Blog

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 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…

As an important frontline community center, libraries play a vital role in connecting people to resources, services, and materials that meet their holistic needs. Over the past decade library services have grown to address the acute need for mental health and crisis support, especially in light of the growing issue of college students’ mental health. With suicide a leading cause of death in the United States, now increasing after a period of decline, efforts to help…

When designing a research study a key consideration is which research method—or methods—will yield the best insights. Here at Ithaka S+R we conduct applied research related to the education and cultural heritage sectors, and so we aim to collect evidence that can be used for immediate social benefit, such as towards improving policies and programs within institutions. Today we describe a method we regularly employ: manually collecting data from public facing websites. The information we can find through public websites…

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…

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant reevaluating approaches to, and the underlying goals of, assessment in academic libraries. Shifts to remote and hybrid work have accelerated digitization efforts and led libraries to rethink assessment, especially as perceptions of the library’s role and overarching purpose change. Against this backdrop, the Library Assessment Conference provided an important opportunity to take stock of how the field continues to evolve.