People
Erik C. Ness
Director and Professor of Higher Education
Erik Ness is director and professor of higher education at the McBee Institute of Higher Education. Previously, he served as an assistant professor and coordinator of the Higher Education Management program at the University of Pittsburgh and as a policy analyst for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. He earned a B.A. in political science from North Carolina State University, an M.A. in comparative and international education from Loyola University Chicago, and a Ph.D. in education policy from Vanderbilt University.
Ness conducts research on higher education politics and policy. His research agenda follows two paths: (a) public policy effects, especially on students, institutions, and state systems, and (b) public policy-making process, specifically the political dynamics associated with higher education policy adoption. His recent co-edited volume Comparative Higher Education Politics (with Jungblut, Maltais, and Rexe; Springer, 2023) examines governance, finance, policy framing, diffusion, and interest groups in a global context.
His work also considers the role of intermediary organizations in shaping how policy makers rely on evidence to craft policy in the adoption and implementation of various state higher education policy initiatives, such as college completion strategies and merit-based scholarship programs. Based on this work, Ness developed an FYO seminar—Research Evidence, Alternative Facts, and Fake News—that was recognized with a UGA First-Year Odyssey Teaching Award in 2021.
Ness’s current research examines state authorization of postsecondary education. With support from the State Higher Education Executive Officers association (SHEEO), Arnold Ventures, and the Lumina Foundation for Education, he leads the State Postsecondary Authorization Research Team to analyze the processes for initial authorization and subsequent reauthorization across all 50 states.
Finally, Ness collaborates with scholars across several academic disciplines on the Embark Georgia Research Consortium. Their work examines the lived experiences of youth who have previously experienced foster care or homelessness and the broader community, campus, and state contexts that shape their resources and opportunities.
Curriculum Vitae:
Ness CV, January 2026.pdf (242.01 KB)
Education 
Ph.D., Education Policy, Vanderbilt University
M.A., Comparative and International Education, Loyola University Chicago
B.A., Political Science, North Carolina State University
Professional Appointments
Courses Regularly Taught:
EDHI 9500
EDHI 8700
Other Professional Experience
Research Interests:
Professor Ness conducts research on higher education politics and policy. His research agenda primarily follows two paths: (1) public policy effects, especially on students, institutions, and state systems, and (2) public policymaking process, specifically research utilization and the political dynamics associated with state-level higher education policy adoption.
Grants:
Georgia College Advising Corps (GCAC), (PI) 2024-2026. National College Advising Corps ($903,965-FY25, $845,370-FY26). State AmeriCorps Grant ($124,461-FY26). MOUs with six local school districts ($393,500-FY25, $266,444-FY26)
Arnold Ventures & State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), 2023-2024. State Authorization Renewal Policy Inventory (sub-award, $40,000)
Lumina Foundation for Education & State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), 2023-2024. State Authorization Capacity Research (sub-award, $40,000)
U.S. Department of State & UGA Office of Global Engagement (Co-PI), 2022-2023. Ivory Coast University Partnership Initiative, Phase II ($200,000)
RAND Corporation & U.S. Department of Defense, 2021-2023. National Guard Youth ChalleNGe and Job ChalleNGe: Metrics for Success (sub-award $33,506)
U.S. Department of State & UGA Office of Global Engagement (Co-PI), 2020-2021. Ivory Coast University Partnership Initiative ($250,000)
Arnold Ventures & State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) (PI, with Sean Baser Co-PI), 2020-2021. State Authorization Landscape and Process: An inventory and examination ($23,312)
William T. Grant Foundation (PI, with J.C. Hearn Co-PI), 2013-2017. The Distinct Role of Intermediary Organizations in Fostering Research Utilization for State College Completion Policy ($350,000)
Ford Foundation & Tennessee Higher Education Commission (PI, with D. Gándara, M. Deupree), 2013-2015. Campus responses to outcomes-based funding in Tennessee (sub-contract, $100,000)
University of Georgia, Office of the Vice President for Research, Faculty Research Grants Program (FRG), 2010-2011. Use of Research Evidence in State Higher Education Finance Policy ($10,302)
Spencer Foundation, 2009-2010. Research Utilization in the Adoption of State Merit Aid Programs ($39,626)
Publications
Ness, E.C., Collins, H., & Birac, B. (2025). Higher education governance and funding. In L. Cohen-Vogel, J. Scott, & P. Youngs (Eds.). Handbook of Education Policy Research, 2nd Volume. (pp. 1485-1504). AERA Books.
Jungblut, J., Maltais, M., Ness, E., & Rexe, D. (Eds.). (2023). Comparative Higher Education Politics: Policymaking in North America and Europe. Higher Education Dynamics series. Springer.
Ness, E.C., Rubin, P.G., Gándara, D., & Hearn, J.C. (2023). Political Volatility in State Commitment to College Completion Efforts. In J. Delaney, W. Doyle, & D. Tandberg (Eds.), Volatility in State Spending for Higher Education. (pp. 173-198). Washington, DC: AERA Books.
Ness, E.C., Rubin, P.G., & Hammond, L.D. (2021). Becoming a “game changer”: Complete College America’s role in U.S. higher education policy fields. Higher Education, 82(1), 1-17.
Ness, E.C., Baser, S., & Dean, M. (2021). State Authorization Landscape and Process: An inventory, classification, and analysis. State Higher Education Executive Officers Association [SHEEO].
Ness, E.C., Hearn, J.C., & Rubin, P.G. (2018). The SHEEO and Intermediary Organizations. In D. Tandberg, R. Hanna, & B. Sponsler (Eds.), The State Higher Education Executive Officer and the Public Good. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gandara, D., Rippner, J.A. & Ness, E.C. (2017). Exploring the ‘How’ in Policy Diffusion: National Intermediary Organizations’ Roles in Facilitating the Spread of Performance-Based Funding Policies in the States. The Journal of Higher Education, 88(5), 701-725.
Ness E.C., Tandberg D.A. & McLendon M.K. (2015). Interest Groups and State Policy for Higher Education: New Conceptual Understandings and Future Research Directions. In: Paulsen, M. (ed), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol 30. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Ness, E.C. (2010). The Role of Information in the Policy Process: Implications for the Examination of Research Utilization in Higher Education Policy. In Smart, J. (ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Dordrecht: Springer.