Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) is a program within the Ford School that brings together nationally-recognized education policy scholars focused on the generation and dissemination of policy-relevant education research.

Showing 1 - 30 of 639 results
Faculty by courtesy

Christina Weiland

Co-director, Education Policy Initiative; Associate Professor of Education
Christina Weiland is an associate professor at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education and Ford School of Public Policy (by courtesy), where she is affiliated with the Educational Studies department, the Combined Program in…
Core faculty

Sarah Cohodes

Associate professor
Cohodes is a leading education policy economist who uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate policies and programs. She is known for her influential research on charter schools. Her research focuses on school choice, programs for high-achieving students, and settings that support access to high-quality education.
Core faculty

Brian A. Jacob

Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy; Professor of Public Policy, Economics, and Education
Jacob is co-director of the Youth Policy Lab. His primary fields of interest are labor economics, program evaluation, and the economics of education. Jacob's current research focuses on urban school reform, with a particular emphasis on standards and accountability initiatives.
Core faculty

Katherine Michelmore

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Michelmore is a leading scholar and educator on the social safety net, education policy, labor economics, and economic demography. She is a recognized expert on the efficacy of the Earned Income Tax Credit and its impact on children.
Core faculty

Kevin Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Stange's research lies broadly in empirical labor and public economics, with a focus on education and health care. His prior research includes studies of college enrollment and persistence, the effect of resources and peers on community college students, the importance of amenities in college choice, and the effects of different pricing structures on major choice and student credit load.
Core faculty

Megan Tompkins-Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Tompkins-Stange is a scholar of education policy and philanthropy, focusing on the influence of private foundations on the politics of K-12 school reform.
Staff

Thomas Staines

Research Area Specialist, Education Policy Initiative
Tom Staines is a data analyst with the Education Policy Initiative. He joined EPI after obtaining his MPP at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of…
Staff

Anne Taylor

Data Analyst, Education Policy Initiative
Annie Taylor is a data analyst with the Education Policy Initiative. Her work at EPI focuses on early childhood projects, including designing and implementing research agendas for universal preschool programs in the Boston area. She joined EPI after…
Staff

Qia Yang

Data Programmer, Education Policy Initiative
Qia Yang is a data programmer for the Education Policy Initiative at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. His primary work is to maintain the Michigan Education Data Center, import data from the State of Michigan and…
News

Test great story

Feb 13, 2024
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News

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research 

Oct 2, 2023
“We have great data in Iowa, and we are always interested in working with graduate students to probe it and see what we can learn.” That was an invitation from Meghan Oster (PhD ‘21), who was already working at Iowa College Aid, the state’s...
News

Dr. Stange Goes to Washington

Sep 13, 2023
The Ford School is proud of its record of welcoming policymakers-in-residence. This past year, Ford School professor Kevin Stange played a different role – academic-in-residence. He had a one-year assignment working in the U.S. Department of...
News

Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor

Aug 16, 2023
Leading education policy economist Sarah Cohodes joins the Ford School as an associate professor with tenure. Cohodes uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate educational policies and programs. Her research focuses on school choice,...
News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life 

Aug 2, 2023
What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society?  How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe?  These were...
In the Media

Jacob's study on teacher loan forgiveness cited in Chalkbeat

Aug 1, 2023 Chalkbeat
Brian Jacob, Chalkbeat: “The program has really good intentions,” said Brian Jacob, a professor at the University of Michigan and coauthor of the study. But, ultimately, “it’s not effective as it’s currently structured.” “The teachers in schools...
News

MEDC shares it knowledge in a data-hungry world

Jul 31, 2023
Education researchers across the country are always in search of more data. They all have access to resources like the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), but each state has different models of collaboration and data sharing. A recent example in...
In the Media

MEDC cited as a model for other states

Jul 13, 2023 Chalkbeat Colorado
Chalkbeat Colorado: Strunk said she sees Michigan, where she previously was an education professor, as a model. The Michigan Education Data Center, created through a partnership between the state education department and its flagship public...
Publication

Jacob explores barriers to Teacher Loan Forgiveness program

Jul 10, 2023
The Biden Administration is preparing a new set of student loan debt-relief measures in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of its previous, ambitious plan, which would have eliminated between $10,000 and $20,000 per student. A number of...
News

Weiland's expertise cited on Boston's pre-K success

Jul 10, 2023
An article in HuffPost highlights the efforts in Boston to provide Universal Pre-K, and refers to the expertise of Christina Weiland, faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative (EPI). The Boston program was initiated in 2005, and since...
In the Media

Jacob on grade retention debate

Jun 20, 2023 Chalbeat
Brian Jacob, Chalkbeat: Brian Jacob, a professor at University of Michigan, has studied retention for many years, but he still is ambivalent about the policy. “I do really come out kind of in the middle,” he said. Maybe students themselves make...
News

Ford School welcomes PPIA 2023 cohort

Jun 19, 2023
The 2023 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI) has welcomed 23 students from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year’s cohort will spend seven weeks taking classes, participating in...