Blog

Today, we are sharing a new resource tracking the costs of the administration’s actions on the people who make the research enterprise possible. As universities adjust their budgets to reflect these new realities, we are seeing what is likely the first wave of layoffs and program cuts. These cuts have immediate consequences for both university staff, faculty, and students and on local economies. The loss of the human expertise required to conduct and administer research, and reduced opportunities for new…

While the rapid evolution of generative AI is transforming teaching and learning in higher education, many instructors face this shift without clear frameworks or shared strategies, placing pressure on centers for teaching and learning to develop new programming. This challenge is at the heart of a new Ithaka S+R cohort project in collaboration with the California State University (CSU) system, “Teaching and Learning with AI.” The project kicked off in September, connecting CSU centers for teaching and learning interested in…

On September 25 and 26, Ithaka S+R hosted representatives from the programs and organizations taking part in its year-long cohort to build better college and community partnerships to support reentry, reintegration, and successful campus transitions for students who were incarcerated. This convening is part of a larger project funded by ECMC Foundation which has already produced a landscape review exploring how colleges and community organizations partner to serve reentry. The in-person event represents the mid-way point in the…

Federal financial aid for short-term certificate programs, dubbed “Workforce Pell,” is now the law of the land. By making it financially feasible for more students to enroll in these programs, this policy creates an opportunity for higher education institutions to expand existing short-term programs or offer new ones. With public confidence in higher education broadly declining over the last decade and affordability and a focus on practical skills cited as areas where higher education most needs to improve,…

On September 27, I joined more than 100 advocates for students’ basic needs at the second annual Carolinas College Food Insecurity Summit at Newberry College in South Carolina. Participants gathered from across North and South Carolina, as well as Georgia, to share ideas, strategies, and challenges in addressing students’ basic needs. The event began with a welcome from David Coffman, who helps lead Newberry College’s Wolves Pantry, and reminded us that the tables in our lives, whether at…

We recently convened the first workshop for the NSF-funded Advancing AI Implementation at Emerging Research Institutions, a project collaboratively led by Ithaka S+R, Montclair State University, and Chapman University. The workshop brought together 31 participants from 13 academic and medical institutions, as well as from an electronic research administration system provider to ask: how can research administrators at ERIs leverage AI to build more sustainable and equitable research capacity?…

Beneath the headlines of white collar lay-offs as companies explore the potential of generative AI to do entry-level office work, another change to the workforce is happening that may be of more immediate concern to current students and higher education institutions. The college internship is changing along with the rest of the American employment landscape. Students and administrators alike should prepare for what is happening now and begin thinking about what may happen over the next several years.

Prior research on the value of a liberal arts and sciences education has traditionally relied on two proxies for whether students receive a liberal education: what they majored in or what type of institution they attended. We contend that this view is limited. Rather than assume that major and institutional type are adequate proxies, our 2020 research led us to develop a clearer, more comprehensive definition and measure of a liberal education.

Earlier today, we launched the 2025 US Researcher Survey. Adapted from the US Faculty Survey, this new survey is designed to provide actionable insights about how academic libraries, research offices, academic publishers, and other stakeholders can best support researchers and ensure the health and vitality of the research enterprise.

When people discuss the value of a liberal arts degree, one stereotype often emerges: the humanities graduate working at a coffee shop. This trope is widely used, but it does not reflect the evidence. In reality, graduates with liberal arts degrees, as we define them, are employed across nearly every sector of the economy, and in jobs at all levels of earnings.

With support from ECMC Foundation, Ithaka S+R is forming a network of rural-serving institutions supporting student success and economic mobility. The two-year grant will help rural-serving institutions support community college transfer students and adult learners, and align their program offerings with local workforce needs. Rural-serving institutions are engines of opportunity and vital to their communities. Yet, many face unique challenges: shifting demographics, declining enrollment, and limited resources. Boosting enrollment, improving student outcomes, and aligning degree offerings with local and…

Earlier this month, Empire State University announced that, with funding from ECMC Foundation and in collaboration with Ithaka S+R, Buffalo State University, and SUNY Fredonia, it is undertaking a new project to analyze, pilot, and evaluate affordable course material models. Ithaka S+R is excited to be part of this important work and continue our research on open educational resources. Beyond making college more affordable, low- and no-cost course materials can help address institutional goals beyond affordability, such as…

Adult learners are frequently overlooked, but are an increasingly important student population. According to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, there are 37.6 million adult learners under 65 with some college credit, but no credential in the US and this number is increasing. In response to this challenge, Ithaka S+R is working across the United States to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pathways for returning adult learners.

We are excited to announce the publication of a special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education, now available online and in print, featuring a series of original research articles that examine strategies for improving lower-income student success at high-graduation-rate institutions. You can read about the American Talent Initiative grant program that funded this research here, and find short summaries of the articles here. This special issue brings together a wide range of perspectives and methodologies, offering…

On August 15, 2025, the US Department of Education published a notice in the Federal Register announcing proposed revisions to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The proposed changes would expand data collection to include new items on college admissions and applicants, such as standardized test scores, family income, information on students who apply but are not admitted, and disaggregate the data in very complex ways. Stakeholders are invited to comment on these revisions as part of…

As the “normal” higher education experience continues to evolve, to better serve students colleges and universities must not only work closely together across systems and regions, but they must also collaborate with K-12, employer, and community partners. These essential collaborations, when effective, can result in an interconnected ecosystem of learning opportunities that seamlessly connect students to careers. At the August convening of the holistic credit mobility acceleration cohort, participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of cross-sector collaboration within…

On August 8, 2025, we convened 40 people representing a wide range of perspectives to discuss strategies for sustaining open source software (OSS) that is used for research. Sustainability is a major challenge for even the most successful open source software, which requires ongoing community engagement to improve and maintain code. Sustainability also includes identifying a viable financial model, establishing project governance, building the technology infrastructure, and navigating legal and licensing issues. OSS for research often faces further challenges,…

This summer I attended and presented at two library conferences, the annual American Library Association (ALA) and the annual American Association of Law Librarians meetings. I participated in four panel discussions that focused on how libraries can better serve people inside and outside of prison. If you weren’t able to attend, I have provided some of my insights in this blog. If you are interested in hearing more, please reach out to me at Tammy.Ortiz@ithaka.org. In recent years, ALA…

In September 2025, we are convening a new Integrating AI Literacy into the Curricula cohort to help colleges and universities move from ad hoc experimentation to sustainable, curriculum-integrated practice. Building on the momentum of our spring activities with 45 participating institutions, we will apply the same cross-campus approach that centers collaboration between libraries and educators, helping translate research into practical, shareable models. Our reflections from the spring cohort meetings captured a landscape of both progress and fragmentation. Some…

Higher education leaders have long struggled to answer two deceptively simple questions: “where do our graduates work?” and “what are they earning?” Response rates to surveys that historically collect this information are declining, individual state data systems typically do not track graduates across state lines, and commercial datasets with these data are opaque and costly. The US Census Bureau’s Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) program provides a compelling alternative by linking de-identified college and university graduate records with national employment and…