Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy

by Rebecca S. Natow

Overview

An in-depth look at how federal regulatory policy for higher education is drafted, influenced, and enacted.

Many higher education academics and administrators have only vague notions about how the federal government makes regulations governing colleges and universities in the United States, and yet these regulations control many important aspects of the operation of these institutions. What happens after legislation affecting higher education is signed into law? How are specific provisions implemented—especially when the statute’s details are unclear? And who determines the details of the programs that a particular law has authorized?

In this concise and informative book, higher education policy expert Rebecca S. Natow explores the how and why of the federal regulatory policymaking process as it pertains to higher education, financial aid, and student loan debt. Drawing on in-depth interviews with policy and higher education actors, as well as an extensive review of specific regulations and documents, Natow explains who influences higher education rulemaking and how their beliefs and surrounding contexts guide the policies they enact. She also examines the strategies and powers employed during the process, reveals how technology affects the creation of higher education rules, delves into the multifaceted implications of regulation for students and institutions, and discusses future prospects for higher education rulemaking.

The first comprehensive, research-based account of this important policymaking process, Higher Education Rulemaking will serve as a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, policymakers, and higher education professionals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421421469
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	12/12/2016
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Rebecca S. Natow is a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a coauthor of The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Federal Bureaucratic Role
Chapter 3 The Procedural Process
Chapter 4 Policy Actors’ Influence
Chapter 5 Strategies and Powers of Influence
Chapter 6 The Role of Policy Actors’ Beliefs
Chapter 7 Higher Education Rulemaking in Context
Chapter 8 The Use and Influence of Technology
Chapter 9 Conclusion

Methodological Appendix
Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

William R. Doyle

Rebecca S. Natow possesses an excellent understanding of the higher education rulemaking process and is keenly aware of the various political science theories that speak to rulemaking. In this logical, well-organized book, Natow provides a real service to the field.

From the Publisher

Rebecca S. Natow possesses an excellent understanding of the higher education rulemaking process and is keenly aware of the various political science theories that speak to rulemaking. In this logical, well-organized book, Natow provides a real service to the field.
—William R. Doyle, Vanderbilt University, coauthor of Rethinking College Student Retention

Editorial Reviews

Natow explains with insight and detail the process and politics of negotiated rulemaking pertinent to higher education . . . For the practitioner wanting to be more involved in the regulatory development process and the politics of the higher education lobby, this is an essential book.
—David R. Smedley, Essex County College, NASFAA (National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators)

From the Publisher

Natow explains with insight and detail the process and politics of negotiated rulemaking pertinent to higher education . . . For the practitioner wanting to be more involved in the regulatory development process and the politics of the higher education lobby, this is an essential book.

NASFAA (National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators) - David R. Smedley