Blog
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…
October 7, 2024
Looking at Learning Spaces for Higher Education in Prison Programs
What does equitable access to quality instruction look like in a carceral context? How can higher education in prison programs fulfill their obligation to provide their students with an educational experience that is as close as possible to the one of students on main campuses? Drawing on interviews with former students, higher education in prison program personnel, and department of corrections staff members, our new report documents what instructional conditions are like in carceral spaces, and how those conditions…
September 30, 2024
An Introduction to Reentry Service Provision and Community Partnership for College Administrators
New Report
When revised federal Pell Grant regulations went into effect in July of 2023, one of the provisions stipulated that college in prison programs would now be obliged to document how they or the organizations they partner with provide reentry services. Ithaka S+R’s new report, Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships, examines how colleges and community organizations can best partner to deliver effective services for reintegrating students. This report represents the first findings from a multi-year project…
September 27, 2024
Building Data Collection and Evaluation Capacity for Higher Education in Prisons
A New Project Supported by Ascendium Education Group
The reinstatement of Pell Grant funding for people who are incarcerated presents a dramatic opportunity for learners in prison, but it also poses a complex challenge. As more educational programs become available for individuals in prison, it’s essential that departments of corrections (DOCs) and higher education in prison programs are able to measure program effectiveness, quality, and impact over time–including by collecting data on student enrollment, academic outcomes, completion rates and more. To collect and use these data, DOCs, state…
September 19, 2024
The American Talent Initiative Student Success Research Grant Program Funds Five Mission-Aligned Projects
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) is committed to creating postsecondary opportunities for low- and moderate-income students and expanding this group’s access to high-graduation-rate institutions. ATI supports its member institutions by organizing communities of practice to enable peer-to-peer sharing among institutions, collecting and analyzing data to identify trends and best-practices, creating practical analytic tools to develop effective financial aid strategies, and advising presidents on ways to increase the pipeline of low- and moderate-income students into their institutions. To further this…
September 11, 2024
From Drawing to Doing
The Implementation of Cross-Campus Research Data Services Solutions
In February 2023, Ithaka S+R launched Building Campus Strategies for Coordinated Data Support, a project designed to help universities create viable strategies for delivering and sustaining research data service across campus. Following workshops to conceptualize new approaches or solutions to service delivery, cohort teams revisited some of the design thinking activities on their own campuses and honed in on a tangible idea or solution to implement.
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September 5, 2024
Highlights from the SHEEO Annual Policy Conference
State Higher Education Executives Convene to Talk Policy, Research, and Data
Last month, several Ithaka S+R staff members attended—and presented at—the State Higher Education Executive Officers annual policy conference in Washington, DC. Themes from the conference included how states are addressing the current skepticism about the value of higher education, the importance of aligning higher education to meet workforce needs, the growth of artificial intelligence and its impact on the higher education sector, re-engagement of adult learners, improving transfer, and the importance of using research data to support policy- and…
September 4, 2024
Improving Holistic Credit Mobility to Help Adult Learners Succeed
A New RFP from Ithaka S+R and Complete College America
Today’s postsecondary students accumulate credits from various sources of learning, and most attend multiple institutions on their path to earning a credential. This presents challenges for the states, systems, and institutions as they work to support these students on their educational journeys. To help the higher education community find solutions, Ithaka S+R and Complete College America are launching a coalition of institutions committed to advancing comprehensive methods of credit transfer. We call this approach holistic credit mobility. …
August 27, 2024
Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Highlights from the 2024 Kessler Scholars Collaborative Annual Convening
Last month, leadership and staff from the 16 partner institutions of the Kessler Scholars Collaborative gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the annual Kessler Scholars Summer Convening. The Kessler Scholars Collaborative brings together campus partner staff each summer for an annual convening designed to build community, foster opportunities for shared learning, and support the growth and advancement of first-generation students. The 2024 convening was co-hosted by the Collaborative and the University of Pittsburgh, and included representatives from Ithaka S+R, the Aspen…
August 22, 2024
Exploring the Landscape of College Instruction
Highlights from the 2024 US Instructor Survey
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…
August 21, 2024
Increasing Adult and Latino Adult Student Success
New Report from Ithaka S+R and CAEL on the Latino and Adult Student Success Academy
Latino student enrollment at postsecondary institutions has increased significantly over the past few decades. Between 1980 and 2020, the number of Latino students enrolled at a degree-granting institution in the United States grew from 470,000, representing just four percent of students enrolled in a postsecondary institution, to 3.7 million students, representing 20 percent. Despite this tremendous growth, Latinos are less likely to be enrolled in college or have a bachelor’s degree than Asian, White, and Black Americans. However,…
August 15, 2024
Three Questions for Tommaso Bardelli
Last month, Ithaka S+R welcomed Tommaso Bardelli as our new principal of justice initiatives. In this interview, we asked Tommaso about his past experience in the higher education in prison space, challenges and opportunities in the field, and the future of the work.
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August 6, 2024
Using Student Data to Tackle Attrition and Boost Student Success and Retention
Despite gains in higher education enrollment in the 2023-24 academic year–the first increase following years of enrollment declines–an impending drop in the country’s college-going population threatens the prospect of future enrollment growth and stability. To that end, colleges and universities need timely and data-driven insights on the drivers of attrition and the policies that might impede or support progress to better meet the needs of students and increase student success and ultimately retention.
August 2, 2024
The Role of the Law Library in Serving Incarcerated Individuals
Announcing a New IMLS-Funded Project
Access to legal information is both a legal right and crucial need for people who are incarcerated, yet little comprehensive data exists regarding how that information is provided or about the quality or accessibility of services available to individuals in prison. While anecdotal evidence suggests that law librarians are playing a key role in bridging this service gap, there is a lack of information about best practices and models, as well as about the state of the profession’s capacity to…
August 1, 2024
New Report on Library Collaborations in Collection Development
Although libraries have a long tradition of working together to improve their collections and related services, collaborations should not be viewed as a panacea. As the landscape of scholarly resources evolve, to be effective and tactical, collaborations need to carefully balance their collective and institutional priorities while remaining responsive to the user needs and behavior. Today, we share a new report on the governance and business characteristics of collaborative collection development initiatives. We intentionally focus on governance models as…
July 30, 2024
Using Student Data to Understand the Economic Value of a Liberal Education
Announcing a New Project
The question of the economic value of the liberal arts and sciences has long captivated the public imagination and vexed stakeholders across the higher education landscape. Proponents argue that exposure to a liberal education prepares students to think critically, communicate effectively, and adapt flexibly to the changing demands of the labor market. Critics argue that without the technical or “hard” skills sought in our increasingly technology-driven economy, students will not succeed in the job market and earn high wages. Now,…
July 25, 2024
Academic Freedom in the Classroom
Results from a New Survey of Faculty Members
To what degree are faculty facing challenges to academic freedom in their instructional practices? Are there topics they avoid when talking to their fellow faculty or students? Do they feel safe on campus and supported by their institution? These are some of the topics we probed in a special section of a national survey of US Faculty fielded earlier this year.
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July 23, 2024
Next Steps in Student Mobility
Ithaka S+R and Complete College America Partner to Support Student Success through Holistic Credit Mobility Policies, Practices, and Technologies
The typical postsecondary student of 2024 accumulates credits from multiple sources and attends multiple institutions before earning a credential. Yet many of our state, system, and institutional policies and practices have not adapted to this reality. To help address this challenge and support the higher education community in better serving today’s mobile students, Ithaka S+R and Complete College America are collaborating on a new, multi-faceted project, with funding from Ascendium Education Group. Through conducting research, launching a cohort of networks…
July 18, 2024
Defining Undergraduate Research Across Disciplines
Takeaways from ConnectUR
Identified as a high-impact practice by the American Association of Colleges and Universities in 2008, undergraduate research, scholarship, or creative activity is known to be especially transformative for underrepresented students, who are likely to face more barriers to participation. While most scholarship and funding of undergraduate research experiences is centered on the sciences, universities are making efforts to provide equivalent experiences for undergraduates in the arts, humanities, and social sciences—especially in the first two years of undergraduate study.
July 17, 2024
Institutions Are Shifting Practices to Comply with a Ban on Transcript Withholding
A new national ban on most transcript withholding took effect this month. The policy, which was announced in fall 2023, is intended to ensure students can access their academic records and minimize the number of credits which are stranded. The new rules direct institutions not to withhold transcripts for any academic terms in which a student received federal financial aid, if the student has fully paid or has a payment plan in place for any unpaid balance. This national ban…