Access and Affordability

When it comes to accelerating return on investment on price and outcomes, an abundance of career-oriented majors and thriving technical colleges are essentials for campus leaders.

Giving students access to instruction, focusing on impact and promoting student outcomes are key for administrators in K-12 and higher ed alike.

Broke Scholar's latest analysis—known as The Ramen Index—lays out which cities are most generous with student discounts and scholarship rewards for those who need to live on a shoestring.

About 650 schools were graded based on the clarity of requirements and award amounts, as well as consistency in the application process. Colleges face no transparency requirements in issuing merit-based scholarships, "leaving each college to decide how upfront or opaque it wants to be," according to the CAP Report Card released by College Aid Pro.

At least 1,835 U.S. colleges have implemented test-free or test-optional admissions in the hopes of developing a more diverse pool of applicants, although student access to high school AP or IB courses will remain a factor in their acceptance.

The pipeline of traditional-age students will tighten further midway through this decade because of the drop in births during the Great Recession of 2008, forcing college leaders to compete more aggressively for fewer students.