Topic: Student learning and outcomes
Blog Post
November 18, 2024
The State of the Humanities
Reflecting on the World Humanities Report and Humanities in the United States
From the end of World War II through approximately 1980, this country’s market-driven system of higher education has been praised for its accessibility, absence of central authority, broad-based political support, multiple sources of revenue, and demographic, institutional and structural diversity. More recently, perceptions of declining affordability, diminishing pools of traditional-age students, the ongoing replacement of tenured and tenure-line faculty by adjunct instructors, and an unrelenting privatization of public higher education have, among many other issues, raised concerns about higher education’s…
Blog Post
November 15, 2024
How the American Talent Initiative Is Using Communities of Practice to Advance Student Success in Higher Education
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) is dedicated to addressing longstanding disparities in bachelor’s degree attainment for low- and moderate-income students by fostering collaboration among research, philanthropy, and educational entities. Since 2016, ATI membership has grown to include over 135 high-graduation-rate institutions, enrolling more than 18,000 additional Pell Grant students since the project began. A key strategy in ATI’s approach has been the adoption of Communities of Practice (CoPs) to assist member colleges and universities in achieving their socioeconomic diversity…
Research Report
November 7, 2024
Fostering College Fluency
Results from a National Survey of Community College Library and Campus Partners
To better understand the current landscape of college fluency, and the challenges faced by institutions, Ithaka S+R and the Borough of Manhattan Community College, with support from IMLS, fielded a national survey to gather insights from administrators, librarians, and faculty and staff from academic and student affairs departments across community colleges in the US. This survey aimed to explore the perceptions of college fluency and evaluate the effectiveness of existing support and resource referrals.
Blog Post
November 1, 2024
Paying It Forward
First-Generation Higher Ed Professionals Empowering Current First-Gen Students
A Conversation with Dr. Shakima M. Clency, Adan Hussain, and Christin Kloski of the Kessler Scholars Collaborative. The Kessler Scholars Collaborative supports and connects more than 1,000 Kessler Scholars across 16 institutions, transforming the college experience and supporting degree attainment for first-generation and limited-income students. The Kessler Scholars Program follows a cohort-based model. This means that, in addition to financial support, Kessler Scholars at each institution receive academic, professional, and personal guidance to help them not just access higher…
Blog Post
October 31, 2024
Prospective Student Veterans Face Complex Choices on the Journey to a Bachelor’s Degree
As Veteran’s Day approaches, there is renewed attention paid to those individuals who have served in our nation’s military and to the ways our nation repays that service. The majority of military service members often cite education benefits as one of their primary motivations for joining the military. However, once they leave the service, many veterans are not making best use of those benefits due to undermatching, whereby students attend institutions where they…
Blog Post
October 31, 2024
From Service to Study
Exploring Barriers and Expanding Opportunities for Veterans in Higher Education
Introduction On Thursday, September 19, 2024 in New York City, The Teagle Foundation, Warrior Scholar Project (WSP), and Ithaka S+R convened a group of higher education and philanthropic leaders for an off-the-record, roundtable discussion focused on the unique value military veterans bring to college campuses, the barriers institutions face in recruiting and supporting them, and the role nonprofit partners and education funders could play in bolstering these efforts. Committed to the proposition that an expansion of postsecondary educational opportunities for…
Blog Post
October 28, 2024
Turning Debt into Credentials
The Ohio College Comeback Compact Continues to Benefit Adult Learners, Institutions, and Northeast Ohio
After a successful pilot year and transition to full program implementation, the Ohio College Comeback Compact continues to show growth and positive student outcomes for adults with some college but no credential who departed postsecondary education with past due balances. With continued generous support from Lumina Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, Ithaka S+R is pleased to continue partnering with the eight public colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio for the third year of the Compact.
Blog Post
October 15, 2024
American Talent Initiative Awards Grants to 16 Colleges and Universities
Five Million Dollars to Advance Innovative Practices to Support More Low-Income Students
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) has seen an 18,100 increase in the enrollment of students with Pell Grants since its founding in 2015. To continue and build on this progress, ATI is awarding $5 million in grants across 16 ATI-member institutions to support innovative strategies that break barriers and increase college access and success for lower-income students. The 16 institutions were selected from a competitive pool of 47 applicants.
Case Study
October 15, 2024
College Fluency Capacity Building
Insights from a Northeastern Community College
The Borough of Manhattan Community College and Ithaka S+R, with support from IMLS, are publishing a series of case studies to understand how institutions are currently addressing college fluency needs. The second case study in this series looks at a small northeastern community college that has been developing college fluency programs with both their library and non-library faculty and staff.
Research Report
October 7, 2024
Uneven Terrain
Learning Spaces in Higher Education in Prison
How can prison education programs fulfill their obligation to provide their students with an educational experience that is as close as possible to the one of students on main campuses? Thus far, our research into equitable access has focused largely on instructional delivery and practices, and technological access and use. This report broadens our interrogation of that central question by exploring the role of space, architecture, and design in the context of higher education in prison.
Past Event
October 17, 2024
Re-Enrolling Adult Learners with Administrative Holds and Past Due Balances
When students with some college, no credential (SCNC) are unable to re-enroll at their former institutions, institutions lose out on potential enrollments and students lose out on continuing their education. A number of administrative and financial barriers stand in the way of reenrollment, including transcript holds, registration holds, past due balances, and other related issues. To help address these barriers within Kentucky, the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) partnered with Ithaka S+R to identify a set of actionable recommendations related…
Blog Post
September 30, 2024
An Introduction to Reentry Service Provision and Community Partnership for College Administrators
New Report
When revised federal Pell Grant regulations went into effect in July of 2023, one of the provisions stipulated that college in prison programs would now be obliged to document how they or the organizations they partner with provide reentry services. Ithaka S+R’s new report, Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships, examines how colleges and community organizations can best partner to deliver effective services for reintegrating students. This report represents the first findings from a multi-year project…
Research Report
September 30, 2024
Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships
Now that federal Pell Grant funding has been reinstated for learners who are incarcerated, the field is in flux. Higher education in prison programs are adapting and developing their practices to meet new policy and regulation needs. Two major facets of the revised regulations for Pell funding are particularly critical for college in prison programs, namely the requirement to track and report student data, and the obligation to document how they or their partner organizations provide reentry services.
Past Event
October 7, 2024
Ithaka S+R Research on Sustaining OER
Open 2030 Working Group Meeting
At the Open 2030 Working Group Meeting on October 7 at 11:00am, Ithaka S+R’s Ioana Hulbert, Deirdre Harkins, and Mark McBride will present on Ithaka S+R research on sustaining open educational resources (OER) and OER usage for teaching and learning. The Open 2030 Working Group, comprised of thought leaders and educational innovators and funders, focuses on building educational equity and social justice through OER.
Past Event
October 1, 2024
Tracking – and Reporting – Students’ Participation and Gains from Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement
Ithaka S+R’s Ioana Hulbert and Deirdre Harkins will join David Paris, Charles Ansell, and Jillian Kinzie in a panel on “Tracking — and Reporting — Students’ Participation and Gains from Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement,” sharing insights from a recent Ithaka S+R report exploring the link between higher education and civic engagement. The panel is scheduled to take place on October 1 at 4:10pm at a virtual event led by Civic Learning for an Engaged Democracy. Learn more about…
Past Event
October 3, 2024
Universal Transfer Explorer
This session at the South Carolina Transfer Excellence Convening will include a demo of the in-development Transfer Explorer website and draw from Ithaka S+R’s research on CUNY Transfer Explorer and Holistic Credit Mobility to demonstrate the importance of comprehensive credit mobility technology solutions for students and institutions. Join the session on October 3, 2024 at 2:20pm – 3:30pm ET, with Ithaka S+R’s Emily Tichenor.
Blog Post
September 19, 2024
The American Talent Initiative Student Success Research Grant Program Funds Five Mission-Aligned Projects
The American Talent Initiative (ATI) is committed to creating postsecondary opportunities for low- and moderate-income students and expanding this group’s access to high-graduation-rate institutions. ATI supports its member institutions by organizing communities of practice to enable peer-to-peer sharing among institutions, collecting and analyzing data to identify trends and best-practices, creating practical analytic tools to develop effective financial aid strategies, and advising presidents on ways to increase the pipeline of low- and moderate-income students into their institutions. To further this…
Past Event
November 20, 2024
Lessons Learned from the Kessler Scholars Collaborative to Support FGLI Students from Rural Communities
Support systems and resources for first-generation, limited-income (FGLI) college students have steadily increased, but the distinct needs and challenges of rural FGLI students are often overlooked. These students bring unique experiences and face challenges that can be minimized with tailored support to enhance their college experiences. Recognizing these students’ diverse and intersecting identities is crucial in our efforts to create inclusive and affirming spaces where all FGLI students can thrive. During an interactive session at the 2024 FGLI Consortium…
Past Event
November 19, 2024
Using a Holistic Credit Mobility Strategy to Improve Student Success
At the Complete College America Annual Convening on November 19 at 11:30am-12:15pm, Elise Miller McNeely and Kyle Gray will highlight Ithaka S+R’s holistic credit mobility framework as well as share examples of systems and institutions using technology, policy, and practices to support students as they navigate the higher education system and accumulate credits from multiple sources and thorough multiple modalities. Learn more about the session.
Issue Brief
September 10, 2024
Transfer Credit Information at Your Fingertips
Preliminary Findings on Use and Implementation of CUNY Transfer Explorer
CUNY Transfer Explorer (CUNY T-Rex) was developed to simplify the transfer of credits and represents an at-scale technology tool solution that provides transparent and up-to-date information about transfer credit equivalencies to students, faculty, and advisors. We undertook a mixed-methods evaluation to understand the process, conditions, and business requirements that were involved in the launch and proliferation of CUNY T-Rex, as well as to understand the behaviors, uses, and implementation of CUNY T-Rex at individual institutions and system wide.