Tax benefits for graduate education: Incentives for whom?

Numerous studies have examined the enrollment responses of traditional undergraduate students to the introduction of government-provided tuition subsidies, but far less attention has been devoted to the elasticity of demand for graduate education. This paper examines how the tax code and government education policies affect graduate enrollment and persistence rates along with the ways in which students fund their graduate education. Our empirical methodology is based on exogenous variations in the availability of an income tax exemption for employer-provided tuition assistance for graduate courses. We find that graduate attendance among full-time workers age 24–30 is higher when the tax exemption is available, mostly due to higher persistence in public universities and vocational course work. The use of employer aid for individuals enrolled in full-time and public part-time graduate programs also increases. We present some evidence that universities may adjust tuition to capture part of the incidence.     

The importance of mature,part-time students to higher education in the U.K.

This paper assesses the contribution made by mature part-time students to the statistics on higher education. It shows that part-time numbers currently account for approximately 40% of total student numbers in the UK, 33% of university students, (mostly in the Open University) and 43% of the total in polytechnics and colleges, (1989–90 figures). The majority are mature people, over 25 years of age, who combine both education and employment. The principal change over the past ten years has been the increasing proportion of women, who now form more than 44% of the total number of students and 42% of the part-time total. A theoretical analysis is carried out, using the Human Capital model, which shows that part-time higher education might produce significant rates of return, both to the individual and society. It is noted that most of the research efforts in the UK, into the benefits of higher education, have concentrated on young, 18–21 year olds, who study full-time, and that current government policy is primarily concerned with improving the participation rate of this age group. This paper concludes that there is sufficient evidence to warrant a more thorough investigation of the costs and benefits of part-time study and suggests that there is considerable potential for expansion in this area.     

美日两国硕士研究生培养环节的比较研究

通过系统地分析和比较美日两国硕士研究生培养在学位分类、培养目标、修业年限、学习方式、课程计划安排、课程设置、专业与学科设置等环节的经验与做法,得出对于我国硕士生教育改革和发展的三点启示：第一,按学术导向和职业导向分类培养,将职业导向的硕士生培养纳入到职业教育体系;第二,加大非全日制硕士生的招生比例,并且各院校需要根据自身的层次和类型确定相适应的硕士学习方式;第三,从各环节的改革入手加强硕士生创新能力和实践技能的培养。     

近年来美国博士教育面临的挑战及其改革措施

美国博士教育的基本模式为世界各国所借鉴.但是近年来,美国国内对其博士教育存在大量的批评.这使得整个美国博士教育体系面临着巨大挑战.美国政府机构以及许多私人慈善基金会发起或资助多项针对博士生教育问题的改革.取得了不同程度的改善.这将对我国的研究生教育改革和发展带来一些启示.     

Evolution of Graduate Education in Electrical Engineering in Metropolitan Areas

The evolution of graduate education in electrical engineering began in the early 1890' s and progressed at a rapid pace in the 1920' s, particularly in metropolitan areas conscious of community needs. In these areas, evening programs held the spotlight because of the ever-demanding need to provide graduate engineers with advanced knowledge. Such cooperation between community interests and colleges has resulted in a wide variety of patterns of part-time study on campus and, more recently, off campus. The later development is viewed with criticism in several educational circles although off-campus programs are filling tremendous requirements arising from industrial concentrations not within easy reach of a university or college. The evolution seems to indicate that off campus programs are not a passing fancy and that such requirements are very likely to be best satisfied in the long run by the establishment of graduate centers with a faculty in residence. As an example, the Polytechnic Graduate Center on Long Island is described. (The Center, actually located in Farmingdale, N. Y., began its operation on September 25, 1961, with a graduate student body of nearly 700 in day and evening programs involving advanced courses in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electrophysics, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Industrial Management. Close to 150 part-time day students are attending on a released-time basis, in addition to 45 full-time students in residence.)     

Examining the potential impact of full tuition fees on mature part-time students in English higher education

This paper examines current part-time mature learners’ views on the potential impact upon future students as full fees are introduced from 2012. It investigates the problems which part-time mature learners may face with the advent of student loans and subsequent debt, given that they are usually combining complex lives with their studies, with less time to repay any loan in their working lifetime. Despite government rhetoric about the need to increase participants from these groups, most advice and guidance has focused on the traditional full-time market, with little being done to investigate the views of part-time mature learners or to provide appropriate support for them from 2012 onwards.

The views have been gathered through focus group discussions with students in a traditional English university and four of its further education partner colleges via online forums. Resultant data have been analysed to look at emerging themes, which can be summarised as: relief that the respondents had avoided the new fee regime; lack of understanding about current funding; fear that their families would suffer and taking a loan would somehow be a ‘selfish’ strategy; fear that graduate employment would still elude them; fear that their age would mean that they would never be able to repay the debt; a perception that the new regime would generate ‘extra’ money for universities which would be reflected in increased contact hours and wariness about the generous repayment terms currently offered because a change of government could signal new policies and processes.     

高校研究生心理健康教育的思考

近年来,随着学位研究生教育招生规模的不断扩大以及专业教育改革的不断深入,高校研究生的心理健康问题不断引起人们的关注。调查发现,高校研究生心理健康教育工作滞后于研究生人才培养的实际要求。因此,研究生心理健康教育工作应从成立研究生心理健康教育的专门领导机构、建立研究生心理健康专兼职队伍、建立研究生心理健康教育工作机制、开展专题讲座和专项活动、研究生心理健康教育以预防为主、充分发挥现代网络媒介作用等六个方面入手。     

The impact of business cycle fluctuations on graduate school enrollment

This paper adds to the understanding of student decisions about graduate school attendance by studying the magnitude of the effect of business cycle fluctuations on enrollment. I use data on graduate school enrollment from the Current Population Survey and statewide variation in unemployment rates across time to proxy for changes in business cycle conditions. I find that overall graduate school enrollment is countercyclical for females and acyclical for males. I show that changes in the unemployment rate have non-linear impacts on female enrollment and that poor labor market conditions lead to a substitution from full-time enrollment to part-time enrollment for both genders.     

成人高校业余班学生到课率现状分析

保持较高的到课率是维持正常教学秩序所必不可少的,但目前成人高校业余班学生的到课情况不容乐观。文章根据学生问卷调查的结果,就普遍存在的成人高校业余班学生到课率较低的原因进行了分析,并据此提出了相应的举措,以期改善到课率不高的状况,从而提高教学质量。     

Factors influencing job attainment in recent Bachelor graduates: evidence from Australia

Favourable graduate employment outcomes are critical for future enrolments in higher education. Enrolments fund higher education providers and ensure a continuous supply of graduates to enhance organisational effectiveness, national productivity and global competitiveness. Recent evidence suggests the global financial crisis has softened graduate labour markets. Stakeholder concerns for graduate career prospects and the adequacy of return on investment from studying at university prompt exploration of those factors which influence graduate employment outcomes. This study tests, using logistic regression, a model of job attainment in recent Bachelor graduates of Australian higher education providers using national data gathered in 2011 (n = 28,246) and 2012 (n = 28,009). Findings indicate employer selection criteria broadly align with our understanding of what constitutes graduate employability, including technical expertise, generic skill mastery and a successfully formed graduate identity. Labour market opportunities, however, are not based on merit alone with employers favouring those graduating from prestigious universities, part-time students and whose study incorporated elements of on-campus learning. There were also noted variations by discipline, age and residency status. The study enhances our understanding of which factors influence graduate employment outcomes and discusses implications for relevant stakeholders.     

The Graduation Efficiency Index: Validity and Use as an Accountability and Research Measure

Legislatures and coordinating boards are looking for efficiency measures as greater numbers of students wish access to higher education. We propose the Graduation Efficiency Index (GEI) as an efficiency measure that is more valid and useful than elapsed time from matriculation to degree (time to degree). The index is computed by subtracting the number of transfer credits from the minimum credits required for the degree, then dividing the remainder by the sum of the enrollment census day credits in which the given student has enrolled while in college. Research is reported in which this index is applied to data from 1993–94 University of Washington bachelor-degree recipients. Among the results, nontransfers were found to graduate with more efficiency than transfers and B.A.-degree recipients with more efficiency that B.S. recipients. The GEI correlated only modestly with time to degree and part-time vs. full-time enrollment status, and correlations with admissions data were quite small.     

Prior activities and progress in MBA programs

Many graduate business programs encourage, and even require, postbaccalaureate work experience as a criterion for program admission. In this research we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 to examine the extent to which MBA students actually experience a hiatus in their educational careers, and whether their work/education profiles differ from those of other graduate students in the United States. We also address whether this emphasis on educational discontinuity in the formal sense has any effect on how the student progresses through the MBA program. Our results suggest that interrupting school between the BA and MBA leads to a higher likelihood of part-time enrollment, and a consequent lower probability of completing the degree program in a timely fashion.     

Family background, financial constraints and higher education attendance in China

Using data from the 2004 China College Student Survey, conducted by the author, this paper finds that long-term factors such as scholastic ability and parental education are significantly correlated with higher education attendance. By contrast, short-term financial constraints are also significantly associated with higher education access, but to a lesser degree. Furthermore, in recent years China's higher education expansion has provided broader access to students from lower income families. However, the tuition fees and “net prices” of elite universities are lower than those of medium quality universities, while the tuition fees and “net prices” of medium quality universities are lower than those of relatively low quality universities and colleges. This has led to a reverse relationship between family income and attendance costs, such that lower income families now shoulder a much higher burden for their childrens’ university education than higher income families.     

Looming crisis in graduate science education: Where are America's top science students?

Only 750 physics doctorates were awarded to American students during 1990–1991 from a population base of over 248 million people. Even institutions such as MIT are having difficulty attracting enough top American students to its graduate programs in the sciences. We discuss some of the reasons for the decline in domestic student participation in the sciences and offer several nuts-and-bolts methods to reverse this trend. Key ingredients include graduate student recruiting, motivational activities to promote the excitement of being a professional scientist, and a reeducation of employers to look more favorably toward hiring students from the basic sciences. The methods have resulted in dramatic changes in the composition of recent graduate classes; at Auburn University we now admit an incoming class composed of over 70% domestic students.     

香港高等教育发展新策略 --副学士学位课程计划

2001年香港特区政府提出在10年后使接受高等教育的适龄学生达到60％,并改革英国式教育系统的计划。引入由学生自资的副学士学位课程,即是这个计划的一个重要部分,成为香港高等教育大众化发展的一个新策略。它正在为香港创造一个繁荣的高等教育新市场。     

A conspicuous production theory of resource allocation in higher education

Despite well-founded predictions that the 1970's and 80's would be characterized by excess capacity in graduate education, new graduate programs have continued to appear and existing programs have expanded capacity. This paper proposes a utility maximization theory to explain the continuation of the growth process and describes the nature of the public policy which will be necessary to effect changes in resource allocation in higher education. The basic hypothesis of the theory presented in this paper is that utility maximization of decision makers in higher education is functionally related to minimization of the gap between desired and prevailing institutional status. In an operational sense, status depends on an institution's factor complement, i.e., the institution's instructional and research programs and the quality of faculty and other inputs used to operate these programs. This implies that factor complements provide utility to decision makers in addition to their actual contribution to the educational process. Recognition of this factor and the oligopolistically interdependent nature of the decision making process in higher education is essential for the formulation of effective public policy to induce necessary reallocation of resources to graduate programs.     

Graduate Education in Kinesiology: Are We Part of “America's Backbone for Competitiveness and Innovation”?

Graduate education in the United States has been identified as being the backbone of American competitiveness and innovation in a recent report by the Council of Graduate Schools. The report provides a framework for examining the role of graduate education in partnership with business and government to advance an action agenda for achieving competitiveness and innovation. The role and positioning of graduate education in kinesiology in this agenda for change is addressed and a challenge issued.     

The Future of Graduate Education in Sport and Exercise Science: A Sport Psychology Perspective

The direction of graduate education in sport psychology has changed considerably since its emergence as a recognizable subdiscipline within exercise and sport science in the late 1960s. This paper describes (a) the structure of current sport psychology specializations within graduate programs based on a survey of 33 programs with sport psychology specializations in the United States, (b) trends in sport psychology graduate education, and (c) concerns regarding the future of graduate education in sport psychology in terms of coursework, research, and applied service provision.     

Graduate Education in Criminology or Criminal Justice: Assessing Course Requirements

Although some have claimed that criminal justice and criminology have arrived as disciplines, recent research reveals that there is little consistency amongst Master's programs. This paper replicates and extends previous research into curricular requirements. The required course curricula of United States programs offering a Master's degree in criminal justice or criminology are described. This research identifies correlates of specific course requirements and provides a discussion of the current and future state of criminal justice and criminology graduate education.