and Policy Convening today, stop by the Ensuring Direct Admissions Works panel to hear SHEEO Senior Policy Analyst Sakshee Chawla highlight how #directadmissions serves as a pivotal tool for advancing equity in higher education by addressing systemic barriers to access, viewed through a state policy lens. Across the nation, states have leveraged direct admissions to simplify college entry, particularly for students from underserved communities. Its success hinges on thoughtful policy design that aligns institutional participation with clear equity objectives, robust data systems that streamline the admissions process, and intentional engagement with counselors and communities to foster trust and buy-in.

SHEEO is always proud to provide a national look at state higher education issues, and it’s been a busy week as our team shares with a variety of groups. Senior Policy Analysts Rachel Burns and Jessica Colorado are speaking to the Equity & Adequacy Funding Partners Convening this afternoon about our recent SHEF expansion project and reports. Senior Policy Analyst Sean Baser spoke on a panel webinar with the Data Quality Campaign alongside a few of our members on Wednesday about our Strong Foundations survey and state postsecondary data systems. Associate Vice President Dustin Weeden spoke this morning on financial monitoring during the New England Commission of Higher Education’s Annual Meeting in Boston. We look forward to continuing to represent our state member perspectives!

We’ve had a great year serving our members and their staff! Wrapping up 2024 with a few more publications still to come this month. 🙌

It’s been an insightful and motivating week with 13 state teams in Washington, D.C. for a Communities of Practice focused on Supporting Student Loan Borrowers. Thank you to all of our speakers and attendees for your engagement as we navigate how best to support students through an often confusing topic. Thank you also to Lumina Foundation and Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program for your support in this work.

From all of us at SHEEO, we’re wishing you a day of gratitude and good food. Our offices are closed today and tomorrow in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

🔎NEW REPORT: Using IPEDS data, our new report rigorously analyzes inequalities and inequities in funding levels by student race/ethnicity and income. Inequities in general public operating appropriations by race/ethnicity and income category are compared across established methodologies in the field of higher education finance. A few findings: ➡️ Three separate approaches to measuring public operating appropriations per student at public 2-year and 4-year institutions find the existence of inequalities and inequities across institution type, student race/ethnicity, and student income. ➡️ The highest levels of state and local funding are directed toward institutions with the lowest proportion of students of color, and students of color on average are attending institutions with the lowest per-student funding. ➡️ The inequality in per-student state and local funding has decreased in the past 15 years. However, the national index of 0.44 in 2022 indicates that there are still large discrepancies in per-student funding across institutions. 💻Read the full report at: https://ow.ly/EHPG50UfeMt Rachel Burns