Policy & Research

NEBHE's Department of Policy and Research serves as a resource to education, government, and business leaders throughout New England. It seeks to provide timely information and policy research to inform decision-makers and the public about issues relating to higher education and workforce development throughout New England.

In conjunction with the New England Journal of Higher Education, the Department of Policy and Research is actively engaged in several regional and national initiatives alongside consistent and timely analysis and policy research in higher education. To that end, we are presently engaged with the following initiatives:

College Ready New England (CRNE)

CRNE is an alliance of leaders from education (Pre-K through 12 and postsecondary), business and government in all six New England states.The alliance is focused on developing strategies to increase the economic competitiveness and well being of the region and its citizens through expanded college participation and success.

Its mission is two-fold:

• Ensure that all the region's students leave high school well-prepared for postsecondary success;
  
• Improve the college attendance and completion rates-particularly for underserved and underrepresented populations, including low-income and minority students and first-generation college-goers.

For more information, click here to visit the College Ready New England website.

New England 2025 (NE2025)

The New England 2025 project, in conjunction with support from the Lumina Foundation, seeks to engage a systematic and data-driven examination of postsecondary degree production in each of the New England states, particularly in light of declared national goals for increasing attainment. NE2025 project works to catalyze information and high-impact practices on how to form specific statewide goals and targets to achieve a significant increase in degree attainment by the year 2025. The project additionally aims to help states develop and implement their goals and visions for degree attainment.

The specific objectives of NE2025 include:

• Identifying realistic, contextualized state goals for increased degree production by helping states to address required performance levels related to key variables and statewide goals;
  
• Provide support and assistance for state-based work on policies, programs, and other change levers by working individually with states and organizations to develop comprehensive metrics and data-driven practices.

For more information, click here to visit the New England 2025 website.

Policy Analysis

NEBHE's department of Policy and Research engages our vast regional and national network to perform substantial policy analysis on a variety of topics in higher education, including: remediation; college completion; reinventing the university; productivity; economic funding models; legislative updates; and other reports salient to important trends and directions in higher education. The aim of our policy analysis is to do more than structure information needed to guide decision making, but to provide substantial thought, leadership, and insight into some of higher education's most complex challenges through problem identification, defining objectives, vetting alternatives, and crafting recommendations. In conjunction with some of the field's most dynamic thinkers and contributors, NEBHE's various reports and work seeks to help guide policymakers, stakeholders, and states through changing objectives, real-world problems, and adaptive solutions.

Click here to view our collection of online policy briefs and special reports

Trends and Indicators

Published annually in the New England Journal of Higher Education, “Trends & Indicators in Higher Education” features over 60 pages of tables and charts exploring New England’s demography, high school performance and graduation, college enrollment, college graduation rates and degree production, higher education financing and university research.

The data presented on the following pages are collected and analyzed annually by the New England Board of Higher Education. The data are drawn from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the College Board, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, and NEBHE’s own Annual Survey of New England's colleges and universities.

Click here to view the department's continuously updated Trends & Indicators in Higher Education.