Marlene Clapp introduces this volume with a summary of the financial aspects and budget processes of American colleges and universities. She looks into the debates surrounding educational financing and rising tuition costs. The article “Public Education Finance” reviews the complex and often inadequate systems that provide educational funding and identify the measures that could ensure greater equity. Clapp then delves into the ways in which grants and private funding can sustain and shape higher education. According to the essay on education and the economy, “a stable economy depends on a skilled, educated populace, and quality education institutions depend on funding and support from individuals living in a prosperous economy.” Melissa Conroy then reflects on the establishment of poverty reduction strategies and the impact of poverty on the quality of and access to education opportunities.