Here are some new resources and news for the field of higher education.
Developing Comprehensive Support Services College access doesn’t equal college success. For many low-income students, there are various tripping points along the way that can cause them to stumble and drop out — and they’re not necessarily on the academic side. (Community College Daily)
WI – Foster Care Bills Expected to Pass Assembly Under one proposal, foster youth could go to any U-W college or technical school in the state for free. They would get tuition paid for up to 12 semesters. (WKOW-27 ABC)
Building Policy Momentum for Foster Youth Support in Postsecondary Education This special report discusses key takeaways from our State Policy Academy focused on foster youth in postsecondary education, including approaches taken by Colorado, Iowa, Oregon and Texas, and considerations to assist policy development supporting foster youth attainment.
Rethinking Advising for Community College Students Citing advising as “the cornerstone of student support,” the Center for Community College Student Engagement makes the case for improved advising models in a new study published this week. (Diverse Issues in Higher Education)
US Economy Faces Impending Skills Gap The combination of a generational sea change in the workforce and a technological revolution in the economy is conspiring to create a skills gap that could leave jobs unfilled, experts said. (The Hill)
Valuing Learning, Wherever It Occurs The American Council on Education has announced plans to evaluate skills learned in the workplace, putting a key higher ed organization in the middle of the alternative credentials landscape.
New Report Details How Achieving the Dream’s Student-Centered Model Improves Well-Being Achieving the Dream released its report Measuring What Matters, exploring the extent to which community colleges dedicated to student success make a significant difference in the lives of their graduates after college. The study, conducted by Gallup with support from Strada Education NetworkSM, shows that institutions affiliated with Achieving the Dream are outpacing peer institutions not associated with the reform network when it comes to helping students get better jobs, live better lives, and have good experiences in college.
How Illinois Universities Power The Chicago Startup Ecosystem Chicago is now one of the most important cities in tech due to one of the most innovation-driven higher education systems across the United States (Forbes)
Collaborating on Completion New project from land-grant university association will bring 100 institutions together to work on improving student completion rates and closing achievement gaps. (Inside Higher Ed)
Cost to Connect Rural America: $19 Billion or Less A group of private and public organizations said that, for less than $20 billion, every unserved rural school, library, health provider and community college in the country that doesn’t already have high-capacity broadband could get it and share it out. (THE Journal)
Broadband Access and Implications for Efforts to Address Equity Gaps in Postsecondary Attainment This education trends report focuses on two related but distinct challenges confronting state policy leaders and students as they seek to leverage online distance education to meet personal and statewide education goals, namely access to infrastructure and ensuring availability of financial resources.
Report: Community Colleges Play Important Role in Preparing Early Educators Offering programs that better fit early educators’ schedules, allowing flexibility in completing practicum requirements, and integrating remedial education with credit-bearing coursework are a few of the ways community colleges are helping early educators gain greater access to postsecondary education opportunities, according to a new report from Bellwether Education Partners. (Education Dive)
Focus on Student Success Increases Well-Being A new survey shows graduates from Achieving the Dream colleges report higher percentages of financial and community well-being compared to other community college alumni. (Inside Higher Ed)
Valuing Learning, Wherever It Occurs The American Council on Education has announced plans to evaluate skills learned in the workplace, putting a key higher ed organization in the middle of the alternative credentials landscape. (Inside Higher Ed)
Understanding the New College Majority: The Demographic and Financial Characteristics of Independent Students and their Postsecondary Outcomes Independent college students, once considered “nontraditional,” now constitute the majority of students in the United States. As of 2012, just over half of all U.S. college students were independent (51 percent)—meaning they had at least one defining characteristic outlined in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including being at least 24 years old; married; a graduate or professional student; a veteran; an orphan, in foster care, or ward of the court; a member of the armed forces; an emancipated minor; someone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless; or having legal dependents other than a spouse (Federal Student Aid n.d.; IWPR 2016a).
The Perils of Trashing the Value of College Higher education has thrived not because it is exclusive and elite, but because we’ve worked hard to be less so. Our moments of growth and transformation come when we embrace a changing landscape — when land-grant institutions reinvent teaching and research, when the GI Bill redraws our image of the American college student, when states see their public universities as long-range assets rather than near-term burdens. Today, those ideals demand that we resist the narrow role of a credentialing agency and embrace the broad mission of useful learning in all its forms. That’s our calling.
Women Can’t Win: Despite Making Educational Gains and Pursuing High-Wage Majors, Women Still Earn Less than Men shows that women on average earn just 81 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Even when comparing men and women who have equal educational attainment and work in the same occupation, women still earn only 92 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Overconfident Students, Dubious Employers A new study identifies the gaps between graduates’ views of their skills and the views of those who hire them. (Inside Higher Ed)
