Jeremy Wright-Kim
Assistant Professor of Education
Center for the Study of Higher & Postsecondary Education (CSHPE)
University of Michigan
Jeremy Wright-Kim (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Education at The University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE) and faculty affiliate with the Education Policy Initiative at the Ford School of Public Policy. Utilizing quantitative and mixed-methods approaches, his research agenda explores the approaches to and impacts of financing for students and institutions, as well as the broader implications of public policy for postsecondary access and success.
Jeremy's work has appeared in multiple academic outlets, including The Journal of Higher Education, Education Evaluation Policy and Analysis, Teachers College Record, Review of Higher Education, Education Policy, AERA Open, Education Policy Analysis Archives, and Journal of College Student Retention, as well various public-facing policy briefs and popular media pieces. He has led or collaborated on research projects funded by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, the Strada Foundation, Arnold Ventures, and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.
Jeremy received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education where he served as a fellow at the Penn Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (PennAHEAD). Prior to Penn, Jeremy completed his MA in College Student Personnel at Bowling Green State University before serving in a variety of academic and student affairs positions at Harold Washington College and the University of Chicago, as well as other Chicagoland institutions.
Research Focus
Postsecondary Finance
Tuition-free/”promise” Programs; Financial Aid; State Financing
Public Policy Impacts
Community College Baccalaureates (CCBs); Workforce Development; College Access (e.g., transfer)
Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications
Whose last dollar? Estimating the effects of promise programs on financial aid awards
The Journal of Higher Education, Odle, T., Wright-Kim, J., & Castrejón, A. (2025).
Identity development and educational perspectives: The Indigenous Education Youth Collective
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Kannan, C., Wright-Kim, J., & Dale-Burton, J. (2024).
Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Wright-Kim, J. (2024).
The Journal of Higher Education, Wright-Kim et al. (2024).
Classrooms, Curricula, and Credentials as Ideological Battlegrounds
Change: The Magazine of Higher Education, Wright-Kim et al. (2024).
Change: The Magazine of Higher Education, Lundy-Wagner, V., Wright-Kim, J., & Beer, A. (2024).
Spending at baccalaureate-granting community colleges: A focus on institutional aid
Community College Journal of Research & Practice, Wright-Kim, J. (2024).
The Review of Higher Education, Wright-Kim, J. & Perna, L. W. (2023).
The impact of offering baccalaureate degrees on institutional enrollment in community colleges.
Community College Review, Wright-Kim, J. (2023).
AERA Open, Wright-Kim, J. (2022).
An update on the impacts of the community college baccalaureate
New Directions for Community Colleges, Wright-Kim, J. (2022).
The implication of rankings for equity in higher education
In E. Hazelkorn & G. Mihut (Eds). Research handbook on university rankings, Perna, L. W., Wright-Kim, J., & Brickfield, J. (2021)
Education Policy Analysis Archives, Perna, L. W., Wright-Kim, J., & Leigh, E. W. (2021)
AERA Open, Perna, L. W., Wright-Kim, J., & Leigh, E. W. (2020)
Institutional characteristics and bachelor’s degree completion of Pell grant recipients
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, & Practice, Wright-Kim, J., Perna, L. W., & Ruiz, R. (2019)
Educational Policy, Perna, L. W., Wright-Kim, J., & Jiang, N. (2019)
The Review of Higher Education, Tandberg, D., & Wright-Kim, J. (2019)
Policy Reports & Other Publications
Education Policy Initiative, Wright-Kim et al. (2026).
The Vital Role of Career and Technical Education in Postsecondary Education
Higher Education Handbook of Theory and Research, Ecton, W., & Wright-Kim, J. (2026)
DebtPlus. https://debtplus.wceruw.org/ , Burmicky, J., Odle, T., & Wright-Kim, J. (2025).
A PLUS or a Minus: How Parent PLUS Borrowing Varies Across Institutions
DebtPlus. https://debtplus.wceruw.org/ , Wright-Kim et al., (2024).
In the Media
American universities have an incentive to seem extortionate
The Economist, 2023
Earning Your Bachelor’s Degree at a Community College
Best Colleges, 2022
How Columbus' new community college promise program compares across the U.S.
Columbus Business First, 2021
Free college programs can enable more students to go to college, but it all depends on how the program is designed
The Conversation, 2021
Federal Pell Grants help pay for college – but are they enough to help students finish?
The Conversation, 2020
Net price calculators were supposed to make it easier to understand the cost of college –instead, many are making it more difficult
The Conversation, 2019