A new report lays out several policy changes that states could try in order to expand access to higher education, improve how well their residents are prepared for college, and increase the rate at which students complete postsecondary-education programs. The report, “Thinking Outside the Box: Policy Strategies for Readiness, Access, and Success,” suggests ways states could shift their financing decisions, regulations, accountability structures, and governance to help traditional-aged students and adult learners.

The report marks the final installment of a project at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education called “Changing Direction: Integrating Higher Education Financial Aid and Financing Policy.” It was supported by a six-year grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education.

Among other suggestions, the report encourages states to consider basing colleges’ appropriations on the number of students who complete their studies at the institutions instead of the number who enroll. It also suggests that states set up college-savings plans for adult learners, provide financial rewards to high schools that graduate students with competence in college-preparatory curricula, and create student-record databases that can help states track students’ readiness for college and how well institutions help them learn.

As states consider policy changes, however, David A. Longanecker, executive director of the Western commission, warned that they should not just blindly follow the lead of another state that has successfully adopted an “outside the box” solution. He wrote that policy makers should carefully analyze their unique circumstances and whether someone else’s approach would truly fit their own goals. —Sara Hebel