Blog
November 22, 2024
Exploring Workplace Experiences of BIPOC First-Generation Professionals in Library and Information Science
Announcing a New Collaboration
We’re excited to announce that the Department of Information Science at the University at Buffalo (UB) and Ithaka S+R are collaborating on an IMLS-funded research project to investigate the workplace experiences of first-generation BIPOC professionals in the library and information science (LIS) field. This three-year study will focus on understanding the challenges these professionals face and the cultural assets they bring to navigate and succeed in the workplace. The LIS workforce, like many professional fields, is grappling with…
November 18, 2024
The State of the Humanities
Reflecting on the World Humanities Report and Humanities in the United States
From the end of World War II through approximately 1980, this country’s market-driven system of higher education has been praised for its accessibility, absence of central authority, broad-based political support, multiple sources of revenue, and demographic, institutional and structural diversity. More recently, perceptions of declining affordability, diminishing pools of traditional-age students, the ongoing replacement of tenured and tenure-line faculty by adjunct instructors, and an unrelenting privatization of public higher education have, among many other issues, raised concerns about higher education’s…
November 15, 2024
How the American Talent Initiative Is Using Communities of Practice to Advance Student Success in Higher Education
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) is dedicated to addressing longstanding disparities in bachelor’s degree attainment for low- and moderate-income students by fostering collaboration among research, philanthropy, and educational entities. Since 2016, ATI membership has grown to include over 135 high-graduation-rate institutions, enrolling more than 18,000 additional Pell Grant students since the project began. A key strategy in ATI’s approach has been the adoption of Communities of Practice (CoPs) to assist member colleges and universities in achieving their socioeconomic diversity…
November 12, 2024
Improving Re-Enrollment for Adult Learners with Some College, No Degree
Announcing a New Project with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
As states and postsecondary institutions work to achieve critical degree attainment and workforce development goals, establishing policies and practices to effectively support adult learners who have some college but no degree is crucial. Through the statewide “Some College, No Degree” initiative, the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) is working to increase adult learner re-enrollment and degree completion in the state. Beginning fall 2024, the New Jersey OSHE and Ithaka S+R are working together to…
November 1, 2024
Paying It Forward
First-Generation Higher Ed Professionals Empowering Current First-Gen Students
A Conversation with Dr. Shakima M. Clency, Adan Hussain, and Christin Kloski of the Kessler Scholars Collaborative. The Kessler Scholars Collaborative supports and connects more than 1,000 Kessler Scholars across 16 institutions, transforming the college experience and supporting degree attainment for first-generation and limited-income students. The Kessler Scholars Program follows a cohort-based model. This means that, in addition to financial support, Kessler Scholars at each institution receive academic, professional, and personal guidance to help them not just access higher…
November 1, 2024
Pennsylvania Adult Learner Re-Engagement Community of Practice
New Project Announcement and Call to Participate
Higher education institutions currently face the unique challenge of maintaining enrollment in the face of demographic cliffs and changing attitudes towards the value of higher education. One area where institutions may see growth is in re-engaging their own pool of stopped out students who are now adult learners with some college credits and no credential (SCNC). The recent regulation limiting transcript withholding by the US Department of Education creates an opportunity for institutions to identify clear pathways for their stopped…
October 31, 2024
Prospective Student Veterans Face Complex Choices on the Journey to a Bachelor’s Degree
As Veteran’s Day approaches, there is renewed attention paid to those individuals who have served in our nation’s military and to the ways our nation repays that service. The majority of military service members often cite education benefits as one of their primary motivations for joining the military. However, once they leave the service, many veterans are not making best use of those benefits due to undermatching, whereby students attend institutions where they…
October 31, 2024
From Service to Study
Exploring Barriers and Expanding Opportunities for Veterans in Higher Education
Introduction On Thursday, September 19, 2024 in New York City, The Teagle Foundation, Warrior Scholar Project (WSP), and Ithaka S+R convened a group of higher education and philanthropic leaders for an off-the-record, roundtable discussion focused on the unique value military veterans bring to college campuses, the barriers institutions face in recruiting and supporting them, and the role nonprofit partners and education funders could play in bolstering these efforts. Committed to the proposition that an expansion of postsecondary educational opportunities for…
October 30, 2024
What Does Generative AI Mean for Scholarly Publishing?
Over the past 24 months, generative AI has become inescapable. As a tool that is capable of generating content, its implications for how scholarly research is conducted and for scholarly publishing and communication are potentially transformative. What is not yet clear is how transformative this impact will be, and which areas of scholarly communication may see more rapid and revolutionary change than others. In a report published today, with funding from STM Solutions and six of its member organizations, we…
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October 29, 2024
New Research Examines How State Bans on Transcript Withholding Have Impacted Institutions
In July 2024, a new set of federal regulations significantly limiting transcript withholding for students who owe a balance to their institution went into effect. Predating this policy, 13 states created their own rules prohibiting or limiting this practice. These policies varied across states with some creating blanket bans on transcript withholding and others only banning the practice in limited circumstances, such as when a transcript was needed by employers or the military for education verification. Ithaka S+R partnered with…
October 28, 2024
Turning Debt into Credentials
The Ohio College Comeback Compact Continues to Benefit Adult Learners, Institutions, and Northeast Ohio
After a successful pilot year and transition to full program implementation, the Ohio College Comeback Compact continues to show growth and positive student outcomes for adults with some college but no credential who departed postsecondary education with past due balances. With continued generous support from Lumina Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, Ithaka S+R is pleased to continue partnering with the eight public colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio for the third year of the Compact.
October 17, 2024
How is Generative AI Being Used in Biomedical Research?
A New Report Shares Findings from a Survey of Academic Researchers
When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, it prompted an ongoing national conversation about the role of generative AI across all sectors of intellectual labor. Within the academy, that conversation has focused primarily on generative AI’s impact on instruction, with relatively little attention being given to its role in scholarly research. The field of biomedical research in particular has provided some of the most promising use cases for generative AI, as well as being a site for potentially significant harm…
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October 16, 2024
Understanding the Role of NACIQI in Quality Assurance
New Report on the Relationship Between NACIQI and Accreditors
As the pace of institutional closure increases for colleges and universities around the United States, the quality assurance ecosystem for postsecondary education becomes ever more essential. The three pillars of that ecosystem—the “triad” established by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEA)—are the federal Department of Education (ED), the accreditation agencies recognized by ED, and the various state governments which authorize institutions to operate. Together, the triad serves as gatekeepers for student access to federal financial aid, which…
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October 15, 2024
American Talent Initiative Awards Grants to 16 Colleges and Universities
Five Million Dollars to Advance Innovative Practices to Support More Low-Income Students
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) has seen an 18,100 increase in the enrollment of students with Pell Grants since its founding in 2015. To continue and build on this progress, ATI is awarding $5 million in grants across 16 ATI-member institutions to support innovative strategies that break barriers and increase college access and success for lower-income students. The 16 institutions were selected from a competitive pool of 47 applicants.
October 10, 2024
Assessing Administrative Holds and Institutional Debts for Stopped Out Students
A New Project to Support Adult Learner Re-engagement in North Carolina
North Carolina is expanding higher education engagement efforts to adult learners. The University of North Carolina System has dedicated substantial resources to improve infrastructure and program delivery to enroll adult learners and re-engage those who have previously stopped out in their educational journeys. To support this ongoing work of reaching degree attainment and workforce development goals, Ithaka S+R is collaborating with the University of North Carolina (UNC) system office to analyze the scope of administrative holds for unpaid balances, which…
October 7, 2024
Looking at Learning Spaces for Higher Education in Prison Programs
What does equitable access to quality instruction look like in a carceral context? How can higher education in prison programs fulfill their obligation to provide their students with an educational experience that is as close as possible to the one of students on main campuses? Drawing on interviews with former students, higher education in prison program personnel, and department of corrections staff members, our new report documents what instructional conditions are like in carceral spaces, and how those conditions…
September 30, 2024
An Introduction to Reentry Service Provision and Community Partnership for College Administrators
New Report
When revised federal Pell Grant regulations went into effect in July of 2023, one of the provisions stipulated that college in prison programs would now be obliged to document how they or the organizations they partner with provide reentry services. Ithaka S+R’s new report, Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships, examines how colleges and community organizations can best partner to deliver effective services for reintegrating students. This report represents the first findings from a multi-year project…
September 27, 2024
Building Data Collection and Evaluation Capacity for Higher Education in Prisons
A New Project Supported by Ascendium Education Group
The reinstatement of Pell Grant funding for people who are incarcerated presents a dramatic opportunity for learners in prison, but it also poses a complex challenge. As more educational programs become available for individuals in prison, it’s essential that departments of corrections (DOCs) and higher education in prison programs are able to measure program effectiveness, quality, and impact over time–including by collecting data on student enrollment, academic outcomes, completion rates and more. To collect and use these data, DOCs, state…
September 19, 2024
The American Talent Initiative Student Success Research Grant Program Funds Five Mission-Aligned Projects
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) is committed to creating postsecondary opportunities for low- and moderate-income students and expanding this group’s access to high-graduation-rate institutions. ATI supports its member institutions by organizing communities of practice to enable peer-to-peer sharing among institutions, collecting and analyzing data to identify trends and best-practices, creating practical analytic tools to develop effective financial aid strategies, and advising presidents on ways to increase the pipeline of low- and moderate-income students into their institutions. To further this…
September 11, 2024
From Drawing to Doing
The Implementation of Cross-Campus Research Data Services Solutions
In February 2023, Ithaka S+R launched Building Campus Strategies for Coordinated Data Support, a project designed to help universities create viable strategies for delivering and sustaining research data service across campus. Following workshops to conceptualize new approaches or solutions to service delivery, cohort teams revisited some of the design thinking activities on their own campuses and honed in on a tangible idea or solution to implement.
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