Access-oriented, tuition-dependent colleges and universities are grappling with ways to enroll more new students and retain those already enrolled. At the 2024 SREB Student Success Summit in Kentucky on September 10, Ithaka S+R’s Daniel Rossman will lead a session describing key findings and takeaways from Ithaka S+R’s recent engagements with three four-year institutions in which Ithaka S+R collected and analyzed student data to uncover barriers to retention and present strategies and recommendations for addressing them. …
Past Events
Catharine Bond Hill, John B. King, Jr. and David Brooks at the ATI Presidential Summit
Why Is College So Expensive and What Can We Do About It?
“Why is college so expensive and what can we do about it?” It’s no secret that higher education costs have skyrocketed in recent years, presenting serious challenges for students, families, and policymakers alike. This presentation at the Council for Opportunity in Education conference on Tuesday, September 10 from 10:15am – 11:30am will delve into the intricate factors propelling the high cost of higher education, offering insights into the underlying dynamics shaping the landscape. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding…
Why Is College So Expensive and What Can We Do About It?
It’s no secret that higher education costs have skyrocketed in recent years presenting serious challenges for students, families, and policymakers alike. This presentation at the Council for Opportunity in Education’s TRIO Turns 60 Annual Conference will delve into the intricate factors propelling the high cost of higher education, offering insights into the underlying dynamics shaping the landscape. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of key drivers such as administrative bloat, declining state funding, and the proliferation of non-academic services.
Assessing the Civic Campus with Ithaka S+R
On September 6 at 2:00-3:00pm ET, join AASCU and Ithaka S+R for an interactive webinar that shares insights from a recent report exploring the link between higher education and civic engagement. The report draws on studies from the past few decades and focuses on how researchers and practitioners define civic engagement, the nature of the relationship between higher education and civic behaviors and attitudes, the equity implications of civic education, and what the research says about the effectiveness…
Navigating Teaching and Research in the Age of Generative AI
Highlights from Ithaka S+R’s Product Tracker and Instructor Survey
Ithaka S+R’s Claire Baytas will present on “Navigating Teaching and Research in the Age of Generative AI” at the Society for Scholarly Publishing’s Community of Interest group on AI in Scholarly Publishing. The session will share highlights from Ithaka S+R’s GenAI Product Tracker and insights from the 2024 national survey of college instructors and their usage of generative AI.
What’s Next for AI
Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger and Claire Baytas will present on the future of AI and higher education at the Rogers State University Fall Convocation, schedule to take place on Thursday August 15th.
Engagement to Enrollment
State Approaches to Support Returning Adult Learners
Adult learners with Some College, No Credential (SCNC) frequently experience barriers to enrollment when they return to college, including administrative and financial challenges such as student account holds and past due balances. While many states have passed laws that prohibit or limit the use of transcript holds in recent years, new regulations from the Department of Education limit transcript withholding nationally as of July 2024. With this policy change as a foundation to the session, leaders from three states that…
Universal Credit Transfer Explorer
States Collaborating to Open the Black Box of Credit Mobility
Losing credits when transferring to a new institution prevents many college students–especially Black and Hispanic students, older students, and lower-income students–from earning a degree. To support these students and the institutions that serve them, Ithaka S+R and three SHEEO agencies are launching a non-profit, national, credit mobility website in mid-2024. Unique among similar services, the “universal credit transfer explorer” will show how credits earned elsewhere transfer and apply toward degree programs at the multiple destination colleges and universities featured on…
Aligning Policy and Practice to Address the Barriers Students Encounter from Institutional Debt
At the 2024 SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference, Ithaka S+R’s Brittany Pearce, Maggie McGrath (Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland), Drew Felberg (Stark State College), and Mike Duffey (Chancellor, ODHE) will discuss two innovative projects aimed at addressing institutional debt in Ohio that impacts student enrollment, persistence, and completion rates, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds and students of color. View the full schedule and join the session on August 6 at 2:00-2:45 pm ET.
Reentry Services: College and Community Partnership Models and Practices (A Discussion)
While the reinstatement of federal Pell grant funding and developments in the field, have turned attention toward higher education in prison programs, explorations of how higher education in prison programs can best provide reintegration support and continuing education post-release are only just beginning. In addition to the host of complex challenges that individuals who are incarcerated face upon release—such as obtaining housing, employment, food, transportation, documentation, technology, etc.—continuing students are faced with additionally navigating and finding community and belonging within…
Strengthening Digital Equity and Education Technology Use in Prison
Recent changes in the education in prison landscape, ranging from the reinstatement of federal Pell grant funding to post-pandemic technology experimentation, are making educational technology more available inside. As availability grows, research and evaluation on educational technology use and instruction inside is shifting from questions of access to explorations of how technology can be integrated to increase digital and educational equity. This interactive session at the Correctional Education Association (CEA)’s 2024 Conference, co-led by…
The Role of Trustees in Risk Oversight: What Leaders Need to Know
NACUBO 2024
Today’s higher education issues highlighted throughout media sources range from enrollment declines, to diminished trust, business model challenges, and questions about the value of a college education. When a serious risk event occurs, key stakeholders, including students, parents, alumni, the community, and regulators, inevitably ask: Where were the trustees? Were they aware of these risks? Did they exercise proper oversight? In a session at NACUBO 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago, trustee and administrator panelists will discuss their views on communicating…
Chess or Tic-Tac-Toe: Strategies to Build Bridges in Civic Engagement
Ithaka S+R’s Ioana Hulbert will participate in a panel discussion at the AASCU 2024 Summer Meeting for Academic and Student Affairs Leaders. On Friday, July 19 at 8:30-9:20am, the session will focus on strategies to build bridges in civic engagement, with Catherine Copeland, Timothy K. Eatman, Steven Koether, Elizabeth Parmelee, and Willie Redmond. She will share more insights from Ithaka S+R’s recent collaboration with AASCU on the link between higher education and civic engagement in a poster session on…
Transfer Data Transparency as a Catalyst for Change
AACRAO Technology & Transfer Virtual Summit
Transfer process information is often inaccessible. What happens when details like transcript evaluation time, transfer credit applicability rate, and time to degree for transfer students are made visible to all? Institutions improve those outcomes. In a session at the 2024 AACRAO Technology & Transfer Summit, Ithaka S+R’s Martin Kurzweil and Queens College of CUNY’s Christopher Vickery will show how CUNY’s transfer information was brought into the light of day with positive effects. The presentation will include a demonstration of…
The Library and Institutional Success
The Chronicle of Higher Education and Ithaka S+R are partnering to provide library leaders a professional development program tailored to their unique challenges and goals. This two-week virtual program is designed to empower participants to develop their leadership skills and drive institutional success. The first week of this program will offer librarians a chance to dive into three core seminars. These high-level, large-format seminars will include insights on national trends, the higher ed business model, and the library’s role in institutional initiatives.
Evidence-based Practices to Advance Adult Student Success
Join Brittany Pearce and Dr. Chris Kacir at the SHEEO Communities of Practice: Student Success conference on June 27 for a session at 11:30-12:15 on evidence-based practice to advance adult student success. The session will highlight the growing population of adult learners, discuss some of the unique challenges to supporting this population, and share evidence-based interventions and initiatives that support access and student success, and make the case for developing strong relationships between SHEEO agencies and organizations committed to…
Library Technologies
Join Roger Schonfeld, Ithaka S+R Vice President, Organizational Strategy and Libraries, Scholarly Communication, and Museums, and members of the SCONUL Horizons Strategy Group to explore the evolving landscape on library technologies on June 25 from 1:30 – 3:00pm. The webinar marks the launch of a new project considering the community’s relationship with its suppliers in the context of the increasing vertical and horizontal integration of the provider markets, and growing pressure on library budgets in the UK. The project will be…
Benefits of Summer Engagement and Transition Support for Incoming First-Year Students
Insights From the Kessler Scholars Program
First-generation students often enter college with limited knowledge of that environment. Targeted summer programs that introduce campus resources, build community, and prepare these students for college can foster belonging and ease the college transition. In this session at NASPA’s 2024 First-Generation Student Success Conference, staff at Bates College and the University of Dayton will share their experiences of implementing summer programs for Kessler Scholars, and leaders from Ithaka S+R and the Kessler Scholars Collaborative will share the benefits of…
Adult Re-Engagement with FAFSA and Higher Education
As the population of adults with some college but no credential (SCNC) continues to increase, institutions are turning their attention toward reengaging and reenrolling this key segment of the market. Expanding access for adult learners is vital to meeting enrollment goals and also key to meeting workforce needs and equipping adult learners with SCNC with the skills and credentials necessary for the most in-demand and rewarding jobs. While some challenges to returning are well-known—family obligations, work requirements, stranded credits—sometimes, a…
AI and Open Research
At the 2024 CZI Open Science Meeting, Ithaka S+R’s Dylan Ruediger participated in a panel discussion on “AI and Open Research,” alongside Kristi Holmes, Milton Pividori, and Kristie Whitaker.