Here are some new resources and news for the field of higher education.

Higher Education  The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a report on state funding cuts and trends in higher education since the 2008 recession. The report finds that states have slashed higher education funding (In 2017, $9 billion below the level in 2008), and the price of attending public colleges has risen significantly faster than what families can afford. Inside Higher Ed highlights findings from the report.

Major Influence: Where Students Get Valued Advice on What to Study in College  The second report from the Education Consumer Pulse focuses on influential elements in how individuals choose their field of study. That is, who or what sources provide advice to students and how helpful that advice is perceived to be.  Respondents, including more than 22,000 U.S. adults, were asked to name up to three sources of advice about their major and rate their helpfulness.

How Can States and Schools Partner to Help ‘Near-Completers?’  State legislatures hoping to create legislation around “near-completers” — or former students who had some college credit without a form of certification or degree — may see more success by working directly with the higher ed institutions in their state, according to a new policy report by Education Commission for the States, which looked at the progress of legislation and initiatives in the area. (Education Dive)

Prior-Prior’s Payoff  Changes made last year to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid led to new behaviors both intended and unintended by students and colleges and universities, according to survey results and other data presented at a Friday session during the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s national conference. (Inside Higher Ed)

The Effects of Statewide Private School Choice on College Enrollment and Graduation   Although several studies have documented the effects of statewide private school choice programs on student test scores, this report is the first to examine the effects of one of these programs on college enrollment and graduation. This review found that low-income Florida students who attended private schools using an FTC scholarship enrolled in and graduated from Florida colleges at a higher rate than their public school counterparts. Almost all of this effect is because of increased enrollment in community colleges, which mirrors typical college enrollment patterns for Florida high school students. There was still, however, a small positive effect on four-year college enrollment for students who began FTC in elementary or middle school.  (Urban Institute)

What Happens to Students Who Take Community College Dual Enrollment Courses in High School?  Nationally, 15 percent of fall 2010 community college entrants were high school dual enrollment students; this proportion ranged from 1 percent in Georgia to 34 percent in Kentucky. Nearly half of former community college dual enrollment students first attended a community college immediately after high school, and 84 percent of those students re-enrolled at the college where they had taken dual enrollment courses. Among former dual enrollment students who started at community college after high school, 46 percent earned a college credential within five years. The percentage ranged from 28 percent in West Virginia to 64 percent in Florida. Among former dual enrollment students who started at a four-year college after high school, 64 percent completed a college credential within five years. Completion rates ranged from 34 percent in Nevada to 75 percent in Florida.  (Community College Research Center)

Analysis: States’ Interest in Outcomes-Based Higher Ed Funding Grows  A growing number of states have adopted or are seeking to enact outcomes-based funding in higher education, which scholars say is indicative of the fact that states are grappling with larger issues of funding for higher education in general. (Diverse: Issues In Higher Education)

College Enrollment Projected to Grow 15% by 2025  A new federal report projects that enrollment in American post-secondary institutions will climb 15 percent from 2014 to 2025, with larger proportional increases among adult than traditional-age students, women than men, graduate students than undergraduates, and minority students than white students. (Inside Higher Ed)

Graduation Rates for Dual-Enrolled Students  A new study from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center takes a state-by-state look at how students who take community college courses while still in high school fare after they transition to college. (Inside Higher Ed)

Tennessee Promise Students More Likely to Succeed in College, Less Likely to Drop Out, New Data Shows  The data, part of a wide-ranging analysis done by the state’s community college system, the Tennessee Board of Regents, provide the clearest picture yet of the landmark program. Proposed by Gov. Bill Haslam in 2014, the program was the first in the nation to offer almost every graduating high school senior in a state the chance to go to college tuition-free. (Tennessean)