Robert Kelchen

Robert Kelchen is a professor of higher education and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research interests include higher education finance, accountability policies, and student financial aid. Kelchen is the author of Higher Education Accountability and regularly publishes in top education journals. 

He has received the Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award for excellence in financial aid research from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and has been recognized as one of the most influential faculty members in education by Education Week. He is also the data editor for Washington Monthly magazine’s annual college guide and rankings. 

Kelchen holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Truman State University, a master’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.