Research Reports

A Rising Tide: The Current State of Higher Education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The Education Policy and Leadership Center and The Learning Alliance for Higher Education Size = 1Mb,  View A study from The Education Policy and Leadership Center and The Learning Alliance documenting the changing condition of higher education in Pennsyllvania.

"Thwarted Innovation: What Happened to e-learning and Why" Robert Zemsky and William F. Massy Format = Text/html,  Size = 1.7 M,  View A major new study from the University of Pennsylvania answers the question: "Why did the boom in e-learning go bust?"

The Rain Man Cometh Robert Zemsky and William Massy Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 1.6 M,  Download AGB Report

"Trends in Higher Education from Massification to Post-Massification" Patricia Gumport, Maria Iannozzi, Susan Shaman, and Robert Zemsky Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 152k,  Download This data-driven report draws on Professor Arimoto's comparative framework, describing the changing conditions influencing the U.S. system of higher education for an international audience at the RIHE seminar. The report traces the tremendous post-War expansion of higher education to the current climate of retrenchment.

"Keynote Address" by Robert Zemsky at the Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University’s seminar "Academic Reforms in the World: Situation and Perspective in the Massification Stage of Higher Education." Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 80k,  Download In this keynote address, Zemsky frames the seminar's discussions by elaborating on a new framework established by RIHE Professor Akira Arimoto on the evolution of higher education across the globe. Professor Arimoto proposes that national systems of higher education have developed similarly, moving from stages of massification to maturation and, now, to post-massification. Zemsky indicates the context for massification in the United States, using data from a variety of sources to describe dynamics such as the "price-earnings" squeeze, the development of "outlet" and "medallion" institutions, and other conditions affecting demand for education.

"The Transition from Initial Education to Working Life in the United States" Robert Zemsky, Daniel Shapiro, Maria Iannozzi, Peter Cappelli, and Thomas Bailey Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 192k,  Download Under a cooperative agreement with NCPI and the U.S. Department of Education, IRHE was responsible for producing a background report on the school-to-work transition in the United States for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The purpose of the report was to help prepare the OECD's review team for its visit to the United States as part of a multinational study of the transitions of youth from initial education to working life. The report presents the contextual and institutional factors in which the U.S. system of education and employment operates. It draws upon several data sources to document current and historical trends in the school-to-work transition. The report also includes a list of the federal initiatives developed to facilitate this transition, as well as describes selected local and state-level initiatives.