Topic: Student learning and outcomes
Blog Post
November 3, 2023
Revisiting Student Success
Insights from the 2023 NISOD Fall Virtual Conference
The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) hosts an annual fall virtual conference to bring together faculty, librarians, and student support services personnel to exchange best practices aimed at enhancing student success in community and technical colleges. The conference schedule focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, holistic student supports, and teaching across different modalities. Sessions highlighted insights from faculty and staff across different departments on how to improve students’ educational experiences and equip them for success…
Blog Post
October 19, 2023
Assessing the Effectiveness of Transfer Associate Degrees in Washington
In the state of Washington, 45 percent of bachelor’s degree earners at its public universities transfer from a Washington community and technical college (CTC), similar to the average transfer rate nationally. Considering how many students in Washington take this path to a credential, it is important for the state to understand how various transfer pathways and transfer degrees impact student outcomes.
Blog Post
October 12, 2023
Veterans Enrollment: What Do the Data Show?
In 2019, Ithaka S+R published a paper discussing the underrepresentation of student veterans at high-graduation-rate institutions and outlining the various barriers—ranging from financial aid policies to transfer credit limitations—that prevent veterans from enrolling in such institutions. As we explained in that paper, these barriers partly explain why, as of 2015-16, only one in 10 veterans using GI Bill benefits were enrolling at institutions with graduation rates above 70 percent, while approximately one-third of veterans were using GI Bill benefits…
Blog Post
October 12, 2023
Student Veteran Blog Series
Introduction and Overview
The ending of the formal COVID-19 public health emergency offers an opportunity to reflect on how the upheaval of the past few years has impacted many facets of life and society, including higher education. At Ithaka S+R, we are taking this opportunity to revisit some of our previous work focused on the experiences of student veterans (see note on language below) that was completed just prior to the…
Blog Post
October 10, 2023
Understanding the Impact of Work-Based Learning
Ithaka S+R to Evaluate a 25-Institution Pilot Program with the Council of Independent Colleges
Colleges and universities are under increasing pressure to better prepare students for the world of work and integrate career preparation into their degree programs. There are many avenues to pursue in these efforts, including enhancing career services offices, revising general education curricula, and coordinating academic offerings with local workforce needs. One particularly promising approach is offering more experiential learning opportunities, like study abroad, service-learning, and undergraduate research. These experiences allow students to apply what they…
Blog Post
September 27, 2023
After Successful Pilot, the Ohio College Comeback Compact Moves to Full Implementation
The Ohio College Comeback Compact successfully concluded its pilot year, demonstrating proof of concept for a novel program aimed at re-enrolling college students with stranded credits and settling the institutional debt they owed their former institutions. The Compact is advancing to a full implementation at the eight original public colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio for the 2023-24 academic year. And, with generous support from Lumina Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, Ithaka S+R will be…
Past Event
November 8, 2023
Four Perspectives on Re-Enrolling Adult Learners and Supporting Them Through Completion
In this session at the CAEL Conference on November 8 at 1:40-2:30pm ET in Key Ballroom 1, panelists will discuss the challenges they see and their approaches to supporting adults to complete their postsecondary education. Ithaka S+R’s Liz Looker will speak on stranded credits and Ithaka S+R’s projects to support adult learners seeking to complete their credentials, including the Ohio College Comeback Compact. Other panelists include Steve Ast, Mike Krause, and Dr. Mark Sorrells. Learn more about the…
Blog Post
September 6, 2023
Assessing Open Education Resources Programs
New Research Project
Today we are excited to announce that Ithaka S+R is embarking on a one-year research project, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, to assess the impact and implementation of open educational resources (OER) programs at public institutions of higher education. Through the project, we will develop a framework to guide sustainable OER adoption and implementation. At their core, OER initiatives aim to increase student learning outcomes by reducing costs. Our project aims to explore how OER strategies…
Blog Post
September 5, 2023
Parental Income, State Funding, and Access to Higher Education
Questions about who gets into America’s most prestigious colleges and why have been at the center of American discourse recently. In June, the Supreme Court struck down the use of race-conscious admissions practices in higher education. And soon after the Court’s decision, a federal civil rights complaint was filed against Harvard University for its use of legacy admissions, which disproportionately benefits white, affluent students. New research by Opportunity Insights adds to the conversation with a robust…
Past Event
October 5, 2023
Expansion of the TX SSPI & Assessing Potential for Impact
Texas Conference on Student Success
Throughout 2022, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and Ithaka S+R collaboratively built the Texas Student Success Program Inventory (TX SSPI), an online resource that organizes information about innovative and impactful student success programs in Texas. In the second year of the TX SSPI, the inventory has expanded to include new programs, piloted new features such as Groups, changed the way new programs can be added or existing entries updated, and hosted a new rubric tool to help…
Past Event
August 14, 2023
Embracing Digital Transformation in Higher Education
Shaping the Future of Teaching & Learning
Ithaka S+R’s Mark McBride will deliver the keynote address at Fredonia’s 17th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference, Digital Transformation: Leveraging Technology for Student Success, on Monday, August 14. The keynotes session will reflect on the steps higher education has taken in adopting digital technology into the campus ecosystem, including the affordances of digital learning and the increasing demand from students for higher education to take a digital-first approach to teaching and learning. Largely due to previous exposure…
Past Event
July 20, 2023
Allocating Resources to Scale and Sustain Digital Learning and Student-Centered Initiatives
AASCU Academic Affairs Summer Meeting
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in leveraging digital learning solutions to promote effective teaching and learning practices, while at the same time use digital technologies to connect with students, building closer ties and establishing a sense of community. These interests has been driven, in part, by concerns around the affordability of a college education, particularly course materials, as well as the need to promote more personalized and engaging learning experiences for students. What is often lacking…
Blog Post
July 6, 2023
CUNY and Ithaka S+R Launch New Functionality in CUNY Transfer Explorer
Enhancements to CUNY Transfer Explorer (CUNY T-Rex) empower students to explore paths to degree completion with transparent and accessible information
In January 2023, the ACT team and CUNY introduced several new features on CUNY T-Rex, which included a refreshed homepage, a student portal for CUNY students to access their transcript and explore how their courses are applied across CUNY colleges, and functionality to let users explore how course credits (from both CUNY and non-CUNY institutions) and CPL apply at various CUNY colleges and to major and minor requirements. Today, we are pleased to announce the launch of additional, new features…
Past Event
July 12, 2023
What’s Next for Generative AI in Higher Education?
AACRAO Technology & Transfer Virtual Summit
Over the past year, AI has transformed from a specialized tool into an easy to use mass market product. The speed of this transformation has left many colleges and universities playing catch up as generative AI touches every aspect of higher education, including their core missions of educating students and supporting academic research. In a rapidly evolving landscape, how can universities make strategic decisions about when and how AI can support student learning and faculty research? Ithaka S+R is…
Past Event
July 12, 2023
NISTS Award Winner Spotlight
AACRAO Technology & Transfer Virtual Summit
Join a AACRAO Technology and Transfer Virtual Summit session honoring this year’s Bonita C. Jacobs Transfer Champion-Rising Star Award winners, including Ithaka S+R’s Emily Tichenor. Learn about their journeys as transfer agents, connectors, and advocates, how they’ve overcome challenges to find success, and their top tips and strategies for influencing change. Both seasoned professionals and newcomers to the transfer community will walk away with valuable insights and practical takeaways for creating and sustaining transfer-focused policies, programs, and supports. This…
Blog Post
June 27, 2023
Taking a Student-Centered Approach
A Spotlight on College Unbound’s Approach to Generative AI Policy
The flurry of announcements in recent months of new, and ever improving, generative AI technologies, is causing universities to reexamine every area of their operations. At the current, very nascent phase of university-wide adoption, institutions are responding primarily by providing background information to their stakeholders. How can an institution move from general information sharing to developing and deploying the guidance, services, and tools that will enable staff and students to harness this technology’s potential—and pitfalls? This fall, Ithaka…
Past Event
June 25, 2023
Elevating Student Voices
A Culturally Responsive Program Evaluation for First-Generation Student Success
As higher education institutions serve more diverse student populations, culturally responsive research practices and equity-based perspectives are critical to ensure program evaluation is responsive to all students’ needs. In this session at the 2023 NASPA Conference on Student Success in Higher Education, presenters from Ithaka S+R and the Kessler Scholars Collaborative will highlight promising practices for conducting a culturally responsive evaluation and share a case study example from the Kessler Scholars Program, a comprehensive support program serving first-generation, limited-income…
Past Event
June 14, 2023
The Chair’s Role in Enrollment, Retention, and Student Success
At 11 am on June 14, 2023, Martin Kurzweil will moderate a panel on “The Chair’s Role in Enrollment, Retention, and Student Success,” hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Featuring conversation with panelist Allison Calhoun-Brown, the 75-minute session will explore how and why department chairs should recruit students and put in place systems that support them to remain enrolled and on track, and to complete their degrees. Register here.
Blog Post
May 31, 2023
Advancing Student Success through Academic Equity Topical Research Projects
Research Reports by ATI Honorarium Awardees George Mason University, Marist College, and Muhlenberg College
Student success and equity are intrinsically linked. Students from lower-income, first-generation, and historically underserved backgrounds face deeply entrenched systemic inequities and a myriad of obstacles both on college campuses and beyond. To help address these challenges, with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Gray Foundation, three American Talent Initiative members each received a $7,250 honorarium to tackle research on key topics of academic equity.
Blog Post
May 24, 2023
Making AI Generative for Higher Education
Announcing the Partners for a New Multi-Year Research Project
The ability of computers to create content is advancing rapidly, spurring an investment arms race within the technology sector. As new products like ChatGPT and Midjourney turn AI into a part of daily life, universities are facing decisions about how students, instructors, and researchers can best engage with these new tools. This fall, as part of a two-year research project, Ithaka S+R is convening a select group of universities committed to making AI generative for their campus community. Today we…