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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…

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,…

How are students supposed to know where to start when applying to college? Once they arrive, how do they continue navigating complex institutional systems and advocating for themselves? For many students—especially first-generation students, English language learners, and adult learners—higher education can feel like an overwhelming maze of unfamiliar terminology, decentralized services, and bureaucratic roadblocks. Without clear guidance, students may struggle to access the support they need, impacting their ability to enroll, persist, and succeed in college. Join us for…

Many college students face challenges that extend beyond the classroom, requiring holistic support that addresses both academic and non-academic needs. “College fluency,” which is the knowledge and a corresponding set of abilities that enable students and staff to effectively locate and use relevant college services, programs, and resources, can help students successfully engage with and self-advocate within the culture and bureaucracy of higher education institutions to achieve their goals. Through our College Fluency Capacity Building research initiative, undertaken with…

What are the challenges faced by first-generation BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) professionals in the Library and Information Science (LIS) field? How do biases, policies, and practices impact their workplace experiences and career advancement? These are critical questions we aim to address through focus groups as part of a new, IMLS-funded research project, and we are now seeking participants to share their valuable insights.  This study, conducted by Africa Hands, assistant professor in…

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…

We are excited to announce the publication of the 2024 US Instructor Survey. This survey, adapted from our longstanding US Faculty Survey, provides a detailed snapshot of over 5,200 faculty members from different disciplines, institution types, ages, and titles across the US at four-year institutions. This new report offers a comprehensive overview of how college instructors across the country are navigating and shaping the current educational landscape. Overall, we heard that instructors are increasingly adopting innovative, technology-driven teaching…

We are excited to announce the publication of a new report for the Maximizing Public-Academic Library Partnerships project, funded by ECMC Foundation. The project explores how community college and public libraries facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration to create and sustain productive partnerships that promote basic needs services and information. The first phase of the project focused on examining the landscape of basic need services advertised on library websites. The inventory analysis of websites surveyed eight basic needs categories: Technology,…

Since the commercial release of ChatGPT in 2022, generative AI has had an undeniable impact on higher education, reshaping student learning methods, prompting concerns regarding academic integrity, and sparking larger questions on teaching and learning. It is therefore vital to understand how instructors are currently using (or not using) generative AI in their classrooms to support teaching. To gain insight into how instructional practices are evolving, Ithaka S+R fielded the triennial survey of postsecondary faculty with a focus on…

We’re excited to announce the publication of the first case study in the College Fluency Capacity Building Project. Co-led by the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Library and Ithaka S+R, this IMLS-funded project explores the evolving role librarians play in fostering college fluency and aims to help librarians address the changing information needs of the students they serve. For students, navigating the higher education landscape takes more than just attending and passing classes; it also requires a…

Through our Maximizing Public-Academic Library Partnerships project funded by ECMC Foundation, Ithaka S+R is investigating different types of cross-sector library partnerships at a national level, with a focus on identifying their strengths and challenges. These partnerships can range from formalized agreements with shared resources to more informal collaborations where public and academic library leaders convene periodically to address their priorities.

We are thrilled to announce that Ithaka S+R in partnership with the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Library has launched our new, national College Fluency Survey. This survey is a part of a comprehensive, two-and-a-half-year initiative funded by IMLS aimed at understanding how institutions can better support a critical aspect of student success: college fluency—or the knowledge and abilities that enable students to effectively access, utilize, and advocate for needed college services and resources. Through this project we…

The latest federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) highlights some of the critical challenges students face outside of the classroom when it comes to basic needs: roughly one in five undergraduate students (23 percent) and one in 10 graduate students (12 percent) are experiencing food insecurity, while 8 percent of undergraduate students and 5 percent of graduate students are experiencing homelessness. For millions of students, the struggle to…

We are excited to announce that Ithaka S+R has launched the 2024 US Instructor Survey! For over 20 years, we have surveyed teaching and research faculty in the US, and as universities and colleges continue their commitment to teaching and learning, we have officially launched an instruction-focused edition of the survey to over 150,000 faculty members across the country. As higher education evolves, this new survey is designed to support a variety of stakeholders and decision makers by providing…

Providing excellent instruction is a key priority across colleges and universities in the United States, but the on-the-ground experiences and needs of college teachers are often taken for granted. When approached thoughtfully, evidence about how faculty teach can be used to make meaningful interventions into their day-to-day activities, which in turn benefits their students. Today, we’re publishing a new issue brief intended to serve as a resource for institutions working to improve their support for college instruction through cross-unit…

For over 20 years Ithaka S+R has tracked teaching and research trends through a national survey of faculty. Today we are excited to share several updates about the program. Working with our data Last year we published the findings from the US Faculty Survey and in parallel we have been working with the incredible staff at ICPSR to ensure that the associated data is made openly available at the highest level of quality for current and future use. The…

There are many intersections between public and community college libraries, both in the populations they serve and their functions within their local communities. However, there is little guidance on how to forge partnerships between these sectors to maximize resources and better serve students and the larger community. Today, I am delighted to announce the launch of a three-year research initiative funded by ECMC Foundation to help equip the library community to develop and maximize partnerships in order to better provide…

What happens when a student asks a librarian for information related to registering for classes, signing up for financial aid, or accessing mental health counseling services? These are questions community college librarians routinely respond to, though they are not directly related to librarians’ typical functions of supporting coursework or research. How might a librarian better support such a student? Last year, Ithaka S+R and the Borough of Manhattan Community College Library embarked on a two and a half year long…

Our latest US Faculty Survey examined faculty perspectives and attitudes about using and creating Open Educational Resources (OER). Not only were we able to track how these perspectives changed over time, but we were also able to understand how the pandemic affected OER consumption and creation. As expected, the adoption and creation of OER textbooks, course modules, and video lectures increased since the last national survey cycle, yet faculty indicated that they are less interested in creating and using…

Community colleges have developed a variety of services to support their students’ success, but too often these offerings are siloed in different campus units, minimizing their impact. Over the past four years, Ithaka S+R has conducted IMLS-funded research to surface the most effective collaborative strategies to break down those siloes. This action plan summarizes best practices for faculty, librarians, administrators, and others as they implement these services.