Institutions reporting to the Higher Learning Commission have a chance to shake up their bachelor’s degrees after the accrediting body introduced an application process for reduced-credit programs. It’s the latest move by a major higher education stakeholder to shake up the 120-credit credential.
“This is a new initiative that we believe can move higher education forward in meeting today’s needs of both students and our institutions,” Barbara Gellman-Danley, the accreditor’s president, said in a press release. “We look forward to working with our member colleges and universities as they develop these new learning options for students,” she said.
Pass these quality assurance guidelines for an approved three-year degree program
The Higher Learning Commission, which oversees institutions across 19 states, released new guidelines to help institutions examine their proposed three-year degrees’ rigor and quality, resources supporting student success, alignment with the institution’s mission and the program’s impact on students.
“Our aim at HLC is to ensure that reduced-credit degrees will have as much rigor and quality as traditional degrees,” Gellman-Danley added. “We are confident that the new guidelines will help institutions in achieving their goals.”
Institutions must also be prepared to mitigate any potential limitations of a three-year degree program on matters such as transfer, licensure and employment.
More high school graduates are immediately going to college
While schools bracing for the demographic cliff and tackling Gen Z college skepticism attempt to drive enrollment from other demographics, optimistic data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center may give the sector room to breathe.
The high school graduating class of 2022 enrolled immediately into higher education after graduating at a higher rate than the 2021 cohort, according to the report. Their enrollment increased by more than three percentage points across income levels, race/ethnicity and locale. The percentage of 2023 graduates who enrolled in college within a year remained the same as the class of 2022.
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“The improving persistence rate is an optimistic sign for high school graduates who are choosing to enroll in college,” Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said in a press release.
Graduates of high schools with higher shares of Black and Hispanic students saw a higher rise in rates of persistence compared to graduates of low-minority high schools. However, Shapiro noted a “[l]arge and widening gap” among postsecondary completion rates for low-income students.
These 2 Ivies report lower Black enrollment
Higher ed leaders of highly selective institutions unsure about how their number of enrolled minority students will be affected in a post-affirmative action admissions space may be discouraged by news out of Harvard and Brown University. The two Ivy League institutions experienced declines in Black enrollment this fall, according to publicly released data.
Harvard’s Black enrollment fell to 14%, down four percentage points from last year despite increasing financial aid and sending more recruiters to rural areas, The New York Times reports. Hispanic enrollment, however, increased by two percentage points to 16%.
But at Brown, the share of both minority groups fell. The percentage of Black students enrolled fell by six percentage points to 9% and it fell by four percentage points to 10% among Hispanics.
In historic win, a federal anti-hazing bill gets one step closer
The Stop Campus Hazing Act has passed through the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and is on its way to House floor. The bill aims to curb fraternity-based hazing by requiring mandatory public reporting of these incidents, and it was inspired by a Penn State student who passed away in 2017 due to a hazing ritual.
“The legislation I offered today will bring about much-needed transparency and accountability, but most importantly, it will help protect students nationwide in an effort to ensure that no one will have to experience what the Piazza family has over these past seven years,” said Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Penn.), according to The Progress.
It’s the first bill of its kind to make it out of the committee.
Politics influencing enrollment
College-bound high school students’ fears of harassment and personal injury are driving them to consider campus’ political climates when deciding where to enroll, according to a survey from Echo Delta, a higher ed marketing agency. Specifically, 76% factor state and campus political climate into their decision when it differs from their own views, and political concerns make up 20% of a student’s decision-making process, alongside cost, academic quality and location.
Schools in Texas drew the most caution from liberal students (50%) and moderates (17%).
On free speech, 77% support free speech on campus even if it offends others, and 73% believe colleges should remain neutral on political issues.
