Impact of funding allocation on physical therapist research productivity and DPT student graduates: an analysis using panel data.

Financial support for institutional research is relatively stagnant, and thus institutions are likely to seek tuition revenue to offset the costs of research and teaching. It is likely that this has led to increases in tuition driven activities, and thus has limited research activities of academic physical therapy (PT) programs in particular. However, the relationships between sources of program revenue, the number of graduates from PT programs, and the scholarly production of PT faculty have not been studied. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of types of funding-including research grants and tuition-on the number of physical therapy graduates from each program and the research productivity of physical therapy faculty. Data from 2008 to 2016 were utilized to perform a fixed-effects panel analysis. Panel models created predictions for the number of graduates and the number of peer-reviewed publications for programs from grant funding, annual tuition, and number of funded faculty members. In any given program, a 1% increase in annual tuition is associated with 24% more graduates per year, but a single percentage point increase in the mix of NIH grant funding over other funding types is associated with 8% fewer graduates, all else equal. For every 1% increase in annual tuition, a program can expect to have 41% fewer publications per year. Those institutions with higher numbers of graduates tended to have higher numbers of publications. Higher annual program tuition appears to be associated with both higher numbers of physical therapy graduates and lower levels of publications. Different funding sources have variable effects on degree production and scholarly productivity. Data are self-reported by programs on the Annual Accreditation Report, and cause and effect cannot be established through observational design.

Does education finance reduce the inequality of educational results? The mediation effect of shadow education.

Public education finance in China plays an important role in education equality. This study investigated two mediation effects with a generalized structural equation model that comprised the mediation effect of shadow education at the school, family, and individual levels and the moderating role of education finance. There was a strong association among heterogeneity factors, shadow education, and educational results, with shadow education playing a mediating role in math and English courses. Individual heterogeneity differences had a negative impact on equality in educational results through access to additional shadow education opportunities, while heterogeneous factors were mediated through shadow education, causing financial moderation effects, in turn affecting inequality in educational results. Finally, the moderation degree and direction of education finance varied significantly, with a greater moderation effect on household-level factors that lead to unequal educational results. Targeted efforts are required to regulate shadow education, which is key to the development of the education system.

Post-purchase Federal Financial Aid: How (in)Effective is the IRS's Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID) in Reaching Lower-Income Taxpayers and Students?

Federal financial aid policies for higher education may be classified based on their "for-purchase" and "post-purchase" natures. The former include grants, loans, and workstudy and intend to help students finance or afford college attendance, persistence, and graduation. Post-purchase policies are designed to minimize financial burdens associated with having invested in college attendance and are granted as tax incentives/expenditures. One of these expenditures is the IRS's Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID)-which offers up to $2500 as an adjustment for taxable income based on having paid interest on student loans and has an annual cost of $12.81 billion-about 45.7% of the Pell grant cost. Despite this high cost, SLID has remained virtually unstudied. Accordingly, the study's purpose is to assess how (in)effective SLID may be in reaching lower-income taxpayers. To address this purpose, we relied on an innovative analytic framework "multilevel modelling with spatial interaction effects" that allowed controlling for contextual and systemic observed and unobserved factors that may both affect college participation and may be related with SLID disbursements over and above income prospects. Data sources included the IRS, ACS, FBI, IPEDS, and the NPSAS:2015-2016. Findings revealed that SLID is regressive at the top, wealthier taxpayers and students attending more expensive colleges realize higher tax benefits than lower income taxpayers and students. Indeed, 75% of community college students were found to not be eligible to receive SLID-data and replication code (https://cutt.ly/COyfdKC) are provided. Is this the best use of this multibillion tax incentive? Is SLID designed to exclude the poorest, neediest students? A policy similar to Education Credits, focused on outstanding debt rather than on interest, that targets below-poverty line students with up to $5000 in debt, would represent a true commitment, and better use of public funds, to close socioeconomic gaps, by helping those more prone to default.

Impact of Faculty and Programmatic Resources on the Proportion of Academic Doctoral Degrees in Professional Physical Therapist Education Programs.

OBJECTIVE: The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education has introduced a requirement that 50% of core faculty members in a physical therapist education program should have an academic doctoral degree, which many programs are not currently meeting. Competition between programs for prestige and resources may explain the discrepancy of academic achievement among faculty despite accreditation standards. The purpose of this study was to identify faculty and program characteristics that are predictive of programs having a higher percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees. METHODS: Yearly accreditation data from 231 programs for a 10-year period were used in a fixed-effects panel analysis. RESULTS: For a 1 percentage point increase in the number of core faculty members, a program could expect a decline in academic doctoral degrees by 14% with all other variables held constant. For a 1% increase in either reported total cost or expenses per student, a program could expect a 7% decline in academic doctoral degrees with all other variables held constant. Programs that have been accredited for a longer period of time could expect to have proportionately more faculty members with academic doctoral degrees. CONCLUSIONS: Programs may be increasing their core faculty size to allow faculty with academic doctoral degrees to focus on scholarly productivity. The percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees declines as programs increase tuition and expenditures, but this may be due to programs' tendency to stratify individuals (including part-time core faculty) into teaching- and research-focused efforts to maximize their research prowess and status. IMPACT: This study illuminates existing relationships between physical therapist faculty staffing, time spent in research versus teaching, and program finances. The results of this study should be used to inform higher education policy initiatives aimed to lower competitive pressures and the costs of professional education.

The Debt Burden of Entry-Level Physical Therapists.

BACKGROUND: The growing student debt of physical therapists entering the workforce, coupled with the growth in projected need, raises concerns about where and how entry-level physical therapists will practice and if these choices will be affected by their debt burden. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the debt profile of entry-level physical therapists and explore relationships between student debt and clinical practice setting choices. METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional survey design to identify debt profiles and explore relationships between student debt and the clinical practice choices of entry-level physical therapists. RESULTS: The mean debt-to-income ratio based on the total reported educational debt was 197% (93%). The most frequently reported debt range for doctor of physical therapy (DPT) debt and total educational debt was $100,000 to $124,999. Despite the setting itself being rated as the most important factor (83%), 28% of participants reported debt as a barrier to their desired practice setting. In addition, when considering job choice overall, 57% of the participants reported that their student debt has had an effect on their decision. LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by its small sample size, originating from 1 state, and being taken by convenience from a special interest group. Data were collected via an anonymous survey, which increases the risk of selection bias. In addition, there are further personal, family, and institutional characteristics that were not collected in this study, which may influence the interaction between student debt and clinical practice choices. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that practice setting choice may be affected by physical therapist student debt, and student debt may be a barrier overall to practice and career choices in physical therapy.