Selected Publications
Perna, L. W. (Ed., 2021). Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, Vol. 36. Netherlands: Springer.
Perna, L. W., Wright-Kim, J., & Leigh, E. (2021). Will college promise programs improve or reduce equity? Understanding the contextual conditions that influence implementation. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(6). This article is part of the special issue, Policy Implementation as an Instrument to Achieve Educational Equity in the Community College Context, guest edited by Eric R. Felix, H. Kenny Nienhusser, Ángel Gonzalez, Luz Burgos-López.
Cahalan, M., Perna, L. W., Addison, M., Murray, C., Patel, P. & Jiang, N. (2020, May). Indicators of higher education equity in the United States: 2020 historic trend report. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute of the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.
Perna, L. W., Wright-Kim, J., & Leigh, E. W. (2020). Is a college promise program an effective use of resources? Understanding the implications of program design and resource investments for equity and efficiency. AERA Open.
Perna, L. W., & Smith, E. (Eds.). (2020). Improving research-based knowledge of College Promise programs. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Perna, L. W., & Odle, T. K. (2020). Recognizing the reality of working college students. Academe. Advanced online publication.
Perna, L. W., Orosz, K., & Kent, D. (2019). The role of educational research in Congressional hearings. American Education Research Journal, 56, 111–145.
Perna, L. W. (Ed., 2018). Taking it to the streets: The role of scholarship in advocacy and advocacy in scholarship. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Perna, L. W., & Leigh, E. (2018). Understanding the promise: A typology of state and local college promise programs. Educational Researcher, 47, 155–180.
Perna, L. W., Leigh, E., & Carroll, S. (2017). “Free college:” A new and improved state approach to increasing educational attainment? American Behavioral Scientist, 61, 1740–1757.
Perna, L. W., & Hillman, N. (Eds., 2017). Understanding student debt: Who borrows, the consequences of borrowing, and the implications for federal policy. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 671.
Cahalan, M., Perna, L. W., Yamashita, M., Wright, J., & Santillan, S. (2018). Indicators of higher education equity in the United States—2018 historical trend report. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), and Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy of the University of Pennsylvania (PennAHEAD).
Perna, L. W., & Ruiz, R. (2016). Technology: The solution to higher education’s pressing problems? In P. Altbach, P. Gumport, & M. Bastedo (eds.), American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 432–461.
Perna, L. W. (2016). Throwing down the gauntlet: Ten ways to ensure the future of our research. Review of Higher Education, 39, 319–338.
Orosz, K., & Perna, L. W. (2016). Higher education internationalization in the context of ongoing economic-political transitions: Insights from former Soviet and Eastern bloc nations. Hungarian Education Research Journal, 6, 3–21.
Cahalan, M., Perna, L. W., Yamashita, M., Ruiz, R., & Franklin, K. (2016, April). Indicators of higher education equity in the United States: An historic trend report. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute of the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.
Perna, L. W. (2016, January). Connecting research and state policy: Implications for academic researchers and intermediary organizations. Indianapolis, IN: Lumina Foundation, Lumina Issue Papers.
Cahalan, M., & Perna, L. W. (2015, February). Indicators of higher education equity in the United States: 45-year trend report. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute of the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.
Perna, L. W., Orosz, K., & Jumakulov, Z. (2015). Understanding the human capital benefits of a government-funded international scholarship program: An exploration of Kazakhstan’s Bolashak program. International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 85–97.
Perna, L. W., Orosz, K., Jumakulov, Z., Kishtentayeva, M., & Ashirbekov, A. (2015). Understanding the programmatic and contextual forces that influence participation in a government-sponsored student mobility program. Higher Education, 69, 173–188.
Perna, L. W., May, H., Yee, A., Ransom, T., Rodriguez, A., & Fester, R. (2015). Access to the international baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme: An exploration of opportunity to rigorous high school curricula. Educational Policy, 29(2), 402–425.
Perna, L. W., Ruby, A., Boruch, R., Wang, N., Scull, J., Ahmad, S., & Evans, C. (2014). Moving through MOOCs: Understanding the progression of users in MOOCs. Educational Researcher, 43,421–432.
Perna, L. W., & Finney, J. (2014). The attainment agenda: State policy leadership in higher education. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Perna, L. W., & McLendon, M. (2014). The role of state policy in promoting college access and success. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Perna, L. W., & Orosz, K., with Gopaul, B., Jumakulov, Z., Ashirbekov, A., & Kishkentayeva, M. (2014). Promoting human capital development: A typology of international scholarship programs in higher education. Educational Researcher, 43(2), 63–73.
Perna, L. W., & Jones, A. (2013). The state of college access and completion: Improving college success for students from underrepresented groups. New York, NY: Routledge.
Perna, L. W. (2012). Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs in Metropolitan America: The policy, practice, and research issues. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Perna, L. W., Harkavy, I., & Bowman, C. (2012). Understanding the role of research universities in improving college preparation and access at local urban high schools. Metropolitan Universities, 22(3), 63–82.
Perna, L. W., & Steele, P. (2011). The role of context in understanding the contributions of financial aid to college opportunity. Teachers College Record, 113, 895–933.
Perna, L. W. (2010). Understanding the working college student: New research and its implications for policy and practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Perna, L. W. Toward a more complete understanding of the role of financial aid in promoting college enrollment: The importance of context. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
Perna, L. W., Lundy-Wagner, V., Drezner, N., Gasman, M., Yoon, S., Bose, E., & Gary, S. (2009). The contribution of HBCUs to the preparation of African American women for STEM careers: A case study. Research in Higher Education, 50, 1–23.
Perna, L. W., & Thomas, S. L. (2008). Theoretical perspectives on student success: Understanding the contributions of the disciplines. ASHE-Higher Education Reader Report. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Perna, L. W. (2008). Understanding high school students’ willingness to borrow to pay college prices. Research in Higher Education, 49, 589–606.
Perna, L. W., Rowan-Kenyon, H., Thomas, S. L., Bell, A., Anderson, R., & Li, C. (2008). The role of college counseling in shaping college opportunity: Variations across high schools. Review of Higher Education, 31(2), 131–160.
Perna, L. W., & Thomas, S. L. (2008). Barriers to college opportunity: The unintended consequences of state-mandated tests. Educational Policy, 23(3), 451–479.
Perna, L. W., Rowan-Kenyon, H., Bell, A., Li, C., & Thomas, S. L. (2008). Typology of federal and state policies designed to promote college enrollment. Journal of Higher Education, 79(3), 243–267.
