Core faculty

Stephen DesJardins

Marvin W. Peterson Collegiate Professor of Education; Professor Public Policy, Evaluation Faculty Lead

Stephen L. DesJardins teaches courses related to public policy in higher education, economics and finances in postsecondary education, statistical methods, and institutional research and policy analysis. His research interests include student transitions from high school to college,what happens to students once they enroll in college, the economics of postsecondary education, and applying new statistical techniques to the study of these issues.

Current projects are: examining what factors are related to student loan default; how the courses students take in high school affect subsequent educational outcomes; and a number of evaluations of the effects of state policies on higher education outcomes. His research has been published widely in education and economics journals. He is also on the editorial board of Economics of Education Review, is a contributing editor to Research in Higher Education, and is the methodology section editor for Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research.

Dr. DesJardins received a BS in economics from Northern Michigan University, an MA in policy analysis and labor economics from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and a PhD in higher education with a concentration in research and evaluation methods, also from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining academia, he worked in market research in the private sector and was a policy analyst and institutional researcher for 13 years at the University of Minnesota.

Educational background

  • B.S., Economics, Northern Michigan University
  • M.A., Policy Analysis and Labor Economics from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
  • Ph.D., Higher Education with a concentration in research and evaluations methods, University of Minnesota