Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.
Getting into the University of Texas at Austin is no sweat for Texas residents who graduate in the top six percent of their high school class. In accordance with a nearly 30-year-old state policy—which, until last year, was the only one of its kind in the country—all those students have to do is apply. After that, they’ll be automatically admitted. The law mandates that at least 75 percent of UT Austin’s admits come from this pool.
But for students who don’t make the cut, getting into UT Austin has become about as difficult as getting into Dartmouth.
The impact of college closures reverberates far beyond the campus. Higher education institutions are often among their region’s largest employers, and their graduates can feed into the local workforce. More than dollars and cents, however, colleges can be cultural magnets, neighborhood anchors, gathering spots, and partners in solving everyday challenges.
The dynamic adds a new wrinkle to town-gown relations: Given the tumult in the sector, are there ways that colleges in tough financial and enrollment straits can better prepare their communities for contraction or closure? Could town leaders and businesspeople do more to help support the viability of this critical part of the local economy? And if a shutdown becomes inevitable, can colleges work with them to sustain the community left behind?
First-year grade point average, the number of credits earned, and whether students re-enroll at the same institution for a second year are among the strongest predictors of whether college and university students will graduate in a timely manner, according to a study from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
What students choose as their major also influences completion rates, researchers say. Race, ethnicity, gender, and age are significant factors, too.
On a warm November day, a group of Columbia University professors set up “listening tables” near the center of campus and hailed students rushing to class, inviting them to stop and talk.
Dialogue is an essential part of the college experience. And, as anger over the crisis in the Middle East continues to bring unprecedented upheaval to campuses, it's now becoming a key way for schools to reduce conflict.
For America’s colleges, recruiting more rural students could be one way to diversify their campuses in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ban on race-conscious admissions. Students from small towns can bring different experiences, perspectives, and values to the classroom than their urban counterparts.
That’s why a group of elite and flagship colleges is trying to grow its ranks of rural students. The coalition, Small Town and Rural Students College Network, or STARS, recently doubled in size, to 32 colleges. It has sent representatives to more than 2,000 small-town high schools in 50 states in the past year alone.
College presidents are constantly faced with a multitude of competing priorities vying for their time and attention. It can be an overwhelming job, but having a guiding purpose behind every decision a president makes, the teams they form, and the long-term strategies they develop can help keep leaders on the right track.
But how do they know which areas deserve their attention and which should be delegated to talented team members? When should they take risks? Three higher education leaders share their experiences of making tough decisions, championing student success to stakeholders, lobbying for greater funding from legislators, and striking out on paths unknown with new partners.
