Kentucky Should Get Involved In Debate About New College Affordability Strategies
While recent discussion of the student debt crisis has focused largely on federal proposals to make student loan payments easier...
Education
Lessening Burden of Student Loans One Step of Many Toward Greater College Affordability
There is a lot of focus this week on what can be done to address the student loan debt crisis—with cumulative U. S. student loan debt having reached $1.2 trillion...
Growing Tuition Tax Credit Denies Students in Poverty Even As Need-Based College Aid is Underfunded
Kentucky’s recently released biennial tax expenditure report, which documents state spending through provisions in the tax code, shows a growing amount of money going to a program called the Postsecondary...
New Budget Will Worsen Kentucky’s College Affordability Problem
The budget passed by the General Assembly on Monday does not contain good news for higher education students in Kentucky. The 1.5 percent cuts to the state’s public universities and...
Budget Options Make Higher Education Harder to Afford for Those Who Need It Most
Lack of state revenue is chipping away at the progress Kentucky made in higher education beginning in the 1990s. That trend continues in the new budget being developed. More cuts...
Budget Cuts Threaten Kentucky’s Ability to Sustain and Grow Progress in Adult Education
Each year Kentucky Adult Education (KYAE) helps thousands of Kentuckians across the state prepare to take the GED, improve literacy and increase English as a second language skills. These services...
New Commitment to Need-Based Financial Aid Critical in Context of Rising Tuition
The cost of public higher education in Kentucky has risen by more than 200 percent in the last 15 years, but the state’s financial aid programs have changed very little...
Diverting Lottery Revenues Makes College Less Affordable For Those Who Need It Most
The state is increasingly diverting lottery revenues from financial aid programs to help shore up the budget, as described in a Lexington Herald-Leader story today. Those dollars are coming from...
New Report Shows Continued Higher Education Gaps for Disadvantaged Students Alongside Funding Cuts
The state’s most recent accountability report for higher education—released this week—shows some progress in many areas but big challenges in college affordability and in addressing postsecondary degree attainment gaps for...
Vast Inequality in Wealth Means Poor School Districts Are Less Able to Rely on Local Property Taxes
The cuts in state and federal funding for education are hitting Kentucky's school districts hard, and many are raising local taxes in response. However, the same local property tax increase...