News

Spotlight on Innovation: How Bryn Mawr is Closing Math Skill Gaps with Targeted Online Modules

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. Bryn Mawr College has long boasted a strong history of women attaining STEM degrees, with more than a third of their students majoring in math or science. Now, Bryn Mawr is working to take the next step toward increasing the number of underrepresented, underprepared and low-income students attaining STEM degrees by targeting the needs of students who have gaps in specific math skills or who lack the overall mastery that would allow them to thrive in STEM. Their project, funded by a $1.65 million First in the World grant from the US Department of Education, will combine face-to-face coaching support and blended learning through online modules, in partnership with twelve other institutions. The Challenge The project targets the group of students who have passed Bryn Mawr’s entry […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Making the Library Central to Adult Learner Support at The College of New Rochelle

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. Faculty at the The College of New Rochelle already know that mentoring and research-rich courses are key for the success of the adult learners in their School of New Resources. Yet when Ana Fontoura, The College of New Rochelle’s Dean of Libraries, was tapped to help improve student success through innovative, collaborative learning strategies, she immediately noticed that the existing research only mentioned academic libraries in a supporting role, if at all. At many institutions, this may present a missed opportunity. After all, the academic library is uniquely positioned to bring together information and research services and provide spaces for learning, mentoring, and collaboration. That moving of the library from the support role to the center of a student success initiative with a focus on undergraduate research […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Increasing Transfer and Completion Rates through Regional Partnerships in the SUNY Oswego Area

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. Although the State University of New York at Oswego already has a strong collaboration with area community colleges, SUNY Oswego has noticed a gap in the number of students moving from two-year to four-year schools. In this north-central region of New York, three community colleges and a community organization partnered with SUNY Oswego to narrow that gap. Their goals are to increase retention and completion rates both two-year and four-year institutions, encourage more students to transfer to a four-year institution and complete a bachelor’s degree, and strengthen regional economic development in the process. The hope is that this model will provide a sustainable example of how collaboration, aligned coursework and community support can improve degree attainment on multiple levels. The Transfer Gateways and Completion Program Leaders at […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Retaining First-Gen Students at UNC-Chapel Hill

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. Percentages of first-generation students are rising at many institutions, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is taking an especially comprehensive approach to academic support for this growing and often challenged demographic. At AI, we’re looking forward to watching their FITW-funded project develop over the next four years; if successful, it will provide other institutions with one possible model for a holistic and effective approach to supporting and retaining first-generation students. Here’s a first look at the challenge UNC-Chapel Hill is up against and how they’re innovating to address it. The Challenge At UNC-Chapel Hill, 20 percent of undergraduates are first-generation students who are half as likely to graduate college as their peers. First-generation students who transfer from a community college or major in a […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Learning Communities to Study First-Gen Student Success at Western Michigan

by 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. Andrea Beach, Western Michigan University’s director of faculty development, is the recipient of a $3.2 million First in the World grant. WMU has announced its intent to use the grant to help develop a “culture of degree completion and success,” and I was excited to learn more about what that meant — in very practical terms. Building on the Kalamazoo Promise First, a bit of the background story: In 2005, Kalamazoo, Michigan created the “Kalamazoo Promise,” a fund intended to expand access and student success, and to foster local community and economic development. The fund covers tuition and fees for students graduating from Kalamazoo public schools. “The thought,” Beach explains, “was to remove what is seen as one of the primary barriers to student success in college: finances.” […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Northeastern Adds Learning Laboratory to Increase STEM Retention

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. With job growth in STEM fields predicted to increase at three times the rates of other fields of study, Northeastern University (Boston, MA) plans to expand support for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in STEM disciplines. At Academic Impressions, we’re especially intrigued by the learning laboratory component of this FITW-funded project because, if successful, the laboratory will help identify models for academic intervention that increase STEM graduation rates for nontraditional students. Northeastern is especially focused on finding low-cost ways to deliver STEM education to students online or via blended courses, while providing the academic support that will make the most significant impact. Here’s a first look at their initiative. Building on Past Success Building on the success of its current Fast Track program, Northeastern plans to use […]

Higher Ed is Facing Adaptive Changes: Why This Conversation? Why Right Now?

by Patrick Sanaghan, Jillian Lohndorf

The Changes You Face Now Are Different From the Changes in the Past We’re well-equipped, in higher education, to meet technical change head-on. We’re often less well-equipped for adaptive change. This is a distinction Ron Heifetz drew, first in his thought-provoking book Leadership without Easy Answers (1998) and later with Martin Linsky in Leadership on the Line (2002). With technical challenges, situations arise where current knowledge, expertise and resources are enough to deal effectively. A technical problem is not necessarily trivial or simple but its solution lies within the organization’s current repertoire of resources (such as updated technology, takeaways from past experience, or decisions to invest more money or people). With adaptive challenges, there are fewer clear answers. Adaptive challenges cannot be solved with current knowledge and expertise, but require experimentation, risk taking, creativity and the ability to use “failures” as learning opportunities. The problem is that we too often treat adaptive challenges as technical ones. On top of this, many people tend to resist or deny adaptive challenges (e.g., Khan Academy, MOOCs, mobile technology in the classroom) because these challenges could dramatically change the way they think and act. Often, these people expect their leaders to come up with […]

The Physical Campus: A Critical Asset, a Key Opportunity – Second Edition

This report includes four chapters: Reconsidering the Physical Campus Improvement and stewardship of the physical campus is key to your institution’s competitiveness. It is critical to treat your physical campus as a resource, and manage it effectively and efficiently. With more intentional management of your facilities, you can: Yet too often, institutions make ad hoc and reactive decisions. And just as often, critical decisions are made without all of the key voices at the table — from academic leaders to the registrar, student housing, and facilities management. For this report, we’ve interviewed officials from across the college campus who have shown proven success in fostering cross-campus planning and buy-in around investments in physical facilities. These experts from the trenches bring outside-the-box thinking and a strategic, proactive perspective. We hope their advice will be useful to you. Read the report

Funding Facilities and Facilities Improvements in the Current Market

In recent years, more institutions have looked for innovative, outside-the-box methods of funding their investments in the physical campus — including an array of models for public-private partnerships, mixed-use facilities, and (in a few cases) fundraising for renewal and maintenance. We asked Steven Parfeniuk, vice president of finance and administration at the Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, to offer his insights on public/private partnerships and what institutional leaders need to rethink in order to achieve their capital planning goals. We also invited Kambiz Khalili, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and executive director of housing and dining services for the University of Colorado at Boulder, to share his lessons learned from CU-Boulder’s innovative approach to leveraging rate increases to avoid the bond market or having to rely entirely on private developers. Whether you turn to a public-private partnership or develop an innovative plan to leverage rate increases, the key is intentional and pro-active planning for investment in the physical campus. Public-Private Partnerships We asked Steven Parfeniuk three questions, and the ensuing conversation was illuminating: WHAT DO INSTITUTIONS NEED TO RETHINK BEFORE SEEKING OUT A PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP? “Let’s start in the right place,” Parfeniuk suggests, “let’s define partnership.” Parfeniuk stresses that […]

Adapting RCM to Your Institution’s Needs

In this complimentary excerpt from a 2014 webcast session on Moving to a Responsibility Centered Budget Model, Larry Goldstein, president of Campus Strategies, LLC, discusses key principles for effectively implementing a similar budget model on campus, including: In this webcast, Goldstein emphasized that no one institution has ever fully adopted Responsibility Centered Budgeting on their campus. Many have taken these principles and modified the model to fit their own campus. Watch the full webcast here. One such example of balancing RCM principles and the unique institutional mission can be found at the University of Notre Dame. In our 2014 article “Tailoring the RCM Model to What Works For You,” Associate Vice President for Finance Linda Kroll discusses how Notre Dame was able to adopt some, not all, RCM principles in balancing departmental financial accountability with a more centralized culture. Watch Larry Goldstein’s Webcast