Topic: Student learning and outcomes
Issue Brief
April 9, 2019
Challenges to Higher Education’s Most Essential Purposes
In his 2000 Romanes Lecture, entitled “At a Slight Angle to the Universe, the University in a Digitized, Commercialized Age,” William Bowen anticipated many of the challenges higher education faces today. His incisive summary of the most important purposes of higher education offers a useful framework for assessing how higher education is fulfilling its uniquely important role supporting a vibrant democratic society. Those responsible for higher education’s well-being, including presidents, administrators, trustees, faculty, and government policy makers, would do well…
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…
Upcoming Event
June 24, 2019
Equity in the Academic Experience
Hosted by Georgetown University and University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with the American Talent Initiative
Martin Kurzweil is serving on the steering committee for the summer institute on “Equity in the Academic Experience,” to be hosted by Georgetown University and University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with the American Talent Initiative. The institute will run from June 24-26 in Washington, DC. Martin Kurzweil, Sindy Lopez, Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta, and Emily Schwartz are participating in the institute. For more information, please see the institute’s website.
Upcoming 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).
Blog Post
March 27, 2019
Three Questions for Giuseppe Basili
For our most recent newsletter, we interviewed Giuseppe “Seppy” Basili, the executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKCF), a foundation dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. In this interview, Basili addresses how JKCF’s mission has evolved, what new initiatives it is undertaking, and the challenges the foundation faces as it seeks greater access to higher education for high-achieving, low-income students. 1. You’ve been with…
Blog Post
March 26, 2019
March Madness: Socioeconomic Diversity Edition
At Ithaka S+R, one of our primary missions is to expand educational opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. Some of our programs, including the American Talent Initiative which aims to increase the number of lower-income students enrolled at the top colleges and universities in the country, focus on increasing socioeconomic diversity at higher education institutions, while others focus on improving outcomes for lower income, first generation, and underrepresented minority students at the colleges and universities where they are already more…
Blog Post
March 21, 2019
Understanding the Value of the Liberal Arts
Last year, Catharine Bond Hill and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta undertook a study on the economic benefits and costs of a liberal arts education on behalf of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. As they note in the report, critics claim that the value of a liberal arts education–in terms of both the increasing costs to delivering higher education and in students’ diminished earnings–is limited, especially compared to alternative…
Blog Post
March 15, 2019
Two New Ithaka S+R Analyst Job Openings
Are you passionate about evidence-based approaches to improving higher education and the arts? Ithaka S+R has two new positions to support our dynamic research on libraries, scholarly communication, and museums. Our work helps these organizations better support scholarship, instruction, community engagement, and student success by empowering them to gather and effectively utilize evidence that supports strong decision-making about strategic direction and service offerings. Our new analyst positions provide unique opportunities to conduct and publish major research…
Blog Post
February 25, 2019
On Being Student-Centered
Reflections on the CCLASSS Project and DREAM 2019
What does it mean for us to be student-centered in our work at Ithaka S+R? In our collaborative research initiative on student success and community college libraries, the Community College Libraries & Academic Support for Student Success (CCLASSS) project, being student-centered means that we have positioned student voices as not only valuable but essential to our work. While our ultimate aim for the CCLASSS project is to design new library…
Past Event
April 1, 2019
Jenna Joo and Martin Kurzweil at the TPSE Partners Meeting
On Monday, April 1, Jenna Joo and Martin Kurzweil will participate in the TPSE Partners Meeting in Miami, Florida. About the meeting TPSE Math aims to support the efforts of organizations working to effect change in post-secondary mathematics education. By understanding where priorities overlap and where they differ, what research and data are available and what additional information is needed, what innovations have been implemented and merit scaling up, and what additional resources are needed, TPSE is committed to enhancing…
Past Event
March 10, 2019
Catharine Bond Hill Will Deliver the Robert H. Atwell Plenary Address at ACE 2019
On Sunday March 10, from 5:00 – 6:00 pm, Catharine Bond Hill will deliver the Robert H. Atwell Plenary Address at ACE 2019 in Philadelphia. For more information on the pleanary sessions, please see ACE’s press release. To register, please visit the conference website. …
Past Event
February 20, 2019
Martin Kurzweil Attending the ELI Annual Conference in Anaheim
Martin Kurzweil will be attending the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, on February 20 -21. For more information about the conference and to register, please visit the ELI website. About ELI The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) is a community of higher education institutions and organizations committed to advancing learning through information technology innovation. The ELI Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for those interested in learning principles and practices, all dimensions of student success, and innovation…
Past Event
March 5, 2019
Martin Kurzweil at SXSW EDU
Who Does Online Education Really Serve?
On Tuesday, March 5, Martin Kurzweil is speaking as part of a panel session on “Who Does Online Education Really Serve?” at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas. Martin will be joined on the panel by Jill Buban, Chief Academic Officer at Unizen, Robert Ubell, Vice Dean Emeritus of Online Learning, at New York University, and Jeffrey Young, Senior Editor at EdSurge. The panel will run from 4 – 6:00 pm. For more information and to register, please see the SXSW…
Blog Post
January 16, 2019
Announcing a New Project on Teaching with Primary Sources
We are excited to announce a new research project designed to support effective teaching with primary sources. Teaching undergraduates with primary sources promotes student engagement and critical thinking skills and is a key ingredient in the current pedagogical push toward “inquiry-based” or “research-led” learning.* Although leveraging physical collections remains important, technological affordances have additionally transformed possibilities for teaching with primary sources: not only by increasing content availability, but by enabling digital discovery, curation, and annotation. The…
Blog Post
January 14, 2019
Defining Academic Support Services in Community Colleges
Last year, Ithaka S+R, along with a team of outstanding advisors from a variety of community colleges and college systems, embarked on the first phase of the Community College Academic and Student Services Ecosystem (CCASSE) project, a new research initiative to examine and develop recommendations for how academic support services can more effectively support student success. The project was inspired by earlier findings from the Community College Libraries and Academic Support for…
Blog Post
January 10, 2019
New Report: Enrolling More Veterans at High-Graduation-Rate Colleges and Universities
In November, Ithaka S+R and the College Board hosted “Improving Opportunities for Veterans.” This conference brought together leaders from higher education, the military, and veterans service organizations who share the goal of increasing the enrollment and graduation of veterans at colleges and universities with the highest graduation rates. In our new report with Catharine Bond Hill and Martin Kurzweil, we investigate the underrepresentation of United States military veterans at colleges that graduate at least 70 percent of their students.
Research Report
January 10, 2019
Enrolling More Veterans at High-Graduation-Rate Colleges and Universities
Higher education plays a vital role in raising income, moderating income inequality, and increasing economic growth and global competitiveness. But U.S. higher education attainment continues to lag for lower-income and underrepresented-minority students, particularly at the colleges and universities that have the most resources and the highest graduation rates. As a stark example, research by economist Raj Chetty and his team found that there are more students from the top one percent of the income distribution at the Ivy-Plus colleges than…
Past Event
March 6, 2019
Veterans Serve Us. Higher Ed Must Serve Them
Catharine Bond Hill at SXSW EDU 2019
On Wednesday, March 6, Cappy Hill will join panelists Christine Schwartz (Service to School), Cristine Pedersen (Georgetown student), and Bruce Shahbaz (College Board) at SXSW EDU 2019 in Austin, Texas to discuss strategies for enrolling and graduating more veterans in the highest performing colleges. More information about SXSW EDU is available on the conference website. About the panel Veterans are among our most committed, talented citizens, and yet they are 50 percent less likely than others to enroll in…
Past Event
February 25, 2019
Defining Success: Uncovering Community College Student Perspectives
Christine Wolff-Eisenberg at the League for Innovation Conference
Christine Wolff-Eisenberg will join Braddlee from Northern Virginia Community College and Jean Amaral from the Borough of Manhattan Community for a panel discussion on “Defining Success: Uncovering Community College Student Perspectives” at the League for Innovation Conference in New York City. The panel will take place on February 25 at 3:00 pm. Conference registration is now open on the League for Innovation website. About the panel Braddlee, Christine, and Jean will provide an overview of the Community College Libraries…