Characteristics of and comparisons between US fourth-year veterinary students graduating with and without educational debt from 2001 through 2020

OBJECTIVE To characterize and compare fourth-year students of US veterinary schools graduating with and without related educational debt (ie, DVM debt) from 2001 through 2020. SAMPLE 45,756 fourth-year veterinary students who participated in the annual AVMA Senior Survey from 2001 through 2020. PROCEDURES Survey data were summarized for variables hypothesized to be associated with DVM debt. Multivariable modeling was used to investigate associations between these variables and the likelihood of graduating with DVM debt. RESULTS Mean DVM debt increased fairly steadily from $56,824 in 2001 (n = 1,587) to $157,146 in 2020 (2,859). Of 45,756 students, 6,129 (13.4%) had no DVM debt. Attending Tuskegee University and having children (both men and women) were associated with an increased likelihood of DVM debt. Attending certain other veterinary schools and more recent survey year were associated with a decreased likelihood. For 2020, the likelihood of DVM debt decreased with increasing percentage of tuition paid by family and increased with increasing percentage of tuition paid by educational loans, being a woman with children, and increasing total cost of attendance. No association was found with state cost of living index or per capita income. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested a growing rift between US veterinary students who cannot afford tuition and fees without accumulating financially concerning levels of debt and those who have the financial ability or family situation to fully fund veterinary school. Efforts should be undertaken to recruit across socioeconomic statuses and provide meaningful scholarships to students with greatest financial needs to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in veterinary medicine.

The plague of privatization: A futures analysis of the zombification of education

The article re-imagines the current developments of Swedish education into a possible future. Historically, education was organized and funded by the state; however, reforms towards privatization in the 1990s implemented school choice, private schools and a tax-financed voucher system with the option of turning profits on education. A new judicial decision enforced the withholding of data on private ownership and economic spending in education from the public, as transparency was deemed to damage the competitiveness of private schools. Hence, generating profits and business advantage are prioritized over public interests as the organization and provision of education is progressively shaped by privatization. These changes are what prompted us to consider ‘what if all education was privatized’? The first part of the article reviews important developments in public education towards privatization and introduces our theoretical framework. The second part draws on aspects of speculative fiction in a dystopian scenario of an imagined educational apocalypse. The scenario starts in contemporary times and ends in 2121 where the education system is dominated by a financial conglomerate called Nescience Ltd. In this technologically advanced society, artificial intelligence systems have replaced educational institutions and teachers. Expensive tuition and fees have made people indebted to Nescience while learning is transformed into the manufacturing of alienated labourers. To understand these economic transitions and the position of Nescience as a knowledge provider in the future, we use the concept of ‘zombification’ to theorize the infection of privatization in the educational sector.

Can Free Community College Close Racial Disparities in Postsecondary Attainment? How Tulsa Achieves Affects Racially Minoritized Student Outcomes

Promise programs, or place-based tuition-free college policies, have become increasingly popular among policymakers looking to expand postsecondary attainment. In this article, we examine Tulsa Achieves, a widespread, albeit understudied type of promise program that covers the balance of students’ tuition and fees after other aid is exhausted at a single community college. Utilizing a difference-in-differences and event-study design, we investigate the role Tulsa Achieves eligibility plays in promoting or hindering vertical transfer and bachelor's degree attainment across racial/ethnic groups. We find that Tulsa Achieves eligibility is associated with increases in bachelor's degree attainment within 5 years among Native American and Hispanic students and an increased likelihood of transfer within 4 years for Hispanic students.

Investigating Why Academically Successful Community College Students Leave College Without a Degree

Even though a postsecondary degree can offer economic, social, and civic benefits, many community college students leave without earning a degree—including some who have performed well academically and made substantial progress toward graduation. To better understand the factors contributing to early exit, we surveyed a number of former students in a large community college system. We improve the generalizability of the survey responses through multilevel regression with poststratification, which we use to reweight the responses to better represent the population in our original survey frame. We find that tuition and fees, living expenses, and no longer being eligible for financial aid are the factors contributing to early exit for the largest share of students. We also find variation in both financial and nonfinancial factors across subgroups, suggesting that targeted supports may be useful in helping students persist or return to college and complete their degree.

Tax Extenders Resurrected: Insights on Higher Education Tax Reform from the Recent Legislation on the Tuition and Fees Deduction

U.S. legislators recently brought back thirty-four tax programs from legislative limbo, extending them for three years. This includes the tuition and fee deduction, used by taxpayers to save on college expenses. This regressive tax policy flows heavily towards higher-income levels, with almost a third of the deduction going to those with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000. Previous empirical research indicates the policy has had no effect on increasing college enrollment. It is imperative that researchers, policymakers, and practitioners remediate duplicative, fiscally irresponsible tax policy. To guide this remediation, I provide a legislative history of the tuition and fees deduction, duplicative effects of current education tax incentives, critiques against the current tax extender package, and recommendations for higher education tax reform.

A Discourse Network Analysis of 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Education Policy

This study aims to conduct a discourse network analysis of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates’ education policy proposals. Given the far-reaching influence of presidential election on education policy, this study applies discourses network analysis to uncover education policy coalitions of the 2020 presidential candidates. The results suggest Joe Biden had the highest degree centrality, meaning his education policies were the same with or similar to many other candidates. Moreover, the Democratic candidates’ proposed policies centered around school safety, universal pre-kindergarten programs, increased investment in school infrastructure, increased Title 1 funding, and free tuition and fees at 2- and 4-year public colleges. The findings provide timely insights into education policies over the 2020 presidential campaign.

“Name and Shame”: An Effective Strategy for College Tuition Accountability?

Due to concerns about college affordability, in 2011, the Department of Education began producing two annual public lists of institutions with the highest change in tuition and fees and average net price within sector (top 5% and at least US$600 increase). This study investigates the effect of this low-stakes federal accountability tool on institutional behavior. I use a frontier regression discontinuity design that investigates the effect of being included on either the tuition or net price list at the 95th percentile cutoff (restricting the sample to only include institutions with at least a US$600 increase). I find no consistent effect of list inclusion on affordability or enrollment. I also present several robustness checks that also find little consistent effect.

THE RYAZAN GYMNASIUM FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM IN THE LATE 19TH — EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

В статье рассматриваются вопросы оказания социальной помощи учащимся гимназий Рязанской губернии в конце XIX — начале XXвека, система существовавших мер материальной поддержки успешных учеников из малообеспеченных семей как инструмент по созданию условий для завершения ими полного курса обучения. Выделены и проанализированы основные виды материальной помощи, такие как освобождение от платы за обучение, назначение стипендий, предоставление бесплатного жилья и горячих завтраков, обеспечение учебниками и ученическими принадлежностями. Показана совместная деятельность государственных, местных и общественных институтов по оказанию финансовой и вещевой помощи гимназистам из бедных семей. Сделан вывод об эффективности существовавшей системы помощи и необходимости дальнейшего исторического исследования проблемы социальной помощи гимназистам с целью использования положительного опыта в современных условиях. The article treats the issue of providing financial assistance to students who attended gymnasiums of the Ryazan Province in the late 19th — early 20thcenturies. It focuses on financial assistance to academicallysuccessful students from low-income families as a means of ensuring that they have access to educational opportunities and can graduate from their educational institution. It systematizes and assesses major types of financial aid which cover such expenses as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies. The article maintains that state and municipal government institutions as well as other public institutions worked together to provide financial support to students from low-income families. The article concludes that the financial aid system was rather efficient and it is essential that the issue should be further investigated, for it will definitely contribute to our life.

Price Effects of Nonprofit College and University Mergers

Nonprofit colleges and universities have merged across the United States citing economies of scale and scope. Yet whether these mergers raise prices has not been empirically assessed. Using a retrospective merger evaluation approach, I estimate that the average merger between 2000 and 2015 increased tuition and fees by 5% to 7% relative to nonmerging institutions in the same state and sector (public or nonprofit). Effects on net prices are estimated imprecisely, but the results are suggestive that nonprofit colleges use mergers to increase price discrimination.