Topic: Student learning and outcomes
Blog Post
July 23, 2025
Collecting Additional Data on Students with Disabilities in IPEDS
New Report
The enrollment of students with disabilities in postsecondary education has notably increased, rising from 11 percent in 2004 to 21 percent in 2020. This significant growth underscores the need for comprehensive and reliable data to better understand these students’ experiences and outcomes. However, substantial gaps remain in how data on this population is collected, reported, and utilized, limiting our ability to support their needs effectively. In a report commissioned in 2024 by the…
Research Report
July 23, 2025
Collecting Additional Data on Students with Disabilities in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
Benefits and Challenges
In 2024, the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC), an advisory group to the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the US Department of Education in 2024 commissioned this report, which we completed in February 2025. The report’s purpose was to assess the feasibility of expanding the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to capture better information about students with disabilities enrolled in US postsecondary institutions.
Blog Post
July 17, 2025
Reflections on the 2025 National NASPA Conferences on Student Success in Higher Education
We recently attended and presented at the annual NASPA Conferences on Student Success in Higher Education (SSHE), held on June 27-30, in Denver, Colorado. This sold out conference brought together about 1,500 student affairs professionals, administrators, researchers, and advocates united in supporting students not just academically, but holistically. Using a multi-conference format, SSHE featured three unique tracks geared towards student success: Assessment, Planning, and Data Analytics (ADPA): Addressed critical issues related to outcomes assessment and data’s role in student…
Blog Post
July 16, 2025
Introducing the LASEE Framework
Quantifying Students’ Exposure to a Liberal Education and Exploring its Value
Ithaka S+R, supported by the Mellon Foundation, has been working since 2019 to clearly define, measure, and communicate the value of a liberal education, an effort that has become increasingly urgent in the current political landscape and climate. Today, we are excited to share a new report and accompanying resources from our latest study examining the economic value of a liberal education.
Research Report
July 16, 2025
Measuring the Economic Value of a Liberal Education
This report offers a nuanced, student-centered perspective on the economic and educational value of a liberal education. Using the Liberal Arts and Sciences Educational Experience (LASEE) Framework and rich, longitudinal student-level data from public colleges and universities, we examined how exposure to core liberal arts features relates to student outcomes.
Blog Post
July 15, 2025
Learning Mobility
Holistic Credit Mobility Case Studies Included in New AACRAO Book
Learning Mobility: Empowering Educational Journeys Beyond Traditional Pathways, a new ebook recently published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), features actionable research and diverse perspectives from system and institutional leaders, administrators, and researchers on the ways learning can and should be recognized, validated, and credentialed in the modern higher education environment. Ithaka S+R was pleased to contribute a chapter expanding on our prior holistic credit mobility work. Our chapter, “Institutional and Systemic Approaches…
Past Event
July 18, 2025
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…
Upcoming Event
August 13, 2025
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…
Blog Post
July 7, 2025
Preparing Students for an AI-Infused Workforce
Reflections from the University of Baltimore’s 2025 AI Summit
On June 3, 2025, the University of Baltimore hosted its second AI Summit, organized by the university’s Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, and Technology (CELTT). The event, as described by the organizers, was “an in-depth exploration of artificial intelligence’s transformative impact across sectors, with a particular focus on workforce development, educational adaptation, and responsible innovation.” A key strength of the summit was its commitment to bridging the gap between what is happening with AI in the classroom and…
Blog Post
July 2, 2025
How States Use IPEDS Data to Strengthen the National Postsecondary Education Data Infrastructure
Ithaka S+R and SHEEO Collaborate on New Initiative
Ithaka S+R is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a new grant from Lumina Foundation to assess how state higher education agencies use the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to support their systems, inform policy and planning, and advance credential attainment and other postsecondary education goals.
Blog Post
July 1, 2025
Informing Postsecondary Education Policy
How Researchers Are Using PSEO Data
In "How Researchers Use the PSEO Data to Study Postsecondary Outcomes and Inform Policy," we examine how scholars, systems, and agencies leverage PSEO to answer key policy questions. This report was commissioned by the PSEO Coalition, which brings together state, system, and institutional partners committed to expanding access to and use of PSEO data as a foundational tool for data-informed decision-making.
Research Report
July 1, 2025
How Researchers Use PSEO Data to Study Postsecondary Outcomes and Inform Policy
A report for the PSEO Coalition from Ithaka S+R
This literature review summarizes key findings from research and practical applications related to PSEO data. By examining how PSEO data has been used in higher education research and policy, this review lays the groundwork for a national research agenda that strengthens understanding of the links between education and workforce connections, student success, and the economic value of postsecondary credentials.
Past Event
June 30, 2025
Tracking the COVID Class
How Cohort-Based Interventions Distinguished the College Journey for First-Generation Limited-Income Students Entering Fall 2020
At the 2025 NASPA Conference on Student Success in Higher Education on June 30 at 10:10am, Ithaka S+R’s Ifeatu Oliobi will join Gail Gibson, Kristen Glasener, and Shakima Clency of the Kessler Scholars Collaborative, as well as Carlota Deseda-Coon of Syracuse University, in a session sharing how cohort-based support distinguished the experience for first-generation limited-income students through the Kessler Scholars Collaborative. Learn more about the session.
Past Event
June 29, 2025
Developing College Fluency
Strategies for Supporting Student Navigation and Success
At the NASPA Conference on Student Success in Higher Education, Melissa Blankstein, Elmira Jangjou, and jean amaral will lead a session on college fluency, sharing insights from Ithaka S+R work. “For me the college is just so big…you get bounced back and forth…you get lost in bureaucracy.” Most of us have heard similar stories from our students as most may not know what programs and assistance are available nor how to access them, impacting their well-being and academic success.
Blog Post
June 10, 2025
Applying AI Literacy to Student and Faculty Personas
Insights from our AI Literacy Cohort Workshops
This May, we hosted the first workshops for our Integrating AI Literacy in the Curricula cohort, a group of 45 colleges and universities committed to promoting AI literacy as a core learning outcome on their campuses. In the first half of the workshop, we facilitated a discussion of information literacy and AI literacy frameworks. In the second breakout session, participants selected one of six provided personas and hypothesized about the risks, benefits, and needs of AI use for…
Upcoming Event
August 12, 2025
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…
Blog Post
June 9, 2025
The Divided State of AI in Higher Education
To help libraries and centers for teaching and learning adapt their expertise in data, digital, and information literacy to AI literacy, we launched the Integrating AI Literacy into the Curricula cohort project. We held the kickoff meeting in April, welcoming participants from all 45 institutions involved in the project. Participants shared their observations and experiences with current AI literacy initiatives at their institutions, including challenges and successes. Several interesting themes emerged from these discussions. When it comes to AI…
Blog Post
June 5, 2025
Examining the Critical Role of Technology in Holistic Credit Mobility
Notes from the Cohort's Second Virtual Convening
In February 2025, Ithaka S+R and Complete College America launched the holistic credit mobility acceleration cohort. This community of practice comprises 11 state higher education and university systems, as well as institutional consortia, that are collaborating throughout 2025 and into early 2026 to identify best practices, policies, and technologies to advance credit mobility nationwide. This is critical to student success, as recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse demonstrates that transfer pathways are becoming increasingly non-linear, multidirectional, and…
Past Event
June 12, 2025
From Debt to Degrees
Strategies Drive Re-Enrollment
Join us on June 12, 1 pm CST for “From Debt to Degrees: Strategies Drive Re-Enrollment,” a webinar covering actionable strategies to tackle institutional debt and transcript holds while creating pathways for adult learners to successfully return and complete their degrees. Discover what’s working—from debt forgiveness to success coaching—with insights from ReUp Education, Ithaka S+R, and Ohio’s innovative College Comeback Compact. Panelists include Brittany Pearce (Ithaka S+R) and Ben Shoemaker (ReUp). Register to join the webinar.
Past Event
May 30, 2025
Civil Discourse as Pedagogy
Managing Divided Classrooms
At the National Council for Faculty Senate’s annual convening, Ioana Hulbert will lead a session on civil discourse as pedagogy and managing divided classrooms, sharing insights from Ithaka S+R research on civic education and engagement. The session will take place on May 30, 2025 at 10:30am.