Nathan J. Daun-Barnett is Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA.

Edward P. St. John is Professor Emeritus at the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan, USA.

1. Introduction Part I: Reframing Higher Education Policy 2. Public Policy and Higher Education: Global Competitiveness, Political Divisions, and Reframing Strategies 3. Reframing Policy Matters: Political Ideologies, Policy Studies, and Research Evidence 4. Reframing Preparation: From Pathways to STEM Pipeline and Economic Stratification 5. College Access: From Equal Opportunity to Economic Stratification 6. Reframing College Success: Civic Leadership, Economic Uplift, and Financial Wellbeing Part II: State Cases 7. The Old Liberal Model: The California Case 8. The Market Model Reconsidered: The Minnesota Case 9. The Eroding Balanced Model: The Indiana Case 10. From Merit Aid to MAGA Reforms: The Florida Case 11: Conservative-Progressive Tensions: The North Carolina Case