First-generation students are prone to fall behind in higher education and beyond, prompting colleges, universities and related organizations to recognize their struggles and alleviate them.
Traditional college rankings measure the wrong things and penalize the vast majority of regional public institutions that support first-generation and underrepresented students.
"The higher education system is broken," said Colorado College President Song Richardson at the Department of Education's summit discussing the end of affirmative action.
The number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students has increased by 10% or more since Johns Hopkins University stopped legacy admissions in 2013.
Despite Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action and state efforts to defund DEI, there are integral ways higher education can maintain its mission of cultivating a culture of diverse perspectives. "Don't be led by fear," advises Dr. David Acosta, chief diversity and inclusion officer of the AAMC.
After helping boost Johns Hopkins low-income, first-generation student persistence rates to 100%, the Kessler Scholars Collaborative is expanding its reach to 16 schools and 1,600 students, thanks in part to $10 million in new funding.
North Texas has 1,200+ trained employees, from administrative assistants up to the president, using their AI-assisted analytics software suit to take huge swaths of data and create visual data models in order to form clear, intentional decision-making.
With Colorado and Rhode Island College of Design opting out of U.S. News Best College Rankings, a flood of other schools may follow suit. Is your school prepared to market itself effectively in the digital, consumer-first age?
