Today, 37.6 million Americans under 65 have attended some college but hold no credential to show for it, due to financial, administrative, or practical obstacles. Against this backdrop, it’s crucial that higher education institutions redouble efforts to re-engage stopped out learners. Since 2022, we’ve worked across six states to streamline the path for adults on their way to a credential of value. In Pennsylvania, we’ve collaborated with the PA Department of…
Past Events
Catharine Bond Hill, John B. King, Jr. and David Brooks at the ATI Presidential Summit
Accelerating Holistic Credit Mobility – What is it? Why now?
The Credit Mobility Convening, hosted by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), will bring together stakeholders from Pennsylvania and surrounding states who care to improve credit mobility, with breakout sessions highlighting promising approaches related to improving transfer and credit mobility, technology tools to improve transfer resources for students, and granting credit for prior learning and military experiences. Madeline Trimble will provide an opening address laying out the holistic credit mobility framework and why it matters, and Pooja Patel…
Ctrl+Alt+Innovate
Transforming the Curriculum with AI
Integrating AI into undergraduate education requires contributions from across the university. In a roundtable discussion at the Educause Annual Conference 2025, Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger will join Benjamin Brand, Jan Lewis, and Kimberly Acquaviva to share how they are using AI and the unique contributions they can make to university goals related to AI. They will also discuss opportunities for collaboration across the university to support teaching and learning with and about AI. The session is scheduled for October…
Open Research, Open Science
Is Your Software Ready?
The research enterprise is increasingly reliant on open source software (OSS), propelled by the momentum of the open science movement and evolving funder mandates. However, many researchers lack the tools and frameworks to ensure long-term OSS sustainability. This August, the Apereo Foundation and Ithaka S+R, with support from the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative sustainability framework workshop, worked to help close this gap. The workshop brought OSS leaders from across higher education,…
The Liberal Arts in Challenging Times
Join us for a conversation on the future of the liberal arts in today’s uncertain and challenging times, on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET. Hear from leaders in higher education as they discuss the value of a liberal arts education and strategies for strengthening it across the higher education sector. Register today Catharine Bond Hill, managing director of Ithaka S+R and former president of Vassar College, will…
Transfer Explorer
Early Successes, Lessons Learned, and What Comes Next
At the 2025 South Carolina Transfer Excellence Convening, Ithaka S+R will present a session on the early experiences and successes of South Carolina colleges and universities participating in the Transfer Explorer project. Emily Tichenor and Chris Buonocore will join Lloyd Willis (Lander University), Leslie Barrett Brown (Coastal Carolina University), and Crystal Edwards (Aiken Technical College) to share lessons learned from the pilot period and a roadmap for Transfer Explorer growth in the state and nationally. This session is scheduled…
The Transfer Scorecard
What Is It and How Could It Be Used?
Transfer student success is a function of many different factors. Some student and environmental characteristics increase the probability that a community college student will successfully transfer to and graduate from a bachelor’s college, and others decrease that probability. On September 30, 2025 at 10am ET, CUNY’s Bronx Transfer Affinity Group will host a webinar to describe some of these possible characteristics and how we have been able to use them to predict the likelihood of transfer student success for particular…
Beyond Knowledge
How to Optimize eBooks Collection Strategies to Meet Growing Access Demand
With the ever-increasing demands for digital resources and the ever-evolving needs of researchers, higher education libraries face tough decisions on how to allocate budgets effectively. In a webinar hosted by Elsevier, featuring Ithaka S+R’s Tracy Bergstrom, a panel will discuss various e-book purchasing and access options, focusing on how each model works, key considerations, and practical guidance on selecting the best fit for your institution’s needs. The panel is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at…
Looking Forward From Different Stakeholder Perspectives
At the FAIR Facilities and Instruments workshop, Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger will participate in a panel with Shawna Sadler (ORCID). The panel is scheduled for September 24 at 9:15-10:30am, and will take place at the NSF NCAR Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. See the full schedule.
GAI and Our Classrooms
In a webinar hosted by Princeton University’s McGraw Center for Teaching & Learning, Ithaka S+R’s Claire Baytas and Dylan Ruediger will present findings from their research on generative AI’s impact on college teaching and learning, alongside Sami Kahn (Executive Director of the Center on Science and Technology, Princeton University). This session is scheduled to take place on September 18 at 4:30pm. Learn more about the event.
The Chronicle’s Strategic-Leadership Program for Deans
Executive-Level Skills for Leading Through Tubulence
Ithaka S+R’s Martin Kurzweil will be leading a program alongside Carolyn Dever, George Justice, and Liz McMillen for the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Strategic-Leadership Program for Deans will involve discussions and workshops about the leadership roles of college deans and how to navigate the changing landscape of higher education, with seminars and workshops on fundraising, crisis management, networking, and much more. Register and learn more about the event, scheduled for September 2025.
Community Partnerships, Reentry, and Higher Education in Prison
RiseUp Virtual Conference
At the RiseUp Virtual Conference on September 8, 2025, Ess Pokornowski will participate in a session on “Community Partnerships, Rentry, and Higher Education in Prison.” View the schedule to learn more about the event.
Making AI Generative for Higher Education
Products and Uses
At the IDEA Institute for AI, Ithaka S+R’s Claire Baytas will give a keynote talk on “Making AI Generative for Higher Education,” discussing products and uses for AI. The session will take place on August 26 at 9:00am ET. See the full schedule to learn more.
Supporting Adult Learners
Enrollment Strategies from a Pennsylvania Community of Practice
On August 13, 2025, Elizabeth Looker will be presenting and moderating a panel at the Higher Education Policy Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 10:00 AM-10:45 AM CST. With 36.8 million adults having some college experience but no degree (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2024), re-engaging this population is critical as institutions face enrollment declines and workforce shortages. In Pennsylvania, nearly 100 representatives from 51 institutions have joined a year-long Adult Learner Re-Engagement Community of Practice, facilitated by Ithaka S+R…
Holistic Solutions for Counting All Learning
2025 Higher Education Policy Conference
Ithaka S+R’s Elise McNeely and Kyle Gray will be presenting and moderating a panel at the 2025 Higher Education Policy Conference. This panel will feature speakers from a research organization and two states discussing their efforts to support mobile postsecondary students in navigating credit mobility following a holistic model. They will share insights from their states’ participation in a recent case study and ongoing community of practice focused on approaches to holistic credit mobility to spread awareness of successful…
From Roadblocks to Roadmaps
Implementing Smart Transfer Policies and Practices Across States
On August 12, 2025, at the Higher Education Policy Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ithaka S+R’s Martin Kurzweil will participate in a panel session exploring the critical intersections between state policy and higher education transfer student success, focusing on Kansas, Missouri, and South Carolina. As states strive to enhance degree attainment and workforce readiness, effective transfer policies are essential for improving student outcomes, particularly for historically underrepresented and nontraditional students. This session will highlight innovative state-level policies, cross-sector collaboration, and…
Data with Purpose
Advancing Educational and Reentry Outcomes Through BID
This session at the Correctional Education Association 79th International Conference and Training Event will explore the critical role of data collection in supporting the Best Interest Determination (BID) process, emphasizing why this practice is essential for informed decision-making and effective service delivery. Ithaka S+R will provide attendees with insight into data collection, reporting, and evaluation processes and infrastructure from a broad, systems-level perspective, mapping the data landscape across stakeholder institutions and charting how it might shape policy and be used…
Research in Practice
Activating New Resources for Advancing Educational Technology in Corrections
At the 2025 Correctional Education Association (CEA) Conference, Ithaka S+R’s Ess Pokornowski led a workshop with Jenna Dreier and Stacy Holliday (Jobs for the Future) on activating new resources for advancing educational technology in corrections. The session took place in August 2025.
Improving Transfer Student Pathways
Coalition for College Annual Meeting & Conference
In 2024, several Coalition for College member institutions were selected for an American Talent Initiative grant aimed to fund efforts to support limited-income students. In this session, hear from three Coalition members whose projects focus on improving transfer pathways, specifically: Drexel University, for formalizing a direct admission transfer program with the Community College of Philadelphia; Stony Brook University, for implementing a dual admission program with Suffolk County Community College; and Stevens Institute of Technology for Creating the Stevens Transfer Student…
College and Beyond II
Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Sponsored Research
With support from the Mellon Foundation and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship for Research on the Liberal Arts funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF), Ithaka S+R has undertaken a research project to understand the relationship between students’ exposure to a liberal education and their subsequent economic returns. On Friday, July 18, Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta and Daniel Rossman will provide an update on their research at the College and Beyond II convening at the American Council of…