Topic: Student learning and outcomes
Past Event
April 12, 2024
Universal Transfer Explorer Pilot
At the Washington Intercollege Relations Commission Spring 2024 Meeting/Conference, Ithaka S+R’s Emily Tichenor will join Alex Tadio (Washington State University), David Berner (Shoreline Community College), and Abby Chien (Washington Student Achievement Council) in a session providing an overview of the universal transfer explorer pilot project. The session will take place on Friday, April 12 at 12pm EST. Learn more.
Research Report
April 3, 2024
Between Two Systems
Navigating Censorship and Self-Censorship in Higher Education in Prisons
Building on our previous research on the ways that media review directives and censorship policies may limit or protect student access to intellectual and education material, as well as on the technology students on the inside can access for educational purposes, this report explores how educators in higher education in prison programs navigate censorship and self-censorship and how the relationship between educational programs and departments of corrections may have an impact on the educational experience and learning outcomes of students.
Blog Post
March 12, 2024
The College Fluency Survey Is Open!
We are thrilled to announce that Ithaka S+R in partnership with the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Library has launched our new, national College Fluency Survey. This survey is a part of a comprehensive, two-and-a-half-year initiative funded by IMLS aimed at understanding how institutions can better support a critical aspect of student success: college fluency—or the knowledge and abilities that enable students to effectively access, utilize, and advocate for needed college services and resources. Through this project we…
Past Event
March 12, 2024
Sharpening the Social-Mobility Mission
In a virtual forum hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education with support from Ascendium, higher education experts will explore the connection between college degrees and social mobility, covering topics including college rankings and classifications, post-graduate outcomes, and strategies to ensure success for low-income students. The session will be hosted by Eric Kelderman, with panelists Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta, Akil Bellow, Mary Dana Hinton, and Ellen J. Nuefledt. Register to join the forum on Tuesday, March 12 at 2pm ET.
Past Event
March 9, 2024
The Reality of Artificiality: Artificial Intelligence and the Academe
Northeast Modern Language Association Annual Conference
At the Northeast Modern Language Association Annual Conference in Boston, Claire Baytas will participate in a roundtable to discuss the impact of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, on teaching and learning, sharing insights from Ithaka S+R’s GenAI Product Tracker and a recent issue brief on the product landscape of generative AI in higher education. Other panelists include Teresa Lobalsamo, Peggy Bloomer, Maria Dikcis, Joshua Marsh, and Summer Cardarelli. Explore the full conference schedule to learn more…
Blog Post
March 7, 2024
Keeping Up with the Educational Market for Generative AI Tools
Announcing Ithaka S+R’s Product Tracking Tool
Ithaka S+R has been closely tracking the generative AI product landscape through a unique Product Tracking Tool. The Product Tracker includes descriptions of tools marketed towards postsecondary faculty or student users, as well as information about the pricing model, key features, and other relevant detail.
Issue Brief
March 7, 2024
Generative AI in Higher Education
The Product Landscape
Generative AI has quickly gained a significant foothold in academia, and is now used widely for teaching, learning, and research purposes. New products are appearing so rapidly that just keeping up with them is difficult, and understanding the value of individual products in a now-crowded marketplace is a major challenge for end users and for university CIOs, IT departments, and others involved in decision making about which products will be supported and/or licensed for campus users.
Blog Post
February 22, 2024
Providing Credit Transfer Visibility to Improve Credit Mobility
Ithaka S+R’s “Universal Credit Transfer Explorer” Launching in Three States in 2024
Updated February 2025: Transfer Explorer is currently in its beta release and will expand in 2025 to contain data from a growing number of institutions across four states, thanks to collaborations with the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, the City University of New York, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and the Washington Student Achievement Council. To help address the many challenges college students face when they move between institutions or attempt to transfer credits they have…
Blog Post
February 14, 2024
From the Ground Up
Developing Robust Student Success Programming to Boost Statewide Credential Attainment
Like many states, Texas is seeking to increase the share of adults with postsecondary degrees and credentials. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)’s Building a Talent Strong Texas strategic plan lays out the state’s ambitious goal: by 2030, 60 percent of Texans ages 25-65 will hold a credential of value. To meet this target, the state has activated and engaged institutions, agencies, and advocates across the state (and nationally) to address the highly-varied educational needs of Texas…
Case Study
February 14, 2024
Texas Student Success Programs Poised for Impact
Highlighting High Potential
Each student enters college with their own unique set of goals, lived experiences, challenges, and hopes. Postsecondary institutions are challenged to build robust student supports that help these students each achieve their own version of success. This requires developing supports that work for a wide variety of target populations, such as for traditional-aged students entering college directly after high school as well as for returning adults seeking to build on credits they earned elsewhere a decade ago.
Blog Post
February 13, 2024
No Longer Stranded?
How New Department of Education Rule Creates Opportunities for Students and Institutions
In 2020, Ithaka S+R estimated that approximately 6.6 million students did not have access to their educational transcripts due to past due balances, resulting in stranded credits. This challenge may impact any student, but our research indicated it was more likely to affect students who identified as women, racial and ethnic minorities, and those from low-income backgrounds. During our initial investigation of stranded credits, we found that nearly all higher education institutions used transcript holds as a tool to…
Blog Post
February 6, 2024
Unveiling AI in Academia
Insights from the University of Baltimore's Study
In September 2023, Ithaka S+R kicked off its Making AI Generative for Higher Education project, a two year collaboration with 19 universities who are committed to learning about generative AI’s impact on higher education and developing institution-specific strategies to best leverage the technology. This fall and winter, each university in the cohort has been focused on assessing the needs and experiences of their campus communities in relation to generative AI. One of these institutions, the University of Baltimore, surveyed…
Past Event
February 20, 2024
Expanding Access to Adult Learners with Institutional Debt
Achieving the Dream Conference 2024
Join us at the Achieving the Dream annual conference in Orlando, Florida for a session on the Ohio College Compact presented by Ithaka S+R’s Joanna Dressel and Brittany Pearce. The Ohio College Comeback Compact is a novel approach to re-enrolling adult learners with some college, no credential (SCNC) who stopped out with institutional debt that inhibits their return to higher education, whether back to their original institution or to a new institution. The Compact permits these students to…
Blog Post
January 22, 2024
Announcing a New Project on Higher Education, Civic Engagement, and Democracy
Political polarization, mis/disinformation, and the lack of civil deliberation are affecting campus climates across the country, while at the same time trust in colleges and universities is on the decline. Against this backdrop, how are higher education institutions thinking about their role in stewarding democratic principles and civic engagement, and what are they doing to shape informed, active citizens? To begin answering those questions, today we are thrilled to share that Ithaka S+R is collaborating with the American…
Blog Post
January 18, 2024
Understanding ROI on Postsecondary Education
Using Data to Support Strategic State Investments
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) recently shared findings from their annual survey, shedding light on the top ten policy priorities among the public executives in each state responsible for overseeing postsecondary education. Topping the list were three key areas: (1) supporting workforce and economic development, (2) ensuring adequate funding for public colleges and universities, and (3) addressing the growing concern among students and the public regarding the value of a college degree. States need better data…
Past Event
February 22, 2024
ACT Community of Practice: Collaboratively Designing a System-wide Student Transfer Tool
National Institute for Transfer Student Success Annual Conference
At the National Institute for Transfer Student Success Annual Conference, this session will spotlight how the ACT Community of Practice has been vital in the development, enhancement and implementation of CUNY Transfer Explorer. Presenters Pooja Patel, Emily Tichenor, Rocio Rayo, and Tracy Newton will give a brief background of the Community of Practice’s inception and discuss how the model has fostered collaboration across colleges within CUNY and across systems between CUNY and SUNY. Examples of activities, discussions, and contributions…
Past Event
February 21, 2024
The Enormous Benefits of Credit Mobility Transparency: CUNY Transfer Explorer as a National Model
National Institute for Transfer Student Success Annual Conference
Having faculty work together to articulate courses and programs across institutions is notorious for taking years to complete, if it completes at all. In a session at the National Institute for Transfer Student Success Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO, Ithaka S+R’s Martin Kurzweil will join Lexa Logue and David Wutchiett to describe an alternative approach for facilitating student transfer consisting of obtaining high-quality credit transfer information and then making it public, enabling students intending to transfer and those persons…
Blog Post
November 16, 2023
Supporting College Teaching
Providing excellent instruction is a key priority across colleges and universities in the United States, but the on-the-ground experiences and needs of college teachers are often taken for granted. When approached thoughtfully, evidence about how faculty teach can be used to make meaningful interventions into their day-to-day activities, which in turn benefits their students. Today, we’re publishing a new issue brief intended to serve as a resource for institutions working to improve their support for college instruction through cross-unit…
Issue Brief
November 16, 2023
Who Cares About College Teachers?
An essential step to refining an institution's underlying strategy for advancing teaching and learning excellence is to understand the models for instructor support at universities and how evidence about teacher practices and needs is used to inform those services. This paper outlines which units on campus have instructional support mandates and how those units typically engage with teachers both at their own institution and nationally.
Past Event
November 30, 2023
Comprehensive Recruitment and Transfer Advising Tools for Student Success
Promoting Transfer Equity and Transparency in Higher Education
At the New York State Transfer and Articulation Association Downstate Meeting, Ithaka S+R’s Emily Tichenor will join Nechelle Calhoun, Lexa Logue, and Chris Buonocore in a panel on recruitment and transfer advising tools for student success. The session will include a presentation on the Ithaka S+R Articulation of Transfer Credit (ACT) project as well as a demo of CUNY T-Rex Transfer Explorer and Universal Transfer Explorer. The panel is scheduled for November 30 at 10am ET.