Topic: Educational Transformation
Research Report
May 16, 2023
MAAPS Advising Experiment
Evaluation Findings after Six Years
MAAPS is a large-scale randomized-controlled trial designed to validate the effectiveness of intensive, proactive, technology-enhanced advisement in increasing achievement, persistence, and completion of historically underserved students. This final report on the project presents impact findings for the intent-to-treat effect of MAAPS advisement on participating students’ outcomes for the final analytic sample of 10,037 students and at each participating institution after six academic years.
Past Event
July 19, 2023
Addressing Return on Investment in Higher Education
Students and the general public are increasingly interested in whether higher education is worth the cost. While it is important to showcase the value of higher education beyond individual economic benefits, we must also directly respond to the growing skepticism of higher education’s cost and economic benefits. One clear way to showcase the extent to which higher education is a worthwhile investment is to measure a student’s return on investment (ROI) from their degree or credential. In this session, a…
Past Event
May 18, 2023
Martin Kurzweil at (Re)Engage Alabama
On May 18, Martin Kurzweil and Kent State University’s Chris Dorsten will talk about stranded credits and the Ohio College Comeback Compact at the (Re)Engage Alabama Convening in Montgomery, Alabama.
Past Event
May 16, 2023
Careers for PhDs: Consulting
On May 16 at 4:15-5:30 pm ET, Dylan Ruediger will speak on a Syracuse University panel on the nature of consultant work, the kinds of jobs available in the sector, and how to mobilize your PhD skillset to join a consultancy or start your own. Dylan will share his experience as Ithaka S+R program manager in conversation with Laura Payne-Bourcy. The event is sponsored by the Central New York Humanities Corridor from an award by the Mellon Foundation.
Past Event
August 7, 2023
Bans, Compacts, and Collections… Oh My! State Approaches to Addressing Stranded Credits
Institutions and states are facing increasing pressures to stop the practice of withholding student transcripts for failure to pay balances in full. In fact, over half of states have enacted or considered policies on this issue over the past several years. The Department of Education and the CFPB have also weighed in with guidance and new policies. In this session at the 2023 SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference, leaders from three states that have taken unique approaches to addressing…
Past Event
May 9, 2023
Stanford Humanists At Large Fellows Visit Ithaka S+R
On May 9 at 1:00 – 4:00 pm ET, fellows from Stanford University’s Humanists at Large (HAL) program will visit the ITHAKA office to learn more about Ithaka S+R’s work and meet staff. The visit will open with a panel discussion with PhD-holding S+R staff Dylan Ruediger, James Ward, and Colette Johnson, moderated by Daniel Braun to introduce audience members to the organization and the career paths of staff. In the afternoon, Daniel Braun will lead a workshop offering…
Past Event
July 11, 2023
CUNY Transfer Explorer
A Cross-Organizational Effort to Promote Credit Transparency
In May 2020, the Articulation of Credit Transfer (ACT) team, a collaboration between Ithaka S+R and the City University of New York (CUNY), introduced CUNY Transfer Explorer, an online, public tool which allows anyone to see how courses at one college are treated at any other college in the CUNY system upon transfer. At a presentation at AACRAO’s Technology and Virtual Summit on July 11 at 4 pm ET, CUNY Lehman’s Juan Villalona, ITHAKA’s Maddie Danks and Jessica…
Blog Post
March 23, 2023
Using Data to Uncover Barriers to Student Success and Increase Retention
One of the most significant challenges that higher education institutions are currently facing is shrinking undergraduate enrollment, a trend accelerated by the disruptions of the pandemic. Among four-year institutions, enrollment declines have been particularly acute for those institutions that admit a relatively large percentage of their applicants and are dependent on tuition for a significant share of their revenue.[1] Between fall 2020 and 2022, colleges and universities that admit between 75 and 85 percent of applicants experienced…
Past Event
March 21, 2023
“Alt-Ac” Careers for Humanities PhDs
On Tuesday, March 21 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET, Steve Pokornowski and Kurtis Tanaka will participate in a roundtable discussion hosted by the University of Michigan Library on “alt-ac” careers for humanities PhDs. The panel will discuss the opportunities and challenges of pursuing careers off of the tenure track and the changing professional landscape of academia, reflecting on their own experiences. Speakers include Hannah Alpert-Abrams, Sara Cohen, Patricia Hswe, Stephanie Rosen, Katina Rogers, and Jim McGrath. Learn more about…
Past Event
March 22, 2023
Texas Student Success Program Inventory Launch
Ithaka S+R was commissioned by the Student Success Division of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to develop the Texas Student Success Program Inventory, an online resource that organizes information about student success programs at Texas institutions on an easy-to-use, searchable platform. On March 22, 2023 at 1:00 pm CST/2:00 pm EST, the THECB and Ithaka S+R will host a webinar to introduce users to this new resource. In this webinar, Ithaka S+R will provide some background…
Blog Post
March 9, 2023
An Expansive Inventory of Student Success Programs at Texas Colleges and Universities
Students can face numerous barriers on their path to a degree, especially given the hardships wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore essential that colleges and universities provide students with the support they need to thrive on campus and complete their degrees. Student success programs play a vital role in facilitating this support through a range of innovative and evidence-based services. However, it can be difficult to access information about these programs across states and regions. This lack of…
Research Report
March 9, 2023
The Texas Student Success Program Inventory
How Public Undergraduate Institutions Are Supporting Student Success Across the State of Texas
Executive Summary The Texas Student Success Program Inventory (SSPI), available at https://www.highered.texas.gov/sspi, is an online database of information related to student success programs at public colleges and universities, commissioned by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Consistent with nearly every other state, prior to the creation of the SSPI, there was no organized source of information about student success programming in Texas. By creating a user-friendly tool for publicly sharing information, the SSPI is…
Past Event
March 29, 2023
Navigating Non-Linear Career Paths
On March 29 at 12 pm PT, Ithaka S+R Director of Strategy and Operations Colette Johnson will speak on an installment of the Versatile PhD’s Career Pathways series, on “Navigating Non-Linear Career Paths.” The virtual event will feature discussion on how professionals outside of the academy create and maintain networks, move between roles and industries, and tolerate the uncertainty that accompanies all of the above, offering advice for PhDs interested in alternative career paths. Learn more and register for…
Blog Post
February 16, 2023
Opening the Black Box of Credit Transfer to Everyone
$4.4 Million in New Grants to Enhance and Expand "Transfer Explorer" within CUNY and Beyond
Losing credits when transferring to a new institution is a major barrier preventing many college students from earning a degree. Providing better information about how credits transfer, and providing that information early enough to enable students and advisors to plan, are crucial steps to tearing down that barrier. With an additional $4.4 million in philanthropic funding, the groundbreaking Transfer Explorer is poised to take those steps, at scale.
Blog Post
February 14, 2023
An End to Affirmative Action Must Not—and Need Not—End the Pursuit of Diversity at Selective Colleges and Universities
If, as is widely expected, the US Supreme Court issues a decision in 2023 that significantly limits, if not completely prohibits, the use of race in college and university admissions, it would come at exactly the wrong moment in the ongoing struggle to address our racial history. To further socioeconomic mobility and racial equity in the United States, selective colleges and universities must create more opportunities for high-achieving students from racially minoritized backgrounds, not fewer. But even if the Court…
Issue Brief
February 10, 2023
Alternative Strategies to Support a Diverse Student Body
Affirmative Action at Risk
With a decision pending in two lawsuits challenging race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), many observers are predicting that the US Supreme Court will significantly limit, if not completely prohibit, the use of race in college and university admissions. Such a decision would stand sharply crosswise to current needs. Selective colleges and universities, both public and private, are still far from embodying racial equity.
Blog Post
February 8, 2023
Educational Attainment and the Economy
Where Do We See the Best Opportunities for Growth?
Attaining a postsecondary credential has the potential to improve the life circumstances of people across the country as well as the financial and economic health of states. As individuals secure jobs that pay living wages, they become less reliant on social services, increase their personal spending, and generate additional tax revenue for the state. These benefits are likely to increase the state’s GDP, attract new industry, expand labor market opportunities, and reduce necessary state spending. Prior research shows…
Past Event
February 1, 2023
Using A University-Wide Initiative to Fuel Transfer Reforms
Transfer Explorer At CUNY
On February 1 from 4:10 – 5:00 pm ET, Pooja Patel will participate in a National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) annual conference session on “Using a university-wide initiative to fuel transfer reforms.” This session provides an overview of the continued development of Transfer Explorer, a tool introduced at the 2022 NISTS conference that aims to reduce loss of transfer credit, and its adoption at the City University of New York (CUNY) as part…
Past Event
April 27, 2023
Holistic Credit Mobility: Centering Learning in Credential Completion
Session at the WICHE Academic Leadership Forum
At the 2023 Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Academic Leadership Forum, Martin Kurzweil and Chau-Fang Lin will present on holistic credit mobility and the framework for centering learning in credential completion, sharing findings from an Ithaka S+R issue brief funded by the Ascendium Education Group. The session is schedule for Thursday, April 27 at 11:15 – 12:15 pm.
Past Event
February 22, 2023
Holistic Credit Mobility
An Innovative Framework to Foster Credit and Learning Mobility
On Wednesday, February 22 from 2:50 – 3:40 pm PST at the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students Conference, Sarah Pingel will present on Ithaka S+R’s holistic credit mobility project with Ascendium Education Group’s Carolynn Lee. The session will define the concept of holistic credit mobility and propose a framework to understand how higher education can be responsive to the needs of today’s mobile students. The session will include worked examples that allow participants to…