Here are some new resources and news for the field of higher education.
CCE 2017: Equity in College and Career Readiness Initiatives – Ensuring That All Students Are Equipped for Success Register now to attend the seventh annual College Changes Everything conference – the state’s premier college access and success event. This one day conference focuses on effective practices and showcases resources available to help with increasing college access and college completion for students in support of the state’s Goal 2025 – to increase the proportion of adults in Illinois with high-quality college degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025.
Supporting Women in Higher Education Through Equitable Financial Aid Support This Ed Note Blog post comes from Erin Whinnery, a policy researcher at Education Commission of the States, and illustrates the gender disparity in financial aid support and provides examples of 2017 state legislation aimed to support women in higher education with financial support.
College vs. the Great Recession Millennials who graduated college just as the 2008 recession was unfolding fared better economically than their peers did, despite facing increased prospects of underemployment and carrying student loans. (Inside Higher Ed, June 30)
Dual Credit Courses A staff member at ECS addressed a policy question asked about the use of open source materials for dual credit courses.
New Illinois Guidelines Aim to Boost College and Career Readiness New state guidelines adopted this month will help kids get ready for life after 12th grade – whether that’s picking a college or finding a job. The Illinois State Board of Education and other state agencies last week introduced a new Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) framework to outline what students need to know about post-secondary life and when they need to know it.
MO Gives College Students Flexibility in Required Math Courses This fall, most public colleges and universities in the state will debut new “math pathways” that will give many students different options for math courses instead of requiring them to take college algebra, the traditional standard class. (Joplin Globe)
Federal Work-Study: Past Its Prime, or Ripe for Renewal? This report discusses the theory and evidence relating to work-study to answer the question: Is the idea of work-study past its prime? Or might the program have a unique and valuable role to play in a modern “college completion and career readiness” agenda? The author argues that two recent trends in higher education provide the program with newfound relevance: first, an increasing recognition of behavioral and structural barriers to college persistence and completion (not just financial ones), which on-campus employment might help address; and second, the increasing importance of internships in the post-college job market, in combination with the fact that access to such internships is often unequal by family income. The available research on federal work-study, while not definitive, suggests that it improves both degree completion and the likelihood of employment after college, in part by replacing off-campus jobs with more academically compatible on-campus ones. (Brookings Institution)
Heinrich Aims to Increase Access to Pell Grants, Make College More Affordable U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) have introduced bicameral legislation, the Middle Class Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically (CHANCE) Act, to increase access to affordable post-secondary education for low- to moderate-income students. (Los Alamos Daily Post)
Call for More Transparency on College and Careers The stakes are high for students to make the right decisions, the center said. Yet many college graduates are showing buyer’s remorse, with more than half saying they would choose a different major, go to a different college or pursue a different credential if given the chance. (Inside Higher Ed)
