Only 51% of students who began a four-year degree in 2012 completed a degree within eight years at that institution, according to NCES. Bellwether believes a nonlinear higher education system can regain students' trust and recapture their valuation of a postsecondary degree.
Following a novel beta test that attracted over 300 students and over $40,000 in personal investment accounts, the University of Kentucky is using financial literacy as a conduit for healthier student habits in wellness, engagement and academics.
With a smaller pool of available students, a growing wake of attention to mental health and a swelling public skepticism of higher education, these small private college and university leaders in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Maine are redefining their job to guide their schools in murky waters.
Despite enrollment challenges and some rural towns' skepticism about the value of a college education, Lake Area Tech boasts a 76% three-year graduation rate and transfer rate and Walla Walla Community College helped create a booming winery industry.
One president was chosen to lead one of the top 10 research universities due to her resume championing school startups and patents, while one president was placed on leave after a no-confidence vote - for a second time.
Citing pandemic issues and poor enrollment numbers, Buffalo-based Medaille University marks another private school in the Northeast too financially strapped to continue operations. Instead of closing, however, they're merging.
Allowing stressed students to regulate themselves and, in some cases, utilize their smartphones to assess their own issues has encouraged even those who have not seen a healthcare provider in months to partake of the self-care services.
Dakota State University's recent partnership with the NSA and a $90 million funding boost aims to upgrade the school's longstanding tradition of placing graduates in cybersecurity jobs to forge South Dakota as the next "cyber state" defending national security.
