Finney, Joni E
Email Address
ORCID
Disciplines
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 24
Publication Éire Higher Education: What American Can Learn from Ireland(2012-12-01) Finney, Joni E; Perna, Laura WIn July 2012, the executive doctoral class of 2013 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Higher Education Management Program in the Graduate School of Education conducted an in-depth comparative study of higher education in Ireland. The international study, an important component of the executive doctoral program, was structured to model research that we completed on the relationship between public policy and performance in five U.S. states: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Texas and Washington (http://www.gse.upenn.edu/irhe/srp). This research provided the foundation for the students’ research. Students examined four performance areas related to Irish higher education: 1) preparation and participation for post-secondary education; 2) completion of certificates and degrees; 3) affordability for students and families; and 4) research. Students were divided into teams to collect and analyze data on these performance areas within the broader historical, political, economic, and social context of Ireland. After an intense period of preparation, students spent a week interviewing higher education administrators and faculty at seven Irish universities and Institutes of Technology. These interviews were supplemented with interviews with the Higher Education Authority and a review of relevant documents and data related to Irish higher education. To better understand the context of Irish higher education, students also attended lectures entitled: The Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger, the Irish Potato Famine, and Teaching and Learning in Ireland. Teams of doctoral students were organized according to the performance areas. Each team conducted research and presented a final report based on its data collection and analysis to Irish leaders and delegations from the five U.S. states at an Irish/U.S. Higher Education Roundtable. Students also presented their findings to the Minister of Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn. This report reflects the lessons learned from the student research and the Roundtable discussion.Publication Renewing the Promise: State Policies to Improve Higher Education Performance(2014-02-01) Finney, Joni E; Perna, Laura W; Callan, Patrick MAs the need for a highly knowledgeable citizenry grows, fewer Americans are accessing training and education beyond high school. The failure to attain postsecondary degrees and workforce certificates is particularly pervasive among low-income and minority populations. An undereducated citizenry leaves the country at a competitive disadvantage, diminishes the middle class, and lowers the standard of living for more and more people. Although the federal government plays an important role in higher education, states bear the primary responsibility for developing their own public higher education systems, including policies for funding and governing higher education and for connecting higher education with public schools. Renewing the Promise: State Policies to Improve Higher Education Performance summarizes the findings from a study that sought to understand how public policy explains the collective performance of higher education institutions in five states— Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington—that have similar challenges as other states, such as the need to increase educational attainment and close persistent gaps in opportunity by race, ethnicity, income, and geography. The study reviewed state higher education performance and policies from the early 1990s through approximately 2010, including policies and statutes related to higher education finance, accountability, structure, and governance. We augmented our review of state policies and data by interviewing political, business, and higher education leaders in each state.Publication RoadMap for the Development of Education in Kazakhstan: Higher Education Roadmap Recommendations(2013-11-01) Canning, Mary; Finney, Joni E; Jones, Dennis; McGuinness, AimsThis document presents a set of recommendations for the Roadmap Project of the Republic of Kazakhstan developed by the Higher Education Project Team (Mary Canning, Joni Finney, Dennis Jones and Aims McGuinness). It is based on the July 2013 report Development of Strategic Directions for Education Reforms in Kazakhstan for 2015-2020.and on the reports of the Steering Committee.Publication State Policy Response to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997(1999) Conklin, Kristin D; Finney, Joni EThe Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA 1997) is the largest single increase in federal funding for higher education since the GI Bill. This chapter explores the impact of this new federal law on state higher education policy and offers options and recommendations for state response. These recommendations are based on the belief that programs which support both access and affordability are necessary to advance the larger national policy of college opportunity, but that affordability should not be allowed to supersede access as a policy goal.Publication Maryland's Higher Education Gains at Risk(2012-02-20) Perna, Laura W; Finney, Joni EThis Op-Ed described the struggles that Maryland's higher education is currently facing, outlining several solutions.Publication Why the Finance Model for Public Higher Education is Broken and Must be Fixed(2014-06-01) Finney, Joni EIn order for the U.S. to remain competitive in the 21st-century economy, more individuals are going to need to earn workforce credentials and college degrees. At the same time, however, state governments have been facing financial challenges wrought by chronic structural budget deficits and rising Medicaid expenses, translating into reduced support for higher education. Instead, families now are hard-pressed to shoulder more of the burden of paying for higher education. The current system for financing higher education is broken and needs to be fixed.Publication State Policy Leadership Vacuum: Performance and Policy in Washington Higher Education(2012-01-01) Perna, Laura W; Finney, Joni E; Callan, PatrickPublication Higher Education's Changing Contours: The Policy Implications of an Emerging System(2000-01-01) Callan, Patrick M; Finney, Joni EAmerican higher education is remarkably adaptive. A "system" only in the broadest sense of the term, it has been flexible enough to absorb and adapt to broad changes that, at the time, were outside the traditional purview of mainstream colleges and universities—for example, the land grant movement, the creation of community colleges, the passage of the GI Bill, and the need to serve increasing numbers of adult students. On the threshold of the twenty-first century, American higher education faces yet another new movement, one that has been described variously as "part-time," "postbaccalaureate," or "non-degree" education. But for public policy purposes, these characterizations are too narrow; the emerging, diverse aggregation of educational activities and interests beyond the boundaries of traditional higher education are too broad to be so described. "System of users" seems more appropriate—at least for preliminary policy analysis.Publication 2016 College Affordability Diagnosis: National Report(2016-01-01) Finney, Joni ECollege Affordability Diagnosis is the most comprehensive state-by-state study of college affordability since 2008, when the last Measuring Up report was completed by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.Publication State of Attainment: Three Ways That States Can Help More Students Access Higher Levels of Education(2014-11-01) Perna, Laura W; Finney, Joni EFourteenth place. That's where the United States ranked in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds who achieved postsecondary degrees, according to a 2012 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Unless the U.S. increases the share of the population that has completed a college degree, the country will lack the educational skills and training required to meet the workforce demands of a global economy. Sixty-three percent of job researchers predict, will require education beyond high school in 2018. For the U.S. to be competitive on a global scale, it must devote more effort to closing the considerable gaps in degree attainment that persist across demographic groups. The groups least likely to earn a degree are students from lower-income families, blacks, Hispanics, and those whose parents have not attended college.