The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global and U.S. economy more profoundly than any other event since World War II. Just as the subprime mortgage crisis ushered in an 18-month economic decline and an ensuing state budget crisis, the current economic slide threatens to leave us in an even larger fiscal hole. The Great Recession also taught the nation several lessons about higher education. Generally, the more education you have, the more likely you are to remain employed during economic hardship. States with higher educational attainment also see greater economic growth. Conversely, disproportionate cuts to higher education undermine statewide attainment goals. States will often pursue “across-the-board” cuts to institutions in what may appear to be a “fair” way to distribute losses, but this can cause significant harm.
As colleges and universities work to enhance student success, they frequently use traditional outcome-based metrics—such as graduation rates, year-to-year retention, and post-graduation employment—to define that “success.” These measurements, which are reported to and used by government, regulatory, and accrediting agencies, are influential for decision-making, benchmarking, ranking, and most importantly, funding. This report from Ithaka S+R examines traditional metrics used in higher education and offers insight on ow other metrics could help form a more holistic view of community colleges' successes.
The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce presents a framework for system-wide change with policy recommendations including: End the overreliance on the SAT and ACT, since GPA has been shown to be a better predictor of academic success Halt legacy admissions, as they do no more than perpetuate the insularity of selective colleges Require […]
The federal stimulus plan directs $6.28 billion in emergency aid to college students. The relief fund has drawn support for its novelty as well as criticism amid its restrictions and rollout. But what it does include is an additional avenue of support for a group that is often overlooked in higher ed discussions – students juggling family responsibilities along with their classes.
As COVID-19 wreaks havoc on institutions and the students they serve, helping learners earn the credentials they need from the providers best suited to serve them will be a critical issue in determining how well and robustly the nation recovers. This working paper from the Christensen Institute calls for a federal stimulus to fund programs aimed at industry-valued skills, effectively creating a parallel higher education system with seamless credit transfer, the ability to pay for student learning outcomes, and a competency-based system untethered from the credit hour.
BROOKLYN, N.Y.—A framed quotation hangs on one wall of the windowless space Wesley Caines shares with two office mates at the Brooklyn Defenders Service. “Re-entry starts when the cuffs go on,” reads the plaque, which was presented to Caines as a farewell gift from a group of law school interns. “Apparently I said that,” Caines […]
Higher education today may be under more scrutiny than ever before. As a greater share of the United State and Canadian population attend post-secondary education, holding a credential or having some higher education experience is no longer rare nor necessarily indicative of qualification as it was 50 years ago. Additionally, as costs have outpaced family incomes for decades, leading to over a trillion dollars in student debt, the public, the media, employers, and prospective students are questioning the value of a college education.
The smartest man I’ve ever known was my grandfather. A child of immigrants, he came of age during the Great Depression, served his country in World War II as an Air Force mechanic, and was an entrepreneur his entire life. He was an accomplished artist, a skilled carpenter and electrician, and a relentless tinkerer. He never stopped learning. Indeed, he never seemed to stop at all. He had a sign in his garage that read “Do it NOW” —a reminder to never let the grass grow under his feet and to finish what he started. He didn’t need the reminder, but he took every opportunity to remind us.
As the pool of high school seniors declines nationally, prisons represent an especially promising new source of potential students. Incarcerated individuals can succeed as college students, and higher education—if provided thoughtfully and equitably—can make a huge difference in their lives and the lives of others.