Author Profile

Andrew Gillen

Andrew Gillen is a Program Officer at the Charles Koch Foundation and an adjunct professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he was a Committee Member of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance and filled research roles for American Institutes for Research, Education Sector, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University.

Articles by Andrew Gillen

How to Stop Student Aid from Driving Up Tuition

Apr 6, 2018 · Andrew Gillen · No Comments

The Department of Education’s method for awarding college students financial aid has many perverse effects. It contributes to rising tuition, keeps students in the dark about their aid eligibility for too long, gives some colleges unfair special treatment, and does not incentivize colleges to improve. But a small tweak would address those problems: replacing the … Continue reading “How to Stop Student Aid from Driving Up Tuition”

NC Promise’s Costs and Benefits: An Early Analysis Mar 11, 2019
Concerned about the high cost of college, the University of North Carolina system is testing a low-tuition model at some schools to drive up enrollments. Though the experiment only started last fall, some preliminary observations can be made. The North Carolina Promise Tuition Plan was created by legislators in 2016 to help students who struggle … Continue reading “NC Promise’s Costs and Benefits: An Early Analysis”
‘Free College:’ A Better Approach Mar 6, 2019
Two facts about colleges stand out. First, they are largely (some argue almost entirely) a “private” good; that is to say, the benefits from college attendance accrue mainly to the student, not to society at large. For example, the Census Bureau tells us the typical male adult college graduate made about $30,000 a year more … Continue reading “‘Free College:’ A Better Approach”
Preparing Students for Life Beyond High School Mar 4, 2019
Few factors affect the long-term direction of students’ lives more than the quality of their K-12 education. For students who decide to attend a four-year university, their ability to keep up with college-level work is closely linked to how well their high school prepared them. Additionally, high school is the ideal time to consider what … Continue reading “Preparing Students for Life Beyond High School”

Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists Mar 20, 2019
Here’s why indoctrinating children makes perfect sense to postmodernists. Postmodernism is a sprawling movement centered on the conviction that the modern world’s most distinctive achievements—among them the rise of science, technology, individualism, universal rights, democratic-republicanism, and liberal capitalism—should be treated with suspicion or outright contempt. Most of us encountered old-fashioned indoctrinators in our education. Indoctrinators … Continue reading “Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists”
The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’ Mar 18, 2019
About a year ago, Princeton philosopher Robert P. George came to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to speak about civil discourse and diversity of thought with the UNC system Board of Governors. He returned on February 8, but this time he came with Cornel West, a long-time friend and philosopher at Harvard University, as guest speakers … Continue reading “The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’”
Life Among the Academic Radicals Mar 15, 2019
For almost a quarter century I have been a professor of economics at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After years of working there, I have learned something about how my department’s academic radicals, who by dint of personality but not numbers have near-decisive control over many departmental decisions. WSU economics is a master’s-level department. … Continue reading “Life Among the Academic Radicals”