Has the test-optional trend helped student underrepresentation? Reported by Higher Ed Dive, proponents of test-optional admissions for equity reasons are celebrating a new study published in the American Educational Research Journal, suggesting a 10-12% increase in first-time enrollment from underrepresented minority students in the first few years after a college moves to test-optional admissions. The […]

For many students, their fall college uncertainty comes from us telling them to wait. Reported by Inside Higher Ed, the perfect storm of test-only admissions, more students than ever applying to selective colleges, and colleges not knowing how to precisely forecast for an uncertain fall has created a new ‘waitlist generation’. The takeaway? 40% of […]

While the nation’s alcohol consumption rose during the pandemic, our students’ actually decreased. Reported by Inside Higher Ed, students aged 19 and older who changed residences during the pandemic reported a 49% reduction in their drinking last year, compared to a 21% reduction among students who maintained their residence. The takeaway? Less parties? Less drinking? […]

Does back to normal mean faculty training can stop? Reported by Higher Ed Dive, our institutions put a massive focus on online pedagogy training this past year. But if we’re moving back to in-person next year, can we stop? Or is our faculty’s proficiency as educators, not merely subject matter experts, the singular difference in […]

Did we sell any undergrads on long-term online education last year? Reported by Higher Ed Dive, a new survey from Maguire Associates suggests that a majority of first-year college prospects would still prefer fall classes be held face-to-face. And nearly half of transfer students still want in-person instruction this fall, after only 70% self-reporting to […]

The most selective schools got even more selective’r this year Reported by Inside Higher Ed, despite a very difficult enrollment year in the aggregate for higher education, many of the most selective institutions had their highest app years ever. This is partially because the test-optional policy from COVID’s interference with SAT and ACT test taking […]

New Jersey has an ambitious plan to get 65% of their working-age adults a credential by 2025. Reported by Higher Ed Dive, more than just fingers-crossed wishful thinking, New Jersey has  developed a partnership with non-profit course provider, Modern States, to provide “freshman year for free”, allowing students to complete the self-paced courses and then […]

Will Florida start surveying students on their perceived freedom of speech? Reported by Higher Ed Dive, Florida’s legislature has approved a bill requiring their state’s public colleges to administer an annual survey designed to gauge student and staff perceptions regarding their own freedom of expression. The takeaway? While many argue the bill is redundant to […]