Should Popular College Rankings Methodologies Change?
Six Democratic senators wrote to U.S. News & World Report asking the organization to consider a change to the methodology behind its popular ranking system. The requested changes center around giving more weight to institutions that have higher percentages of underrepresented backgrounds.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Inequality in Expenses from Engineering to Math
The National Bureau of Economic Research released a working paper that highlights research surrounding the difference in costs of various higher education programs. For instance, the paper shares that electrical engineering costs 109% more than English. The data in this paper comes from over 550 institutions over a 15-year period, which totals over 7,000 individual departments. As state and federal lawmakers are requiring more accountability from higher education, there are more questions regarding the correlation between high-paying academic fields and the money spent teaching those courses.
Source: Inside Higher Ed
Why Aren’t Veterans Attending More Ivy League Colleges?
Veterans attend many colleges, some online and some in person, but the percentage of veterans that are enrolled in elite colleges are very, very low. A recent piece highlighted in the Washington Post highlighted the importance of veteran involvement in elite education, particularly as the graduates of those institutions are more likely to continue in roles that dictate the future of the country and its military. Programs like the Yellow Ribbon Program are especially helpful for veterans pursuing private education options.
Source: Washington Post
The Futures of Admissions and Artificial Intelligence Combine
Admissions techniques and procedures are constantly changing, and one option that some admissions officials are considering is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Using data, AI can help predict the success or failure of students. One area that colleges are concerned about is “summer melt,” which is when students who are accepted do not show up in the fall. Georgia State was able to use data gathered from incoming freshman to reduce their summer melt by 22% the first year. They sent questions that could be answered via smartphone and they were answered with an average response time of seven seconds. AI can help save money and automate parts of the admissions process, without removing the human element from the process.
Source: USAToday