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Spotlight on Innovation: Arizona State University Rolls Out Project-Based Modular Learning to Improve First-Gen Student Retention and Completion

by Lisa Cook

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. At Arizona State University, students from first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented backgrounds earn bachelor’s degrees at a rate that is 40 to 80 percent of their more advantaged peers. M. Jeanne Wilcox, a professor in in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and Elizabeth D. Capaldi Phillips, provost emeritus and professor of psychology, head the ASU team that hopes to close that gap with three complementary innovations designed to boost retention and completion. Art Blakemore, Senior Vice President, and Duane Roen, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, are working with Wilcox and Phillips on the implementation team. ASU hopes to increase first-generation completion rates and prepare students more effectively for life and career after graduation as they pilot several new strategies, learning what works and what requires […]

Performance-Based Funding for Higher Education: What You Need to Know

by Patrick Cain, Dennis P. Jones

January 2015. While states and institutions across the country experiment to find successful funding formulas, all will agree that performance-based funding (also termed outcomes-based funding) is once again gaining momentum. A majority (60%) of states have already adopted measures to allocate public funding on the basis of outcomes, and many more plan to follow suit.The time is now for your institution to begin thinking about how performance-based funding models can represent state and institutional interests while achieving better student outcomes at your institution. To offer a clear look at the future landscape of performance funding — and what conversations college and university leaders need to be leading on their campuses today — we reached out to Dennis Jones, the president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). We would like to share our interview with you. An Interview with Dennis Jones, NCHEMS Patrick Cain.Looking back 12-18 months, what overall trend have you seen in regard to the position of policy makers and senior institutional leadership on adopting performance based funding?Dennis Jones.There continues to be growing interest in outcomes-based funding among policymakers. It is increasingly viewed as a form of good budgetary practice at the state level; and […]

Measure of Grace: A Different Approach to Tuition and Persistence

by Daniel Fusch, Sarah Seigle Peatman

With their new “Measure of Grace” initiative, Grace College is working to keep their undergraduate degrees affordable and incentivize student persistence and completion. A few years ago, the college began offering the option to complete all of their bachelor’s degrees as three-year degrees. Now, with “Measure of Grace,” the college is: “We could have just reduced tuition to increase our competitiveness and increase enrollment,” Cindy Sisson, Grace College’s vice president of enrollment, notes, “but we also wanted to reward students for persisting. In fact, the students who came in last fall will get the $500 reduction this coming fall, and the free textbook rentals.” Grace College already has a tradition of high persistence, with 81% freshman-to-sophomore retention in 2014, reflecting recent gains from their three-year degree initiative. A Closer Look at Grace College’s Tuition Model We asked Cindy Sisson about the economics of the new tuition model. She suggests that while there is definitely a cost involved in these tuition reductions, Grace College hopes this will be offset by: At Academic Impressions, what strikes us about Grace College’s model is that (a) it allows the institution to better serve its mission in keeping a faith-based, private education affordable for students, […]

Student Affairs: Trends to Watch in 2015

How can SA professionals best use social media? How do you serve students and satisfy the demands of regulatory compliance? What will “move the needle” on completion rates? On February 9, Marla Whipple, a senior director of in-person events at Academic Impressions, moderated a free panel (you can access a recording here)– with 335 institutions attending — where she asked three thought leaders in student affairs what trends student affairs leaders should be watching in 2015. This is just one part of our comprehensive curriculum for Student Affairs professionals. What followed was a vigorous discussion between Gavin Henning, associate professor of higher education and director of the educational administration programs at New England College; Tony Doody, director of student life at Rutgers University; and Susan Salvador, vice president of enrollment and student affairs at Northampton Community College — with questions coming in from a diverse array of colleges and universities. The following is a partial and complimentary transcript of this panel. Share it with your colleagues! A Panel of Experts: What’s on their Minds this Year? Marla Whipple: Gavin, Susan, Tony, welcome! What institutional trends are you watching in 2015? Gavin Henning: I’m paying close attention to the completion agenda. There is a […]

Parking Garage Advising: How Florida Atlantic is Test Driving a New Approach to Advising Commuter Students

by Lisa Cook

by Lisa Cook, Academic Impressions Why We’re Taking a Close Look at FAU Florida Atlantic University has piloted several innovative strategies for providing students more timely advising and support. In fall 2014, FAU’s University Advising Services office started a resident hall outreach but struggled to come up with a plan to reach out to commuter students, who frequently attend part-time and only in the evening due to work and family commitments. Historically, all university offices closed at 5, which posed an additional challenge to reaching out to students with full-time jobs. The reality is that commuter students, who are often part-time, take longer to graduate, making outreach to that population especially critical. We talked with Joe Murray, director of University Advising Services, to learn more about the initiative. Taking Advising to the Parking Garage The idea to reach out to commuter students was the brainchild of Florida Atlantic University academic coach and advisor Jennifer Coisson, who herself had once been a commuter student and knew that commuter students often miss out on campus support services. Yet outreach to these students is difficult because FAU doesn’t have commuter lounges or any one spot on campus where commuter students congregate. Except the […]

P3 Partnerships: The One Thing I Keep Hearing

by Patrick Cain (Academic Impressions) The Current State of P3’s in Higher Ed “We simply need to isolate a revenue stream.” This recurring sentiment from a recent Academic Impressions conference on Financing Campus Facilities through Public Partnerships seems to at once highlight the challenge and the innovation that has defined the swift evolution of P3’s in the higher education sector. When public/private partnerships burst onto the higher education scene nearly two decades ago, residence halls were the clear choice for this type of alternative financing. The immediate revenue stream generated from student housing fees made the partnership viable for both parties, and soon, these partnerships were cropping up all over the sector. As competition for students increased and capital project funding decreased for most over the next few decades, however, it became more and more apparent that public/private partnerships could serve an institution beyond the realm of residence halls. What’s Exciting Right Now (And What You Need to Keep in Mind) Our 7th annual event a few weeks ago in La Jolla, CA served to highlight just how far this ingenuity has come, and the nearly 80 attendees representing institutions from across the sector left the conference motivated to explore […]

Dispatch from China to Advancement Offices: Something You Need to Do TODAY

Gretchen Dobson LLC) February 2015. I’ve experienced two New Year’s in the last two months. First was the calendar end of December 31 that we rang in while standing in a customs line at midnight in Chengdu’s international airport. The second has been a more gradual celebration in China that started to peak over the weekend with celebratory dinners, gift exchanges and hustling crowds in supermarkets and metro lines preparing to go home and/or host their loved ones during Chinese New Year. Some call it Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. This Wednesday February 18 marks the eve of the New Year here in China and The Year of the Sheep (or goat, or ram). The Sheep is the eighth sign in the Chinese zodiac. This is positively significant as the number “8” is a lucky number according to Chinese beliefs and represents peace and prosperity. Constituents in China and countries and territories with significant Chinese populations? Afraid that your database might not be a robust as you wish for this greeting? It’s OK, as every new effort has the potential for making a difference in the lives of alumni who will join family for a week long reunion. Hearing […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Jacksonville State University Plans to Boost Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

by Sarah Seigle Peatman, Daniel Fusch

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. Expanding on Jacksonville State University’s Collaborative Regional Education (CORE) model, which is currently funded by a $12 million Investing in Innovation grant for PK-12, the First in the World grant will supports ongoing professional development for JSU faculty, focused on unlocking the potential of technology and of active learning. Their “Fast Forward” quality enhancement plan, aided by a more than $3 million First in the World grant from the US Department of Education, is focused initially on improvements for Jacksonville State’s college of arts and sciences, but with the intent to be scalable across disciplines. Here’s some of what the initiative entails. Realizing the iPad’s Potential Jacksonville State freshmen will have access to iPads starting in Fall 2015. But that isn’t enough. Jacksonville State is working to make […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Lee College is Responding to Industry and Student Needs with Weekend College

by Lisa Cook

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. The Challenge Nearly 75 percent of Lee College’s students attend part-time because they need to schedule classes around their work schedules, and only 23 percent of Lee’s students complete an associates degree within four years.  With a demand for skilled workers in the area, especially among the region’s petrochemical industries, Lee’s STEM Grant and Puente Project Coordinator Victoria Marron found herself asking the community college’s students, “Why are you part time? What obstacles are you facing? Let’s find a way to make you more successful.” Lee will use the $2.7 million grant to respond to industry demand for skilled workers while addressing working students’ needs for flexible scheduling by providing four accelerated associate programs for full-time students in a Weekend College initiative. A Close Look at Weekend […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Texas A&M – Corpus Christi is Using Online Supplemental Instruction to Boost STEM Student Success

by Lisa Cook

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded the multi-million dollar First in the World grant to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. Texas A&M – Corpus Christi already offers face-to-face supplemental instruction (SI) for many barrier STEM classes and has seen it boost retention and graduation. However, the number of students who took advantage of SI remained low in comparison to the number of students in the courses. Students frequently reported they could not attend face-to-face sessions due to schedule conflicts or jobs. Dr. Patricia Spaniol-Mathews, Executive Director for Programs for Academic Student Support, hopes to eliminate that obstacle by piloting an interactive online supplemental instruction program with the $3.3 million First In The World grant.  It is an exciting opportunity because the online option will eliminate schedule barriers, increase the number of students who can benefit from supplemental instruction, and hopefully boost STEM retention and completion rates […]

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