Varying Degrees
How Americans Perceive Higher Education in 2019
Event
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Only one in three Americans think higher education is fine the way it is. It is no wonder there is a fair amount of pessimism: College costs are soaring, and students and families are increasingly on the hook to finance their own educations through earnings, savings, and loans. It seems every day there is an article about the burden and rapid growth of federal student loans, which now total over $1.5 trillion. Several recent high-profile scandals surrounding free speech, campus climate, and admissions to some of America’s most elite institutions may be contributing to this frustration too.
But Americans’ opinions about higher education are complex. Understanding this complexity is important for learning how to talk about the value of educational pathways after high school and crafting thoughtful policy solutions to meet the needs of today’s students. Against this backdrop, Varying Degrees 2019: New America’s Third Annual Survey on Higher Education surveyed 2,029 Americans ages 18 and older to better understand their perceptions of education after high school, its contribution to economic mobility, how state and federal government should prioritize its funding, and what role it plays in the 2020 presidential election.
Please join New America’s Higher Education Initiative as we take a closer look at the survey results, and discuss the implications of these findings for students, institutional leaders, and policymakers.
Follow the conversation online using #VaryingDegrees and following @NewAmericaEd.
Agenda:
9:00-9:30 AM: Registration & Breakfast
9:30-9:35 AM: Welcoming Remarks
Kevin Carey, @KevinCarey1
Vice President Education Policy and Knowledge Management, New America
9:35-10:00 AM: Presentation of the Data & HigherEd Polling Dashboard
Alejandra Acosta, @aleacostaed
Policy Analyst, Education Policy Program, New America
Sophie Nguyen, @SophieSG17
Program Associate, Education Policy Program, New America
10:00-11:00 AM: Panel Presentation - Behind the Numbers of the Student Loan Crisis
Moderator:
Diane Harris, @dianeharris
Editor at Large, Newsweek
Panelists:
Fenaba Addo, @fenabaaddo
Assistant Professor of Consumer Finance, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dominique Baker, @bakerdphd
Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Southern Methodist University
Sarah Sattelmeyer, @sellensatt
Manager of Project on Student Borrower Success, The Pew Charitable Trusts
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: New America & Aspen Ascend Panel Presentation: How Students Who Care for Dependents Navigate Higher Education
Moderator:
Elissa Nadworny, @ElissaNadworny
Reporter/Editor, NPR Ed
Panelists:
Brittany Block
Ascend Parent Advisor, Jeremiah Program Alumni
Lesley Del Rio
Ascend Parent Advisor, Program Manager at Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver
Ariel Ventura-Lazo
Ascend Parent Advisor
Joseph Yusuf
Generation Hope Scholar