tag: Rural students

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…

In February I attended two virtual conferences—From Small Town to Campus (February 10-11) and Roadmaps to Rural Student Success (February 23-24)—both centering on the experiences of rural students pursuing and obtaining higher education degrees. A bevy of speakers and attendees shared personal experiences about growing up rural or working with students from rural backgrounds. As these talented individuals spoke on the advantages and challenges associated with rural student success, a number of themes emerged, not only across sessions,…

The American Talent Initiative (ATI), a coalition of high-graduation-rate colleges and universities committed to enrolling and graduating more low- and middle-income students, began a webinar series on special interest topics that we hope will elevate best practices in recruiting talented low- and moderate-income students. This summer, we hosted a webinar on the challenges of identifying, recruiting, and enrolling rural students. In this post, we summarize the key research and best practices presented on the webinar. What is the definition…