Mission and Goals

It is well understood that the economy of a state and the well being of its citizens are interwoven with its education system in general, and specifically with its institutions of higher education.  Discussions of affordability, accountability, and access (to name a few) cannot take place without consideration of the state’s economic health.  In parallel, a state’s business and economic growth cannot exist without consideration of the role that education plays in terms of opportunities and workforce.

South Carolina does not have an organization dedicated to evaluating the policies implemented that affect education, even though almost 50 percent of the state’s annual revenues are allocated to education, including elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education.  Without an organization devoted to the highest levels of academic integrity, empirical research, and full dissemination of results, the state cannot know if it is successfully achieving its goals for higher education.

Mission

The mission of the Alliance for Research on Higher Education (the Alliance) is to serve as a state, regional, and national resource for information on the relationship between higher education and a state’s economy.  Until formalized by the first Board meeting, the Alliance’s goals are as follows:

• provide expertise to assist leaders in framing policy issues useful in strategic planning;
• produce high quality, replicable policy analyses for publication and presentation; and,
• collaborate with other researchers and policy makers interested in applying and furthering research in higher education.

The Alliance is dedicated to gathering, analyzing, and reporting on information relative to the impact, economic and social, that higher education has on states and their citizens.  Annual projects will be determined through collaboration with institutional partners and by external funding opportunities, including those from state regulatory agencies and legislative committees.  As appropriate, these projects will draw experts from other institutions and other states in order to produce a more robust analysis. 

The work of the Alliance will represent the best objective, empirically-based research related to the complex issues affecting higher education.