In the News - 2019

The Chronicle of Higher Education | Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Times Higher Education | Inside Higher Ed | Lawyer2Lawyer | Nature

 

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Mission to the Middle

Kelly Rosinger (PhD 2015) shared her financial aid expertise in an article on middle-income scholarships (“Public Flagships Are Offering More Middle-income Scholarships. What Gives?,” October 23, 2018). “If [public flagship institutions] are seeing middle-class students leaving college with debt or not enrolling because [of costs], they are not really serving all their mission.” Her work indicates that grants, which target students in the middle class, are beneficial if promoted effectively within the target communities and if they are designed to be easily accessible.

To Your Health

Associate professor Timothy Cain, who researches faculty unionization and campus activism in the United States, offered insight into negotiations at Wright State University in “Standing Up for What’s Right” by Colleen Flaherty (February 13, 2019). As the number of strikes per year in higher education continues to rise in the Unites States, Cain noted that health care has become “such a large portion of compensation for both individuals and employers that it necessarily is a key negotiating issue.”

Finding the Right Combination

John Fuchko III (EdD student) was quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education on college mergers (“Mergers Can Benefit All Involved—But They’re Never Easy,” October 21, 2018). When Fuchko became the vice chancellor for organizational effectiveness in 2013, he assumed primary responsibility for leading the consolidation efforts at the University System of Georgia, but he has been involved in the mergers since day one.

The article noted that the “Georgia example” has been “closely watched and largely admired by those in higher education.” Fuchko said, “Our No. 1 priority is to increase degree attainment within the state, and the second piece is student affordability. The third is efficiency.” The strategy is bearing fruit. A recent paper by Lauren Russell in Economics of Education Review found a 29% increase in on-time graduations for the 2013 cohort at five of the consolidated Georgia institutions.

Right Relationships

Allison McWilliams (PhD 2008) comments on the inherent risks in campus mentoring programs since the #MeToo Movement. McWilliams is the assistant vice president of mentoring and alumni personal & career development at Wake Forest University. In an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“For Mentorships to Work, Colleges Have to Commit,” November 2018), she urged schools not to avoid mentoring relationships but rather to offer multiple mentors to reduce a student’s dependency on an uncomfortable or unproductive one. “Trust your instincts,” she advised. “Not every mentoring relationship works.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution



Is Test-Optional the Right Answer?

Research conducted by Andrew Belasco (PhD 2014), James Hearn, and Kelly Rosinger (PhD 2015) appeared in “Why Some Colleges Don’t Rely on SAT or ACT Scores” (January 12, 2019). Their findings, based on data from 180 liberal arts colleges over three decades, showed that test-optional schools receive many more applications. However, the larger pools did not lead to enrollments of more students from underrepresented minorities. The article reported, “Ironically, the [UGA] researchers found ‘liberal arts colleges that implement test-optional policies experience a subsequent rise in their reported SAT scores, by approximately 26 points, on average.’”

Times Higher Education

Benefits of Studying Abroad

IHE adjunct faculty member and alumna Angela Bell (PhD 2008) investigates student outcomes after participation in study-abroad opportunities for the University System of Georgia. Part of her findings appear in the article “Drive to Get More Lower-income US Students to Study Abroad” (February 23, 2019). Despite the financial demands on the students and their institutions, Bell’s research indicates real benefits from these programs for lower- income and minority students. Six-year graduation rates experienced increases as high as 15%, and overall GPAs rose 0.12 points.

She hopes potential funders and policymakers will see these figures as part of a compelling case for improving college success and college completion results. Currently, fewer than 30% of students who participate in study abroad programs in the United States identify as ethnic minorities.

Inside Higher Ed

Unequal Higher Education

A question and response exchange with the authors of Unequal Higher Education: Wealth, Status and Student Opportunity (Rutgers University Press, 2019) was featured in Inside Higher Ed (June 12, 2019).

Co-authors Barrett Taylor (PhD 2012) and Brendan Cantwell (former IHE postdoctoral associate) shared their thoughts on a range of key challenges in higher education, including the top inequities in U.S. education, possible approaches to amelioration, public opinion of higher education, and the impact of the recent college admissions scandal. They noted, “[W]e think the most consequential inequality is the gap between where smaller nonselective public colleges and universities used to be and where they are now When these institutions suffer, so do the students whom they serve.”

How May I Help You?

Steven Bettner (EdD 2017) described the Crimson Concierge service piloted at New Mexico State University in Inside Higher Ed (October 23, 2018) and in Forbes (October 21, 2018). Bettner, the assistant vice president of auxiliary services, said the offered amenities remove items on a to-do list and keep students focused on their studies. 

“We’re using this as a tool to help students through their matriculation and graduating on time.” The program is administered by Sodexo with concierge training performed by representatives of the Ritz- Carlton Hotel Company. NMSU funds the program through partnerships with outside companies and commissions on the services.

Lawyer2Lawyer

Layers of the Admissions Scandal

Joy Blanchard (PhD 2008) joined host J. Craig Williams and guest Steven Cohen for the March 22, 2019 episode of the Lawyer2Lawyer podcast on the Legal Talk Network. In the discussion of legal aspects of the college admissions bribery scandal, Blanchard acknowledged, “There has been a long-standing tradition that universities have been allowed to select who they would bring to their university whether it be [based on] money or arbitrary metrics that they institute.” She added that accompanying this tradition is the equally long-standing practice of people manipulating it.

While private institutions have more latitude, Blanchard noted, “State institutions… have a legal and public mandate to be equitable and fair in the admissions process.”

Nature: International Journal of Science

Salaries Reflect Institutional Wealth Gaps

The overall higher education salary figures discussed in Chris Woolston’s May 3, 2019 article, “Pay Rises for US Faculty Members Remain Low for Third Year in a Row,” reflect inflation tracking rather than any real gains for most faculty members. Based on the research from his book (co-authored with Brendan Cantwell), Barrett Taylor observed, “There are enormous and growing gaps between the wealthiest higher-education institutions and all others.”

While competitive demand for top administrators and faculty remains high, Taylor noted that wealthy institutions can offer more and do. “At campuses where money is tight, the gap … simply cannot be as large as it is at wealthy, prestigious institutions.”