Florence Xiaotao Ran

Florence Xiaotao Ran is an assistant professor specializing in higher education policy at the School of Education, University of Delaware. She is a faculty affiliate with the Ph.D. in Education and Social Policy, the Ph.D. in Educational Statistics and Research Methods, and the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. She is also a research affiliate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

She teaches courses on higher education policy, causal inference for program evaluation, and secondary data analysis. Her research examines how education resources and policies affect student success in postsecondary institutions, particularly in community colleges, and labor market outcomes. 

Ran's work has been published in economics, education, and policy journals including the Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Education Finance and Policy, Journal of Human Resources, and Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Her work has been supported by the Dual Enrollment Research Fund, National Science Foundation and William T. Grant Foundation. She has worked closely with higher education institutions, state college systems, and national postsecondary improvement organizations to bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice.

Dr. Ran holds a B.A. in Economics from Renmin University of China, an M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a Ph.D. in Economics and Education from Columbia University (Teachers College).