Michael Armijo
Ph.D. Candidate, Higher Education
If the U.S. is to once again lead the world in educational attainment – and compete in the new knowledge-based economy – we must increase the number of American students graduating from colleges and universities.
But the road to achieving that goal is not without challenges, among them variance in degree production and economic and demographic changes – not to mention state and institutional policies and practices. Among the policies that influence attainment rates are those aimed at preparing young people for higher education, fostering participation and degree completion, and addressing the issues of financial aid and affordability.
Michael Armijo is part of a team of researchers – from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and Penn's Institute for Research in Higher Education – taking a close look at five states with an eye toward learning just how their policies relate to their higher-education attainment rates – the "State Review Project."
Drawing on data from Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington, Michael and the rest of the research team are collecting relevant state, regional, and national reports and also interviewing government, institutional, business, and K-12 leaders to better understand the historical, economic, and political context of higher education policy development.
At the end of their work, the researchers will publish policy reports for government and civic leaders in the five states as well as case studies and a comparative report.