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Racial and ethnic demographics continue to shift in the United States, and more students of color, first-generation students, and students from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds pursue higher education. In some states, persons of color are quickly becoming the majority. However, while this shift is occurring, certain groups are being left behind in higher education and workforce opportunities. Historically underrepresented students continue to bear the negative impact from the cumulative disadvantages associated with systemic inequity in education. One of the most significant issues affecting the way students of color and from low-income backgrounds participate in higher education is rooted in the way systemic racism has shaped wealth gaps and student debt, including debt owed directly to institutions. In this report, we review the results of an in-depth descriptive qualitative study that examined the lived experiences of students and staff familiar with institutional debt, also known as stranded credits.

Our findings indicate the following: (1) Stranded credits disproportionately affect students of color and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds; (2) Stranded credits impact students' academic and career trajectories, can mean the difference between stopping out and dropping out, affect financial aid eligibility, and have a detrimental impact on students' psychological well-being; (3) Stranded credits prevent students from taking advantage of the financial and career opportunities that could help settle their institutional debt; (4) Institutional bureaucracy sometimes contributes to the accumulation of institutional debt, particularly for first generation students who are unfamiliar with how to navigate the collegiate environment; (5) Intersecting identities such as first generation and socioeconomic status can increase a student's risk for accruing institutional debt; (6) Because there are restrictions on the use of federal aid and very few financing options, students usually have to settle their outstanding debt with personal funding; (7) Payment plans to settle institutional debt are not necessarily helpful for students who are experiencing financial instability; (8) Debt relief programs offer students an opportunity to address their institutional debt while also continuing their matriculation; and (9) Institutions need to be more flexible and compassionate to help students resolve stranded credits. It is in their best interest to create solutions that will help keep students enrolled and to go on to be well-employed contributing alumni.

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Despite the popularity of performance funding among policymakers and policy advocates, only half of all states have ever created a performance funding system for higher education. State performance funding systems have also been surprisingly unstable. Nearly half of those states that established performance funding systems for higher education eventually discontinued these systems. This report examines the political forces that shaped performance funding policies in eight states. The report begins by analyzing the origins of performance funding, contrasting the experiences of six states that established performance funding systems for higher education (Florida, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington) and two states that did not establish such a system, although they considered it (California and Nevada). Second, the report analyzes the forces behind the demise of performance funding in four states that ended their systems at different times: Washington, Illinois, Missouri, and Florida (its Workforce Development Education Fund). Next, the report examines how and why two performance funding systems that have lasted to this day - Tennessee’s Performance Funding system and Florida’s Performance Based Budgeting system - have changed over time in funding levels and performance indicators. Finally, the report draws evidence-based recommendations for policymakers.

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This article focuses on the perceptions of institutional practices and practices to nurture greater cross-cultural learning and inclusion by highlighting findings from an in-depth qualitative case study conducted at a prominent Canadian research university with a stellar reputation for recruiting and providing an inclusive environment for international students. Using a conceptual framework drawn from institutional diversity theory, this study examines perceptions by students, faculty, and staff of institutional practices and strategies aimed at nurturing inclusion for international students in order to glean insight about whether this institution is perceived to embody its espoused value of inclusive internationalization. The findings demonstrate that when internationalization is upheld as a core value of an institution, that value can be witnessed in the artefacts and rhetoric of an institution. While the rhetoric may influence the creation of additional services to support international students and faculty, it is limiting in its ability to produce inclusive environments, especially for populations of colour. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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