What benchmarks can states use to measure the effectiveness of their public higher education systems? ACTA’s series of state report cards provide in-depth analysis.
Each report card examines trends in academic standards, affordability, student performance, and resource utilization, and highlights best practices for governing boards at public institutions of higher education across the state.
ACTA’s reports examine the general education requirements at each public college and university in the state in order to answer the question of whether college graduates will acquire the critical liberal arts skills and knowledge needed for success in career, citizenship, and community. ACTA also looks for evidence of the use of nationally-normed assessments to measure student progress in gaining core collegiate skills such as formal writing and analytical reasoning.
Intellectual diversity is the very lifeblood of higher education. When the free exchange of ideas ceases, only indoctrination and intellectual stagnation will remain. Accordingly, through student surveys and analysis of campus practices, ACTA gathers information and reports whether students and faculty are free from coercion, intimidation, and indoctrination and whether their institutions foster or restrict vigorous academic inquiry and discourse.
The price of tuition has skyrocketed over the past few decades—and ACTA’s state reports show how these costs affect everyday households as a rising percentage of median household income. Our analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education reveals how institutions are spending their money, tracks changes in graduation and retention rates, and analyzes whether institutions are efficiently using their classroom and laboratory space.
ACTA’s reports assess the structure and procedures of governing boards and highlight best practices. We evaluate the extent to which trustees and regents execute their fiduciary responsibilities and examine both their successes and shortcomings in furthering accountability and transparency in public higher education.
ACTA’s 12th state higher education report examines questions of great urgency for the state of Mississippi: How should individual public universities choose their leadership? Are the public universities careful stewards of taxpayer dollars? Is free speech protected on Mississippi’s college campuses? The report assesses institutions on measures of academic strength, intellectual diversity, cost effectiveness, and […]
ACTA’s 11th state report finds higher education in Florida has both sunny spots and storms to avoid, yet overall has strong potential to set an example for other states to follow. The report, Florida Rising: An Assessment of Public Universities in the Sunshine State, examines issues of cost, speech codes, administrative vs. academic spending, core […]
At a time of major fiscal crisis and growing student and faculty unrest, ACTA’s report points the finger at California’s college and university trustees as both the problem-—and the solution-—to greater access and quality in the Golden State. Praising the California Master Plan for establishing an accessible statewide system of higher education, the report finds […]
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the Mississippi Center for Public Policy presented their findings earlier this month from a recently completed audit of higher education in Mississippi. The report is broken into four major sections: academic strength, intellectual diversity, cost and effectiveness, and governance. Academic strength Ole Miss and all seven other […]
Host Preston Scott interviewed American Council of Trustees and Alumni Vice President of Policy, Michael Poliakoff, about ACTA’s new state report card, “Florida Rising: An Assessment of Public Universities in the Sunshine State.” Listen to the interview here.
A new report finds Florida’s public university system is a good model in affordability for the rest of the country. Florida Rising: An Assessment of Public Universities in the Sunshine State analyzed cost, administrative and academic spending, curriculum, and graduation rates at Florida’s 11 universities. (Florida Polytechnic University—the 12th in the system—doesn’t begin classes until […]
Partner with us in restoring the promise of higher education.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
Discover MoreSign up to receive updates on the most pressing issues facing our college campuses.
