Purchase costs and long-term maintenance make adding real estate assets an expensive proposition for colleges and universities. Moreover, when institutions invest in off-campus properties, officials must also consider their relationships with nearby communities, as well as alumni and donors. In addition, public institutions typically have regulations and state or federal policies to navigate. To ensure […]
Waitlists for not-quite accepted students have long been used by colleges, but more institutions—both public and private—are dabbling in a different kind of delayed entry. Conditional admissions, which may require academic or English language counseling, give less-prepared students a chance to succeed. "A number of accountability mechanisms can discourage colleges from taking chances on students […]
The challenge: Reduce summer melt for incoming freshmen at Georgia State University. The method: Use an artificially intelligent chatbot to help students complete pre-enrollment tasks, such as submitting transcripts and taking care of immunization requirements. The results: Summer melt for 2016-17 was 21 percent less than in the prior year. The hero: Pounce the text-based […]
Leaders of the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative strive to provide students with more than just college access and employment. Graduation and a well-paying career—in fields such as health care, education and industrial maintenance—top the list of goals for the low-income parents who participate. “We don’t just want to put people in minimum-wage jobs or in […]
When Cathy Stickney first arrived in Northbridge as the superintendent of Public Schools, she was that candidate whose eyes were wide open. After all, Stickney knew going in that the Northbridge Public Schools had a low college-bound aspiration and admission rate; and importantly, a low four-year graduation rate than the statewide average. Worse yet, 25 percent […]
Although "intrusive advising" is rising on the list of higher ed buzzwords, this approach is likely more than a passing trend. As colleges strive for greater levels of student success, some are finding this strategy can bring higher retention rates and, in turn, help the bottom line. Intrusive advising isn't just a rebranding of traditional […]
Better academic performance. Increased student retention and graduation rates. Improved sense of campus community. Online exclusive: Edtech providers on student/faculty ties These are just three benefits that closer ties among faculty and students can yield. Here are nine places to foster such connections. Service-learning sites Tactic: Engage with the community through formal and informal service-learning projects. […]
Once meant to supplement full-time and tenured faculty, adjunct faculty were often viewed as “the others.” But times and economics have changed and this contingent force has become the majority of faculty in American higher education. One result of this shift is a new push to unionize adjunct professors for better pay, benefits and working […]
A two-year institution in Ohio has flipped the concept of a college scholarship. Marion Technical College President Ryan McCall says it makes as much sense to help students graduate after they have proved themselves in higher ed. That idea drives the college’s Buy-One, Get-One tuition model, which will fund all sophomore-year tuition costs (not covered […]
Latino students complete degrees at lower rates than other ethnic groups—and are more likely to still be enrolled after six years. These factors are prompting higher ed institutions to develop supports to help accelerate Latino student success. Six years after initial enrollment, only 46 percent of Latino students have completed a two- or four-year degree, […]