Topic: policy & research
Access, Accessibility: The Future of Technology on Campus
In higher education, we tend to think of “access” in terms of a very specific set of issues. Predominantly, we use the term to talk about how low-income students or students from underrepresented groups enter higher education. But increasingly, there’s another kind of access that is drawing the attention of policymakers: access to postsecondary education for students with disabilities.
Legacy
As the new president takes office, it’s reasonable to assess the Obama administration’s higher education record and to ask what its legacy will be and how long it will last. In a preview of the Winter 2016 edition of The Presidency, ACE Senior Vice President Terry W. Hartle outlines five fundamental ways federal higher education policy has changed over the last eight years.
The American College President: Reflections and New Developments for ACE’s Signature Study
Earlier this year, ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy distributed the survey for the eighth edition of the American College President Study (ACPS), which was first administered in 1986. Across three decades, the ACPS has earned a reputation as a one-of-a-kind research tool that presents a unique and comprehensive portrait of the presidency and the higher education leadership pipeline.
“Am I overreacting?” Understanding and Combating Microaggressions
Many people of color, women, LGBTQ and other “minoritized” groups on college and university campuses experience microaggressions on a regular basis. We can no longer merely work toward multiculturalism and inclusivity, but rather we must address the larger systemic issues that allow racial microaggressions to flourish on campus.
Affirming Racial Diversity: Student Affairs as a Change Agent
As we continue the discussion about race on college campuses, an important question is emerging: Are institutions of higher education the correct entities to task with addressing racial issues in the United States? Amelia Parnell of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education looks at the role student affairs professionals can play in advocating for diversity on their campus.
The Accountability Movement, College Choice and the Importance of Place
For many students, the decision of whether to attend college, let alone which college, is likely determined more by where they live than by graduation rates, programs offered or even salary after completion. ACE’s Jonathan Turk and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nicholas Hillman discuss the importance of “place” when addressing college choice process and policy.
Lead with Data. Inspire with Leadership.
Bob Shea, senior fellow at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, sat on the ACE2016 panel “Higher Education Business Models: Leading with Data to Deliver Results.” During the Q&A, the common theme emerged of how to get started on the difficult work of moving to a sustainable economic model. Shea considers that question.
The Past Can’t Be Prologue
Dennis P. Jones, president emeritus of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, writes that higher education must take the lead in ensuring that college remains (and is made more) affordable. Assuming this challenge—and responsibility—will require extraordinary leadership skills by college administrators, and require nothing less than a change in institutional cultures.
Addressing Islamophobia on College Campuses
In the latest post in our series sparked by recent student protests and the national dialogue on diversity and inclusion, Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif and Penny A. Pasque discuss the climate at U.S. colleges and universities for Muslim students, faculty and staff.
The Price We Pay for Bad Data on College Costs
Matthew Soldner of the American Institutes for Research writes about three things senior leaders need to know as they navigate the challenges facing their campuses: institutional spending, and how spending relates to cost and student outcomes. The first post in a series introducing three background papers prepared for a roundtable on financial data in higher education.
Dynamic Diversity: How Campus Leaders Can Respond to Student Protests
Liliana Garces and Uma Jayakumar explore the concept of dynamic diversity, a new model for understanding critical mass, promoting inclusive environments and facilitating the benefits of educational diversity on campus. This is the latest post in a series sparked by recent student protests and the national dialogue on diversity and inclusion.
Racial Climate on Campus: A Survey of College Presidents
ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy fielded its first national Pulse Point anonymous online survey of college and university presidents in January 2016 to better understand their experiences, perceptions and (re)actions on the timely issue of campus racial climate. Lorelle Espinosa, Hollie Chessman and Lindsay Wayt look at the results.