At first glance, Deyven Ferreras looks like a typical university student: youthful face, college sweatshirt, backpack. But until recently, his backpack carried more than books. Quite literally, it was his lifeline. Inside was a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a mechanical pump that helped his weakened heart move blood throughout his body. Ferreras, a second-year […]
The twin goals of affordability and diversity dominate the nation’s push to expand access to higher ed, but another critical factor—geography—is drawing more attention for the role it plays in where students go to college. With more than half selecting colleges less than 50 miles from home, there’s growing concern about “education deserts”—localities that lack […]
Choices for commencement speakers are making headlines this season, and higher ed officials are aiming to make sure those headlines are positive. Many colleges now prioritize student input and diversity when choosing commencement speakers. They are also developing screening processes to ensure speakers are both engaging and appropriate for the audience of graduating students and […]
With unsafe lead levels in city water systems, injured military veterans in need of smart prosthetics, and a demand for sustainable sources of clean energy, our need for engineers has never been greater. The good news is that despite concerns to the contrary, the ranks of engineers in the United States are growing. About 100,000 […]
As a new study shows one group of students falling farther behind in the struggle to land jobs with salaries that will allow them to pay off debts and achieve financial stability, some experts say it’s the country’s education system that needs to adjust. Only a small percentage of African-American college students enroll in the […]
Two- and four-year colleges across the nation have plugged the black hole of remediation with a range of programs designed to keep students enrolled while steering them toward greater levels of success. Some institutions have upgraded their assessment process to ensure incoming students take placement exams seriously and aren’t assigned a higher (or lower) level […]
It wasn't like we didn't get the memo about the gap in oral healthcare in America. As far back as the Surgeon General's report 15 years ago, we knew that quality, affordable, and accessible oral health is acutely disaggregated – read as, if you live in a middle class or high end suburban neighborhood, quality […]
New momentum has built behind higher education’s pivotal role in helping prison inmates turn their life around and re-enter society. So, what if a city offered convicted felons a college education instead of a jail sentence? The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office partners with the Community College of Philadelphia on the Future Forward initiative, which gives […]
Soon after becoming president of Georgia State University in 2009, Mark P. Becker set out to answer a question: How can you create a better university, in the heart of a large, diverse city, where many of your students are first-generation or low-income, and who face challenges not seen as commonly at a typical flagship […]
Have you ever made a call with a soft phone? You have if you’ve ever Skyped or used FaceTime. It also means you’re on the cutting-edge of phone communications. Sean Jameson, chief technology officer at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, knew it was time to upgrade campus phones when he realized the traditional cable-based […]
