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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…
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…
December 16, 2022

Reflecting on the Ithaka S+R Fellowship Program

A Conversation with Two Former Fellows

Each year, Ithaka S+R welcomes a cohort of early-career researchers to join our team as fellows. Over the course of 12-16 weeks, the program immerses the fellows in our projects and partnerships, providing the opportunity to make real contributions to research that tackles critical challenges in higher education, advances equity, and fosters innovation.
March 16, 2022

What Role(s) Do Stakeholders Play in an Advising Technology Implementation?

A New Report Outlines Nine Personas Taken on by Key Stakeholders in an Advising Technology Implementation 

Holistic advising is a resource-intensive yet beneficial practice that prioritizes being student-centered in the institutional process of undergraduate academic advising. This approach has gained prominence within the higher education landscape for its potential to better support student communities that have historically been insufficiently served by more transactional approaches to advising, including students of color, first-generation students, and students experiencing poverty. Given the comprehensive nature of holistic advising, institutions have increasingly turned to technology to support the students, staff,…
October 22, 2020

Student and Faculty Voices on the Emergency Shift to Remote Learning

An Exploratory Study at a Large Urban Institution

The emergency shift to remote learning that took place during the spring 2020 term in response to the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented disruptions for students and faculty across colleges and universities, nationwide, and globally. As online and hybrid models of learning become prolonged solutions for institutions seeking to contend with the realities and continued uncertainties of the pandemic, the field can gain valuable and actionable insights from the lived experiences of students and faculty at the height of the…
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August 31, 2020

Conducting Virtual Focus Groups

A Short Methodology Case Study for Social Scientists

In June of 2020, Ithaka S+R conducted 18 synchronous exploratory virtual focus groups with 46 undergraduate students and 37 faculty, to assist a higher education institution in learning from its emergency transition to online learning during the spring 2020 term due to Covid-19. We will publish our findings, a time capsule of a university community’s rapid adaptation in response to COVID-19, in a public report later this year. To conduct these focus groups in the midst of the pandemic, we,…
July 30, 2020

Academic Advising Technologies in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond

Exploring the Human Element

Academic advising is one of the most ubiquitous functions in higher education and a central pillar of the student success apparatus at any institution. Prior to the emergency shift to online learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more of the administration of student life had become integrated with technology. This includes advising technologies, which are becoming both more common and sophisticated. From foundational degree audit systems to predictive analytics engines, the technologies available to support advising…