Meredith Billings

Meredith Billings is an assistant professor in the Department of Higher Education, Adult Learning, and Organizational Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington.  Her overall research agenda focuses on financial and informational barriers to college for low-income, first-generation, and racially minoritized students and inequities in higher education funding across different types of higher education institutions. She is currently conducting or has conducted research projects on free college/promise programs, guaranteed tuition/fixed tuition plans, college access programs, and financial aid advising in public high schools. Dr. Billings is also interested in state governance of public higher education. She has published her research in Research in Higher Education, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Student Financial Aid, American Behavioral Scientist, and New Directions for Community Colleges. Her work has been supported by the Spencer Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

Dr. Billings spent six years working in higher education administration in the areas of institutional research, undergraduate admissions, academic advising, and civic engagement. Prior to coming to UTA, she was an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Associate at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. Dr. Billings teaches or has taught courses on K-16 education policy, K-16 education law, higher education finance, program evaluation, assessment, and statistics. She earned a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan, M.A. in higher education from the University of Maryland, and B.S. in neuroscience from William and Mary.