Topic: Access to higher education
Blog Post
September 30, 2019
Students Are the Experts
New Report Explores the Needs of Community College Students
How do community college students define their own success? And what services do they think will help them succeed? To find out, we started with a radical idea: students are the experts. Last year, we interviewed dozens of students at seven community colleges on their goals and unmet needs. Today, we release a new report, Student Needs Are Academic Needs, on a…
Research Report
September 30, 2019
Student Needs Are Academic Needs
Community College Libraries and Academic Support for Student Success
The Community College Libraries and Academic Support for Student Success (CCLASSS) project examines student success from the perspective of students themselves, what challenges they face in achieving it, and what services can be developed to effectively support them in their attainment of that success. In fall 2018, we surveyed 10,844 students across seven community colleges to assess the value of and demand for proposed services designed to address students’ expressed goals, challenges, and needs.
Past Event
October 25, 2019
Jenna Joo at Adaptive Lifelong Learning Pathways Workshop
From October 25-27, Jenna Joo is taking part in a workshop at the Virginia Tech National Capital Region Center in Arlington, Virginia, on “Adaptive Lifelong Learning Pathways.” The workshop is designed to build connections among participants and create opportunities to develop further research and implementation of innovative education initiatives. In order to support the implementation and outcomes of this national workshop, participants will contribute to an online living document entitled “Adaptive Lifelong Learning Pathways for an Inclusive Economy.” Participants will…
Blog Post
September 23, 2019
Supporting Postsecondary Access and Success for Rural Students
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…
Past Event
September 19, 2019
Rayane Alamuddin and Daniel Rossman at the UIA’s Proactive Advising Public Learning Event
Monitoring Academic Analytics to Promote Success (MAAPS)
On Thursday, September 19, at 9:40 am, Rayane Alamuddin and Daniel Rossman will provide an overview of data from the Monitoring Academic Analytics to Promote Success (MAAPS) project at the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) Proactive Advising Public Learning Event in Arlington, Virginia. Later that morning, Rayane is moderating the panel “Lessons from MAAPS.” Panelists include Allison Calhoun-Brown (Georgia State University), Alex Aljets (Oregon State University), and Christina King (Purdue University). These morning sessions are open to the public, and…
Past Event
September 8, 2019
Martin Kurzweil at the HAIL Innovation Leaders Summit
From Monday, September 8 – Wednesday, September 10, Martin Kurzweil is taking part in the HAIL/Innovation Leaders Summit at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. This working group is by invitation and is for institutional leadership focused on business model transformation, joined by colleagues outside of higher ed working on market transformation. For more information, please see the event website.
Past Event
September 28, 2019
Untapped Resources: Addressing Stigma & Scarcity
Christine Wolff-Eisenberg at #RealCollege
On Saturday, September 28, from 1:30-2:15, Christine Wolff-Eisenberg is speaking on “Untapped Resources: Addressing Stigma & Scarcity” at the #Real College Convening at the Houston Community College West Houston Institute. For more information and to register, please visit the #Real College website. …
Blog Post
July 18, 2019
Improving Articulation of Transfer Credit at CUNY
Although over 87 percent of new community college students at the City University of New York (CUNY) intend to transfer and complete at least a bachelor’s degree, only 11 percent do so within six years. Whether and how a student’s credits articulate during transfer can have significant consequences for these students’ educational trajectory. Students who transfer most or all of their credits are 2.5 times more likely to graduate compared to those who…
Blog Post
June 12, 2019
An Interview with Dr. David Tandberg
“North Star” Attainment Goals
David Tandberg is the Vice President for Policy Research and Strategic Initiatives at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). Dr. Tandberg is a leading expert on state higher education policy. He currently leads SHEEO in its work to connect empirical research with state policy to improve higher education opportunities for students. Ithaka S+R graciously thanks Dr. Tandberg for sharing his thoughts regarding state “north star” attainment goals. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. How…
Issue Brief
June 12, 2019
Setting a North Star
Motivations, Implications, and Approaches to State Postsecondary Attainment Goals
Higher education attainment goals can serve as a “north star” to guide states’ postsecondary policies, investments, and agendas. The extent to which state attainment goals lead to substantive improvements in college-going rates, college graduation rates, postsecondary credential attainment rates, and reductions in labor market skills gaps is as yet unclear. Further, the likelihood a state will meet its attainment goals varies by state and depends on contextual factors that are within and outside the purview of the education sector. In…
Blog Post
May 30, 2019
Mass Incarceration, Second Chance Pell, and the State of Postsecondary Education in Prison
Last week, the US Department of Education announced an expansion of its 2015 experimental initiative that provides federal Pell Funding to eligible incarcerated students. The announcement builds off other 2019 bipartisan policy initiatives — at both the federal and state levels — that aim to increase postsecondary access for the 1.5 million of adults currently held in American prisons. Given that reentry statistics suggest more than 95 percent of incarcerated adults will eventually be released, and…
Research Report
May 30, 2019
Unbarring Access
A Landscape Review of Postsecondary Education in Prison and Its Pedagogical Supports
Postsecondary education in US prisons is a growing topic in both academic and political circles. While much of the discourse surrounding higher education more broadly focuses on students’ educational and employment outcomes, the conversation around postsecondary education in prisons often centers on the societal benefits of this programming, with a strong focus on reduced recidivism rates – the rates with which formerly incarcerated individuals engage in criminal acts that result in their re-arrest, re-conviction, or re-incarceration. With 1.5 million people…
Past Event
May 21, 2019
Improving Access, Affordability and Success in American Colleges and Universities
Catharine Hill at the Third Biennial Brasenose Undergraduate Access Symposium
On Tuesday, May 21, at 5:30 pm, Catharine Hill is speaking on “Improving Access, Affordability and Success in American Colleges and Universities” at the Third Biennial Brasenose Undergraduate Access Symposium: Access to Higher Education at Oxford and Other Places. More information about this free symposium is available on the Brasenose College website.
Blog Post
May 15, 2019
What Can We Learn from Publicly Available Data on College Students’ Income Distribution?
In January 2017 researchers at the Equality of Opportunity Project—now called Opportunity Insights—released detailed data on the financial circumstances of undergraduate students at each of the vast majority of American colleges and universities. Covering students born between 1980 and 1991, and relying on tax records held by the Internal Revenue Service, the publicly available Opportunity Insights data provided a nuanced look at the family income distribution as well as subsequent earnings of a generation of college-goers. The Opportunity Insights dataset…
Research Report
May 15, 2019
Better Than We Thought
Comparing Publicly Available Data on College Students’ Income Distribution
In January 2017, a valuable new information source was introduced to the higher education community. Researchers at the Equality of Opportunity Project—now called Opportunity Insights—released detailed data on the financial circumstances of undergraduate students at each of the vast majority of American colleges and universities.[1] Covering students born between 1980 and 1991, and relying on tax records held by the Internal Revenue Service, the publicly available Opportunity Insights data provided a nuanced look at the family income distribution as well…
Past Event
May 21, 2019
Elevating Student Voices: Advancing Equity Through College Affordability
Martin Kurzweil at IHEP's 2019 National Policy Summit
On Tuesday, May 21, Martin Kurzweil will be participating in IHEP’s 2019 National Policy Summit, “Elevating Student Voices: Advancing Equity Through College Affordability.” The summit will take place in Washington DC. More information about IHEP is available on their website.
Past Event
May 7, 2019
Martin Kurzweil at the EWA National Seminar
Alternatives to College Degrees: Testing, Badging, and Microcredentials
On Tuesday, May 7, Martin Kurzweil is speaking on “Alternatives to College Degrees: Testing, Badging, and Microcredentials” at the Education Writers Association National Seminar in Baltimore. The session will run from 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm. Martin will be joined on the panel by Danielle Goonan, Walmart Foundation and Van Ton-Quinlivan, Institute for the Future. Sydney Johnson from EdSurge is moderating the discussion. For more information, and to register, please see the EWA website. About the panel: Americans looking…
Issue Brief
April 9, 2019
Technology, Georgia Tech, and the Future of Learning
An Interview with Charles Isbell
I invited Charles Isbell, Professor of Computer Science at Georgia Tech to join me at the October 2018 Bowen Colloquium, a forward-looking gathering of college and university presidents and other leaders. In addition to his work in Artificial Intelligence, Professor Isbell is the Associate Dean in the College of Computing responsible for overseeing Georgia Tech’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS). Our conversation covered a wide area, from the unsustainable costs of traditional modes of instruction to his…
Issue Brief
April 4, 2019
The Market, the American Dream, or Dreams of the Lottery
The Robert H. Atwell Plenary Address, ACE 2019
This paper was originally presented on March 10, 2019, as the Robert H. Atwell Plenary Address at ACE 2019 in Philadelphia. The income disparity in our country has been growing for 40 years, and this increasing inequality is putting pressure on the social cohesion of our nation. Commitment to our country’s institutions, including colleges and universities, and values, including equal opportunity and economic and social mobility, depends on everyone feeling that these institutions and values serve their welfare and their…
Past Event
April 29, 2019
Martin Kurzweil at the Inaugural Meeting of the Non-Degree Credentials Research Network
On April 29, Martin Kurzweil is taking part in the inaugural Non-Degree Credentials Research Network Meeting hosted by George Washington University’s Institute of Public Policy. The Non-Degree Credential Network (NCRN) is two year project funded through a grant from the Lumina Foundation and managed by researchers at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy (GWIPP). The NCRN is a small and by-invitation only group of leading researchers and key stakeholders (employers, policy makers and providers of employment, training and certification).