This report shows trends in philanthropic giving to UK Universities, based on analysis done on data provided by nearly 100 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for each of the three years (i.e. 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013-14):

Total new funds secured rose significantly by 21 percent since 2012-13 to £795.2 million (among these institutions). Cash income received changed marginally by only 1 percent since 2012-13 which reflects that cash receipts tend to lag the pledges that are included in the study's definition of new funds secured. There was also a sizeable increase in the number of donors - a 25 percent rise since 2011-12 - and in alumni donors, which rose by 14 percent since 2011-12. The number of alumni in contact with their university continued to rise in 2013-14, increasing by 15 percent between 2011-12 and 2013-14. Universities spent 12 percent more on fundraising in 2013-14 than they did in 2012-13.

This report summarizes key findings from recent research on links between higher education and the workforce. Featuring eight brief papers from leading education and workforce experts from around the country, the report offers practical advice for institutional leaders, policymakers, students and their advisers about how to use the increasingly available information on the economic value of higher education. Specifically, the authors' papers and the opening summary explore what various audiences can learn from emerging evidence about: variations in labor market outcomes by program and institution; the value of degrees to jobs both in and out of fields studied; returns to the completion of certain course clusters that don't add up to a degree; and distortions that may result from examining returns to individual degrees rather than "stacked" degrees.

In 2013, the state of California passed sweeping changes in the way it funds public schools. New legislation shifted $50 billion from a convoluted, very ineffective and inequitable system to a new system, called the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), by which funds flow more equitably to school districts.

This unprecedented change in education finance didn't happen overnight. It came only after copious research from leading academic institutions, mobilization by dozens of advocacy organizations, leadership from key elected officials, and the support of private philanthropy. This is a case study of the role of philanthropy in providing resources and support for the development of statewide policy for the benefit of students.

This guide is designed for counselors, teachers, and advisers who work with high school students from low-income families and students who are the first in their families to pursue a college education. It offers strategies for helping these students identify, consider, and enroll in "match" colleges -- that is, selective colleges that are a good fit for students based on their academic profiles, financial considerations, and personal needs. Many of the suggestions in this guide are based on insights and lessons learned from the College Match Program, a pilot program that MDRC codeveloped with several partners and implemented in Chicago and New York City to address the problem of "undermatching," or what happens when capable high school students enroll in colleges for which they are academically overqualified or do not apply to college at all. The key lessons of the College Match Program, which are reflected in this guide, are that students are willing to apply to selective colleges when:

* They learn about the range of options available to them.
* They engage in the planning process early enough to meet college and financial aid deadlines.
* They receive guidance, support, and encouragement at all stages.

Informed by those key lessons, the guide tracks the many steps in the college search, application, and selection process, suggesting ways to incorporate a match focus at each stage: creating a match culture, identifying match colleges, applying to match colleges, assessing the costs of various college options, selecting a college, and enrolling in college. Because many students question their ability to succeed academically or fit in socially at a selective college, and because they may hesitate to enroll even when they receive good advice and encouragement, the guide offers tips and strategies to help students build the confidence they need to pursue the best college education available to them. Each section also suggests tools and resources in the form of websites and printed materials that counselors, advisers, and students can use, as well as case studies to illustrate the experiences of College Match participants throughout the process.

New York City's elite public specialized high schools have a long history of offering a rigorous college preparatory education to the City's most academically talented students. Though immensely popular and highly selective, their policy of admitting students on the basis of a single entrance exam has been heavily criticized. Many argue, for example, that the policy inhibits diversity at the schools, which are predominately Asian, White, and male. In this paper, we provide a descriptive analysis of the "pipeline" from middle school to matriculation at a specialized high school, identifying group-level differences in rates of application, admission, and enrollment unexplained by measures of prior achievement. These differences serve to highlight points of intervention to improve access for under-represented groups. We also look at the role of middle schools in the pipeline, examining the distribution of offers across middle schools and testing for middle school effects on application and admission. Finally, we simulate the effects of alternative admissions rules on the composition of students at the specialized high schools.

This report begins with a background on the higher education and criminal justice systems in California. This background section highlights the vocabulary and common pathways for each system, and provides a primer on California community colleges. Part II explains why California needs this initiative. Part III presents the landscape of existing college programs dedicated to criminal justice-involved populations in the community and in jails and prisons. This landscape identifies promising strategies and sites of innovation across the state, as well as current challenges to sustaining and expanding these programs. Part IV lays out concrete recommendations California should take to realize the vision of expanding high-quality college opportunities for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. It includes guidelines for developing high-quality, sustainable programs, building and strengthening partnerships, and shaping the policy landscape, both by using existing opportunities and by advocating for specific legislative and policy changes. Profiles of current college students and graduates with criminal records divide the sections and offer first-hand accounts of the joys and challenges of a college experience.

This Schott Foundation report details four-year graduation rates during the 2012-13 school year of black, white, and Latino males nationally, by state, and in major urban districts, finding that a systemic lack of equity in the quality of educational supports and resources for black and Latino students creates an "opportunity gap."