Topic: Higher education costs
Research Report
November 9, 2023
Institutional Supports for Students with Stranded Credits
Survey Results from the Ohio College Comeback Compact
As of 2023, 43.6 million borrowers owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. The burden of debt negatively impacts borrowers' ability to provide for their families, purchase a car, or buy a home. However, there is another, often overlooked, institutional debt that students may owe their former institutions after stopping out. It is estimated that 6.6 million students owe $15 billion in unpaid balances to their institutions.
Blog Post
November 8, 2023
Op-Ed in The Hill Highlights Opportunities Following Education Department’s New Transcript Withholding Ban
Almost exactly three years after Ithaka S+R first published national research on “stranded credits”—credits that students have earned but can’t access because their college is holding their transcript and blocking registration until they pay a balance due—the federal government is on the verge of eliminating transcript withholding as a debt collection practice. In a new op-ed in The Hill, we discuss a package of regulations issued by the US Education Department and aimed at protecting beneficiaries of…
Blog Post
October 5, 2023
Pell Restoration for People in Prison
Webinar Recording and Additional Resources
On September 29, we hosted a webinar, “Pell 101: Information for Librarians and Those Serving People in Prison,” to share information about the restoration of Pell funding for students who are incarcerated. Panelists included prison education journalist and Open Campus reporter Charlotte West, Vera Institute of Justice Associate Initiative Director Ruth Delaney, and NASFAA Education Specialist Sheila Meiman. We’re pleased to share the recording here. Below, you will also find our panelists’ responses to questions raised during the…
Blog Post
September 28, 2023
Is Your University Building a Custom AI Platform?
In June 2023, the University of Michigan’s Generative AI Committee released a report with a list of recommendations for how to adapt to increased use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT. One of the committee’s key recommendations was that the university provide “secure and equitable access to GenAI platforms and tools for the entire U-M community.” To meet this need, the University of Michigan launched a custom AI…
Blog Post
September 27, 2023
After Successful Pilot, the Ohio College Comeback Compact Moves to Full Implementation
The Ohio College Comeback Compact successfully concluded its pilot year, demonstrating proof of concept for a novel program aimed at re-enrolling college students with stranded credits and settling the institutional debt they owed their former institutions. The Compact is advancing to a full implementation at the eight original public colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio for the 2023-24 academic year. And, with generous support from Lumina Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, Ithaka S+R will be…
Past Event
November 8, 2023
Four Perspectives on Re-Enrolling Adult Learners and Supporting Them Through Completion
In this session at the CAEL Conference on November 8 at 1:40-2:30pm ET in Key Ballroom 1, panelists will discuss the challenges they see and their approaches to supporting adults to complete their postsecondary education. Ithaka S+R’s Liz Looker will speak on stranded credits and Ithaka S+R’s projects to support adult learners seeking to complete their credentials, including the Ohio College Comeback Compact. Other panelists include Steve Ast, Mike Krause, and Dr. Mark Sorrells. Learn more about the…
Past Event
September 12, 2023
Solving the Stranded Credits Problem
Today, 6.6 million students are facing the challenge of “stranded credits”—credits that cannot be transferred between colleges. In a system of competing higher ed institutions, a never-ending discussion on which courses count toward credits has resulted in a portion of the US population left in a perpetual state of near-completion toward a degree. Sometimes, these students have unpaid bills to colleges, so their transcripts are withheld. Underprivileged students are often disproportionately affected. In an upcoming virtual forum on September…
Past Event
November 9, 2023
Increasing Adult Learner Enrollment and Resolving Stranded Credits
“Stranded credits” are credits that students have earned but can’t access because their former institution is holding their transcript as collateral for an unpaid balance to the institution. Ninety-five percent of institutions withhold transcripts when students have a balance, and Ithaka S+R estimates that 6.6 million students nationally have stranded credits. Like student loan debt, stranded credits are inequitably distributed: institutions with higher shares of students of color and Pell-eligible students are estimated to have more former students…
Past Event
July 19, 2023
Addressing Return on Investment in Higher Education
Students and the general public are increasingly interested in whether higher education is worth the cost. While it is important to showcase the value of higher education beyond individual economic benefits, we must also directly respond to the growing skepticism of higher education’s cost and economic benefits. One clear way to showcase the extent to which higher education is a worthwhile investment is to measure a student’s return on investment (ROI) from their degree or credential. In this session, a…
Past Event
May 18, 2023
Martin Kurzweil at (Re)Engage Alabama
On May 18, Martin Kurzweil and Kent State University’s Chris Dorsten will talk about stranded credits and the Ohio College Comeback Compact at the (Re)Engage Alabama Convening in Montgomery, Alabama.
Past Event
August 7, 2023
Bans, Compacts, and Collections… Oh My! State Approaches to Addressing Stranded Credits
Institutions and states are facing increasing pressures to stop the practice of withholding student transcripts for failure to pay balances in full. In fact, over half of states have enacted or considered policies on this issue over the past several years. The Department of Education and the CFPB have also weighed in with guidance and new policies. In this session at the 2023 SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference, leaders from three states that have taken unique approaches to addressing…
Blog Post
March 23, 2023
Using Data to Uncover Barriers to Student Success and Increase Retention
One of the most significant challenges that higher education institutions are currently facing is shrinking undergraduate enrollment, a trend accelerated by the disruptions of the pandemic. Among four-year institutions, enrollment declines have been particularly acute for those institutions that admit a relatively large percentage of their applicants and are dependent on tuition for a significant share of their revenue.[1] Between fall 2020 and 2022, colleges and universities that admit between 75 and 85 percent of applicants experienced…
Past Event
April 3, 2023
Innovative Approaches to Re-Enrollment, Retention, and Completion
Supporting Undergraduate College Students
Declines in enrollment and retention are increasingly common challenges in higher education. At the 2023 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Annual Conference on April 3, 2023, Brittany Pearce and Daniel Rossman will present a session addressing the issue. The presenters will share research and explore two solutions that can inform practice: retention and completion grants and addressing stranded credits. Participants will learn about how these new approaches can help students and higher education institutions. Through an interactive activity,…
Past Event
March 7, 2023
Beyond Transfer: Learner-Centered Credit Mobility
Session at SXSW EDU 2023
Ithaka S+R’s Sarah Pingel will join panelists Marty Alvarado, Allson Kadlec, and Kenyatta Lovett at a SXSW EDU session presented by Ascendium Education Group, focused on learner-centered credit mobility and what’s needed from policymakers, system leaders, institutional leaders, and innovators to make progress. The session will discuss Ithaka S+R’s project on transfer and holistic credit mobility. Learn more about the event, scheduled to take place on March 7 at 2:30 – 3:30 pm CT.
Past Event
February 1, 2023
Using A University-Wide Initiative to Fuel Transfer Reforms
Transfer Explorer At CUNY
On February 1 from 4:10 – 5:00 pm ET, Pooja Patel will participate in a National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) annual conference session on “Using a university-wide initiative to fuel transfer reforms.” This session provides an overview of the continued development of Transfer Explorer, a tool introduced at the 2022 NISTS conference that aims to reduce loss of transfer credit, and its adoption at the City University of New York (CUNY) as part…
Blog Post
January 10, 2023
New Jersey Poised to Become Ninth State to Ban Transcript Withholding—But Only Sometimes
Over the last 13 months, New Jersey state legislators have considered four bills related to transcript withholding—or the practice of postsecondary institutions withholding a student’s transcript until they have paid their full balance. It appears now that the state may be one step closer to banning the practice—but only some of the time. Assembly Bill 1198 was recently assigned to the Senate Higher Education Committee, which may now move forward with discussing, debating, and amending the legislation before sending…
Blog Post
October 31, 2022
Joining Hands to Improve Student Access to College
Successfully addressing student debt, transcript holds, and re-enrollment for adult learners often requires cross-organizational partnerships. The Ohio College Comeback Compact is doing exactly that in northeast Ohio. A regional collaborative of eight public colleges and universities, the Ohio Department of Higher Education, Ithaka S+R, and College Now Greater Cleveland, the Ohio Compact is an innovative program allowing students to return to one of the participating institutions despite owing institutional debt that likely resulted in a transcript hold.
Past Event
November 17, 2022
Stranded Credits: Challenges and Opportunities
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) 2022 Conference
On November 17 at 2:00 – 3:15 pm PT, Ithaka S+R’s Elizabeth Looker and James Dean Ward will participate in an interactive symposium at the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) 2022 Conference, which will bring together scholars who are addressing the challenge of stranded credits from multiple perspectives and contexts. The event provides an opportunity for attendees to better understand the causes and consequences of stranded credits, learn about existing solutions, and collaboratively reimagine new approaches…
Past Event
April 3, 2023
Plenary: An Economic Outlook and Environmental Scan for Higher Education
National Conference on Trusteeship 2023
On Monday, April 3 at 4:00 – 5:00 pm PT, Ithaka S+R’s Catharine Bond Hill will participate in a session with Kathryn Dominguez discussing the actionable implications of global economic change for higher education and beyond. Learn more about the session, taking place at the 2023 National Conference on Trusteeship in San Diego, California.
Blog Post
October 11, 2022
CFPB Ends Transcript Withholding for Students Owing Institutional Loans
Last week, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued new guidance that postsecondary institutions cannot withhold academic transcripts from students owing past due institutional loan payments. The action is part of a series of decisions aimed at regulating institutionally-based aid programs such as loans and Income Share Agreements, or ISAs. This move protects some students with stranded credits, or credits students have earned but cannot document because of a past due balance.