Ford School Public Events

For-profit colleges are under fire. Critics point to students' low earnings and high debt loads as evidence that these schools do not provide a quality education. Defenders of the sector note that the schools serve a population of low-skilled, low-income students that traditional colleges ignore. Congress is now considering legislation that would bar from the federal aid programs any schools whose graduates' earnings fall below a minimum threshold. This panel promises to be a lively discussion of an important topic in public policy.

PANELISTS:
Susan Dynarski
Associate Professor of Education, School of Education; Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Michael Flanagan
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan Department of Education

Brian Rowan
Burke A. Hinsdale Collegiate Professor, School of Education; Research Professor, Institute for Social Research

Tyrone Winfrey
Director, U-M Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Detroit Admissions Office and Vice-President, Detroit Board of Education

Deborah Loewenberg Ball
Dean of the School of Education, will be moderating the panel discussion

This community-wide event is co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, CLOSUP, the Institute for Social Research, the Center for the Study of Complex Systems, and the School of Education.

Abstract: This paper shows that the mortgage credit boom has significantly affected urban and school racial segregation from 1995 to 2007. We develop a model of urban segregation with credit constraints that shows that easier credit can either increase or decrease segregation, depending on the race of the marginal consumer who benefits from the expansion of credit. We then use school demographics from 1995 to 2007, matched to a national comprehensive dataset of mortgage originations, to document the link between credit supply and schools' racial demographics. Effects are large and significant.

Free and open to the public.

Panelists:
John Bebow - The Center for Michigan

Lynn Jondahl - Michigan Prospect

Michael Van Beek - Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Organized by: Chuck Wilbur

Sponsored by: the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP); the Ford School of Public Policy; and the Association for Public Policy About Learning and Education (APPLE)

For more information: 734-647-4091

Matthew Springer, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, Director of the National Center on Performance Incentives Vanderbilt University.

Free and open to the public.

Bill Ballenger - Editor and Publisher, Inside Michigan Politics

Organized by: Chuck Wilbur

Sponsored by: the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP); the Ford School of Public Policy; and the Association for Public Policy About Learning and Education (APPLE)

For more information: 734-647-4091