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May 22, 2025

Undertaking Accreditation Reform

Possible Roles for NACIQI

A recent executive order (EO) has shone a new spotlight on postsecondary institutional accreditation, an area of higher education that traditionally operates in relative obscurity. Invoking increased accountability, reduced regulatory burdens, and enhanced institutional innovation, the EO seeks to streamline the accreditation process, align post-college outcomes with labor market needs, and allow for greater flexibility in the “who and how” of institutional accreditation. The accreditation system this EO aims to reform was established by the Higher Education…
May 20, 2025

Goal Refining and Progression within the Pennsylvania Adult Learner Re-Engagement Community of Practice

In December 2024, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, we launched the Adult Learner Re-Engagement Community of Practice. Since then, participants from colleges and universities across Pennsylvania have come together regularly to share resources and expertise as they work to re-enroll students with some college credits but no credential. Because engagement with adult learners can involve multiple departments and people at different times, goal-setting has been important in helping participants structure and track their efforts. Together we…
May 19, 2025

AI Implementation and Governance at Emerging Research Institutions

Announcing a New NSF-Funded Planning Grant

Generative and other AI tools have the potential to transform and accelerate scientific research and communication. However, realizing that potential will require institutions to invest in the administrative and technical infrastructure, staffing, and capacity required to manage the data security, compliance, technical, and ethical issues of generative AI usage at the institutional level, and provide professional development for staff in units engaged in all aspects of the research enterprise. Creating this infrastructure will be difficult for all universities, but is…
May 15, 2025

Recent Data Show Minimal Change in Veterans Enrollment Patterns

In October 2023, we published an analysis of GI bill beneficiary data that showed that these students were shifting away from for-profit institutions toward four-year public and private not-for-profit institutions, but in doing so were still not enrolling at the four-year institutions where they were most likely to graduate. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently released updated data on GI bill beneficiaries’ enrollment patterns, allowing us to explore whether these trends have persisted.[1] In short, trends…
May 13, 2025

From Chaos to Continuity

Bridging Basic Needs and Postsecondary Access for Adult Learners

Higher education is undergoing a profound transformation, with adult learners representing a growing and influential segment of the student population. Balancing employment, family responsibilities, and academic commitments, these students encounter unique challenges that significantly impact their educational trajectories. Among the most pressing barriers to success is basic needs insecurity, which encompasses food and housing instability, childcare access, physical and mental health access, transportation and technology needs, alongside financial insecurity. Despite the existence of numerous, public, state, and institutional resources…
May 8, 2025

Assessing the Best Interest Determination

An Interview with Macy Pickman

Recently, as part of our work on enhancing data infrastructure for higher education in prison, we published an interview with Ruth Delaney, director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Unlocking Potential initiative. In that interview, Delaney provides her expert insights into the Best Interest Determination (BID) process of Postsecondary Education in Prison (PEP) program approval. The Best Interest Determination, or BID, is a comprehensive program review, conducted by the oversight entity (state department of corrections or bureau…
May 6, 2025

College Literacy and Fluency

What We Learned From Our Latest Webinar

For many students, the hardest part of college isn’t the classes—it’s figuring out how college works. From navigating confusing admissions processes to registering for classes and understanding financial aid, higher education can often feel like a maze of unfamiliar terminology and siloed systems. The result? Too many students miss critical deadlines, misunderstand key processes, or struggle to advocate for themselves in an unfamiliar and bureaucratic environment. This challenge disproportionately affects students who are already navigating complex life circumstances: first-generation students,…
May 5, 2025

Examining the New Carnegie Student Access and Earnings Classification at Four-Year Colleges and Universities

A bachelor’s degree remains a key lever to achieve economic success. Median earnings disaggregated by educational attainment demonstrate the importance of a bachelor’s degree for securing a job and making strong earnings. The difference in median weekly earnings of a person with a high school degree ($930) compared to someone with a bachelor’s degree ($1,543) adds up to an additional $32,000 over one year. This wage premium grows even larger as a person advances in their career. Despite…
May 1, 2025

Generative AI Adoption and Related Challenges in Higher Education

New Report Shares Findings of Cross-Institutional Qualitative Study

Today, we are announcing the publication of a new report detailing the findings of interviews offering insight on how instructors and researchers are using generative artificial intelligence in their work, as well as the challenges they currently face related to the technology. The study also reveals which support resources instructors and researchers are relying on and which resources they feel are still lacking.
April 29, 2025

The New York Prison Guards Strike

Impacts and Lessons for Higher Education in Prison

On February 17, 2025, correctional officers across New York state staged an unsanctioned strike—the second statewide walkout of the correctional workforce in state history. Following an incident and ensuing lockdown at Collins Correctional Facility, officers at Collins and Elmira began a series of wildcat strikes. At its peak, thousands of officers walked off the job, prompting Governor Kathy Hochul to deploy the National Guard to staff prisons. Officers cited low pay, chronic understaffing, and forced overtime as key grievances,…
April 28, 2025

How Institutions Are Supporting Community-Engaged Scholarship

Takeaways from Compact25

Campus Compact, the largest higher ed association dedicated to community engagement, hosted a vibrant Compact25 conference in Atlanta from March 31-April 2, 2025. While the majority of sessions at the conference were focused on civic education and the role of community engagement in instruction, community-engaged scholarship was also well-represented.
April 25, 2025

Reflections on the 2025 National Conference on Higher Education in Prisons (NCHEP)

Ithaka S+R recently attended and presented (Alex Monday, Bethany Lewis) at the 14th annual National Conference on Higher Education in Prisons (NCHEP), held April 10-11 in New Orleans. The conference brought researchers, practitioners, correctional staff, and students together to consider this year’s theme: “A New Era? Pell Reinstatement and the Future of Prison Education.” From the opening remarks to the final sessions, the conference fostered a strong sense of community.
April 23, 2025

Collaborating with the PSEO Coalition to Advance Research on Postsecondary Outcomes

Ithaka S+R is proud to announce a new engagement with the Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Coalition. As a research collaborator, Ithaka S+R will work closely with the Coalition’s leadership and member institutions to develop a robust research agenda that leverages PSEO data, alongside other federal data sources, such as the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and American Community Survey (ACS), to explore critical questions about postsecondary outcomes and workforce dynamics. This collaboration will focus on generating…
April 17, 2025

How Is Kentucky Supporting Adult Learner Engagement?

A New Brief Shares Lessons Learned

Across the nation, there are 36.8 million individuals under the age of 65 with some college and no credential. Approximately 557,000 of these learners have stopped out from Kentucky colleges and universities. Re-enrolling adult learners with some college, no credential is a growing priority across the US and in Kentucky. Credential completion helps individuals get high paying jobs, brings in new tuition revenue for institutions, and helps regions develop a workforce needed for a healthy economy. Individuals and…
April 16, 2025

Sustaining Open Source Software in the Research Enterprise

Call for Participants

Ithaka S+R and the Apereo Foundation welcome applications to participate in Sustaining Open Source Software in the Research Enterprise, a workshop made possible by generous funding from the National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Higher education serves as a seedbed for highly successful Open Source Software (OSS). Apache, Linux, R, and Python are all examples of currently widely-used, impactful, and sustained open source projects with roots in higher education.  Colleges and universities…
April 14, 2025

Holistic Credit Mobility Acceleration Cohort Kicks Off

Takeaways from the Community of Practice

Last month, Ithaka S+R and Complete College America officially launched the holistic credit mobility acceleration cohort. Over the coming year, the 11 state higher education and university systems and institutional consortia participating will convene regularly to develop a unified language around credit mobility, identify best practices, policies, and technologies, and collaborate to move the needle on credit mobility.
April 9, 2025

Integrating AI Literacy into the Curricula

A New Cohort Project Gets Underway

While the technological and commercial landscape remains fluid, and the long-term impacts of AI on teaching and learning remain contested, colleges and universities are ready to shift from reactive to proactive engagement with AI. AI literacy will be a cornerstone of that engagement at many institutions. The idea that students will need to know how to use and think critically about AI is one on which skeptics, agnostics, and advocates can largely agree. A few universities have already launched AI…
April 4, 2025

What Comes Next with Pell Restoration in Postsecondary Education in Prisons

An Interview with Ruth Delaney

As Ithaka S+R continues its work on enhancing data infrastructure for higher education in prison, we are committed to leveraging insights from experts across the field and highlighting key initiatives shaping the landscape. The restoration of Pell Grants for incarcerated learners, enacted through the FAFSA Simplification Act, has created a pressing need to examine program accountability, approval processes, and the role of data in supporting high-quality education. As we look forward to publishing findings from over 40 interviews with…
April 2, 2025

Notes from the Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Virtual Showcase

In late February, close to 200 higher education, state agency data leaders, policy analysts, funders, and researchers gathered virtually to explore best practices and new opportunities for connecting postsecondary success data with workforce data. Through a series of presentations and demonstrations, convened by the Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Coalition, participants learned about how state agencies and institutions are sharing data—both internally and across states—to improve understanding, advocacy, and decision-making at the nexus of higher education and workforce development.
April 1, 2025

Assessing the Humanities

Announcing a New Project to Better Understand the Structure of Humanities Majors and the Perspective of Department Chairs

Ithaka S+R is excited to announce that we have been engaged by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to conduct research on the state of the humanities in higher education. Our research will be part of a portfolio of commissioned work that will contribute to the Academy’s ongoing efforts to gather comprehensive data on systematic challenges facing humanities departments today. Over the coming year, Ithaka S+R will conduct interviews and focus groups with faculty and administrators from across the…