Topic: Student learning and outcomes
Research Report
December 11, 2018
Mapping the Wild West of Pre-Hire Assessment
A Landscape View of the Uncharted Technology-Facilitated Ecosystem
The rise in technology-facilitated assessments has created a paradigm shift in employer talent acquisition. Traditionally, the process of assessing candidates’ skills has focused on resumes composed of credentials signifying successful participation in or completion of an experience (like a degree, a training program, or a prior job) and candidates’ own claims of competencies. Such a process favored intermediaries like higher education institutions, industry associations, governmental agencies, and former employers, who awarded credentials for successful program completion or could vouch for…
Blog Post
December 11, 2018
Uncharted Territory: How Employers Are Using Big Data and AI to Redesign the Hiring Process
Candidate screening in the United States is in the midst of rapid innovation. Traditional processes of assessing candidates’ skills focused on resume screening that evaluated candidates’ degrees, training programs, or prior work experiences—a process that favored credentialing intermediaries like higher education institutions, industry associations, and former employers. Today’s employers, however, are turning to advanced algorithmic solutions for verifying candidate competencies and predicting best job fit. The tools—such as resume filtering, talent analytics, online simulations, cybervetting, digital interviews, gamification,…
Blog Post
December 10, 2018
Learning at LAC
Notes from the Library Assessment Conference 2018
This year, the Association of Research Libraries and the University of Washington Libraries hosted their biennial Library Assessment Conference (LAC) in Houston, Texas. Having recently joined the Ithaka S+R survey team in November, this was my first time attending LAC, and I was eager to immerse myself in the sessions described in the schedule. I knew I was in the right place when the conference started with “Wednesday Metrics with Steve.”…
Blog Post
November 15, 2018
What’s the ROI for Instructional Reform?
New Tool Provides Estimates
Last year, Ithaka S+R published Instructional Quality, Student Outcomes, and Institutional Finances, a white paper commissioned by the American Council on Education (ACE) that explored the relationship between institutional finances and instructional quality, asking whether improvements in instructional quality can increase a postsecondary institution’s net revenue. It’s an important question, as many higher education institutions are under strong pressure to improve student learning outcomes as they face increasing financial constraints. The conventional view is that increases in instructional quality…
Blog Post
November 14, 2018
The College Board and Ithaka S+R Host Veterans Week Conference
We are excited to be partnering with leaders from higher education, military, and veterans service organizations to increase the number of veterans who enroll in, and graduate from, college. In conjunction with a national conference we are hosting today, we issued the following press release. For Immediate Release: November 14, 2018 College Board and Ithaka S+R Host Veterans Week Conference to Increase the Number of Veterans Who Enroll in, and Graduate From, College Higher education and veteran leaders highlight solutions…
Blog Post
November 13, 2018
Community College Student Success Project in the Journal of Academic Librarianship
Preprint Available
Last week, the Journal of Academic Librarianship published an article that I co-authored with Braddlee from Northern Virginia Community College on the Community College Libraries and Academic Support for Student Success (CCLASSS) project. The CCLASSS project is focused on understanding (1) how “student success” can be defined so that it is inclusive both of students’ own needs as well as important policy priorities, and (2) what services colleges and their academic libraries…
Blog Post
October 22, 2018
Martin Kurzweil in Change Magazine
Alternative Postsecondary Pathways: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and Why It Matters
Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning recently published its 50th anniversary issue, featuring invited essays offering insights on a wide range of higher education’s most pressing issues. Drawing on his prior research on the subject for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education, Ithaka S+R’s Martin Kurzweil contributed a piece discussing “Alternative Postsecondary Pathways: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and Why It Matters.” As Change Editor David Paris…
Blog Post
October 3, 2018
Assessing the Impact of State Policies on Higher Education Attainment
Ithaka S+R Launches New Research Project in Partnership with the Joyce Foundation
While aspirations to attend college are now more common among high school students, the opportunity to pursue higher education and complete a degree in order to enjoy the lifelong benefits of a college education varies widely by students’ race and socioeconomic background. Through financial support of public institutions, tax benefits for private institutions, student financial aid, and regulation of the higher education marketplace, state governments have the potential to mitigate these inequities for their residents. Yet with wide…
Past Event
October 9, 2018
Supporting Student Success at Community Colleges
An Educause Webinar with Christine Wolff-Eisenberg and Dr. Braddlee
On Tuesday, October 9, Christine Wolff-Eisenberg and NOVA’s Dr. Braddlee are presenting at an EDUCAUSE ELI webinar. The webinar will run from 1:00 – 2:00 pm (ET). To register, please visit the EDUCAUSE website. About the webinar: What goals are community college students trying to achieve through their education? What challenges are they facing? What library and other academic support services might help them succeed? These questions are at the center of a multiyear research project that Ithaka S+R…
Blog Post
September 26, 2018
The Landscape of First-Year Programming in Two-Year Institutions
A student’s first year at a new college is a critically important period—academically, socio-emotionally, personally, and professionally. To help incoming college students succeed, many institutions offer First-Year Experience (FYE) programs. But most of the research on the scope and effectiveness of these programs centers on four-year colleges and universities, overlooking an important sector of the postsecondary student population–namely students in two-year programs. To begin to fill this research gap, Ithaka S+R and Two Year First Year (TYFY), with support from the…
Research Report
September 26, 2018
The First-Year Experience in Two-Year Public Postsecondary Programs
Results of a National Survey
A student’s first year at a new college is a critically important period—academically, socio-emotionally, personally, and professionally. Whether transitioning from high school, other postsecondary education, or the labor market, students often need to adjust to a myriad of changes beyond just the new academic environment. They may be relocating, starting a new job in order to pay for tuition and living expenses, or facing new demands as they balance family responsibilities, work, and school deadlines. Students learn to navigate new…
Blog Post
September 19, 2018
Evaluating Online Instruction and Cross-Institutional Course Sharing
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), in collaboration with Ithaka S+R, recently concluded its four-year initiative with the Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction (2014-18), which provided opportunities for two distinct cohorts of private liberal arts colleges to first design and teach online humanities courses in their own institutions and later to revise and offer the same courses to all students in the Consortium.[1] The second Consortium just completed its final year of work and participants shared valuable insights…
Research Report
September 19, 2018
CIC Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction II
Evaluation Report for the Second Course Iteration
Introduction The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction began in 2014 with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to determine if small, independent colleges could collaborate in developing online, upper-level humanities courses that would give students at these institutions a broader range of courses from which to choose. The success of the first Consortium (2014–2016) motivated the Mellon Foundation to support a second Consortium that was formed in the summer of 2016 with…
Past Event
November 16, 2018
The Role of Proactive Advising Systems in Promoting Student Success
Rayane Alamuddin at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact Annual Commission Meeting and Policy Forum
On Friday, November 16, Rayane Alamuddin is speaking on the “Innovative Approaches to Access and Success” panel at the 2018 Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) Annual Commission Meeting and Policy Forum. Her talk, “The Role of Proactive Advising Systems in Promoting Student Success,” draws on Ithaka S+R’s ongoing MAAPS project. For more information about the meeting and to see the full schedule, please visit the MHEC website. …
Past Event
September 26, 2018
Rayane Alamuddin Presents Findings from the First-Year Programming at Two-Year Institutions Study
TyFy Conference in Orlando
On Wednesday, September 26, Rayane Alamuddin will present findings from the First-Year Programming at Two-Year Institutions study at the TYFY Conference in Orlando, Florida. Ithaka S+R will also release the publication of the study that day. For more information and to register, please see the conference website.
Past Event
December 5, 2018
Ithaka S+R at the Library Assessment Conference
Danielle Cooper and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg Present on Ongoing Research Projects
Danielle Cooper and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg will present on two research projects at the Library Assessment Conference in Houston, Texas. On Wednesday, December 5, Christine will be joined by Dr. Braddlee of Northern Virginia Community College to talk about the Community College Libraries & Academic Support for Student Success project as part of a panel on Methods & Tools. The session runs from 2-3:30 pm. On Thursday, December 6, Danielle is speaking on “Perspectives on the Limits of Assessment: Ithaka…
Blog Post
September 4, 2018
“The Degree Is Cool, But I’m More About the Knowledge”
How Community College Students Define Student Success
“Student success” has moved to the forefront of the higher education agenda. Success at community colleges — and four-year colleges — has often been defined by the achievement of institutional outcomes, predominantly comprised of various measures of student persistence, achievement, and attainment, including rates of transfer, enrollment in postsecondary education, GPA, retention, time to graduation, graduation, and post-graduation job attainment and compensation. However, these traditional measures of student success have often been derived from higher education institutions, state…
Blog Post
August 30, 2018
Community College Academic Support Ecosystems
Ithaka S+R Launches New Research Project
Thirty-nine percent of all US undergraduate students attend community colleges, with roughly nine million enrolled in public two-year colleges annually. These institutions serve a wide range of students, including underrepresented minorities, veterans, low-income, adult, and first-generation students, as well as underprepared and non-traditional learners. But with only 37.5 percent earning a degree from either a two- or four-year institution within six years of starting…
Research Report
August 13, 2018
Amplifying Student Voices
The Community College Libraries and Academic Support for Student Success Project
The Community College Libraries & Academic Support for Student Success (CCLASSS) project examines student goals, challenges, and needs from the student perspective. Through this project, we aim to provide community colleges and their libraries with strategic intelligence on how to adapt their services to most effectively meet student needs. In spring 2018, we conducted semi-structured interviews with students at seven partner community colleges on student objectives and goals, definitions of success, challenges faced, and coursework practices. Key findings Across…
Blog Post
August 12, 2018
New Report: Supporting Student Success at Community Colleges
What goals are community college students trying to achieve through their education? What challenges are they facing? What services might help them succeed? These questions are at the center of a multi-year research project that Ithaka S+R and Northern Virginia Community College, along with six other community college partners and with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), are currently undertaking. Today, we’re issuing our first report from the project,…