Four more schools adopt a holistic approach to admissions
Four more schools — Colorado College, Elms College, the University of St. Thomas and the Rhode Island School of Design — have decided to go test-optional in regards to their admissions requirements. Mark Hatch, vice president for enrollment at Colorado College, says, “test scores are only one of many criteria that are considered in an applicant’s academic portfolio.” Currently, Colorado College’s acceptance rate is just 15%. Officials there expect this new policy to help diversify incoming classes. The University of St. Thomas has decided to make applying with SAT or ACT scores optional if the student “[writes] an essay explaining why test scores are not indicative of their academic ability, or [submits] a high school transcript with a 3.4 grade point average.” With more and more universities moving toward a holistic admissions approach, it is no wonder why schools are evaluating how they approach their admissions requirements.
Source: Inside Higher Ed
Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) and their ties to communities
Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) provide students who live on or near reservations an opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education. These schools are primarily located along the U.S.-Canadian border as well as in the Southwest region of the United States. A recent survey by Gallup and the American Indian College Fund found that alumni of TCUs often have more need for financial assistance in part due to the fact they are “overwhelmingly first-generation” students. It noted that “81% of TCU graduates received need-based federal financial aid, compared to 56% of graduates nationally and 60% of students” at minority-serving institutions (MSI). The survey also found that “67% of TCU alumni strongly agreed that their institution was worth the cost, compared to 39% of U.S. college graduates and 42% of MSI graduates, as well as American Indian or Alaska Native graduates.” TCUs have a profound effect on those who attend, with many graduates reporting “higher rates of being engaged in their full-time jobs and thriving in their social lives when compared to students nationally.”
Source: Education Dive
The demand for campus childcare — what are campuses doing?
The demand for campus childcare is increasing, and many student parents consider access to affordable childcare one of the most influential factors in choosing which college or university to attend. But the decision for a university to offer childcare is difficult and often rests on the availability of resources. As a result, some schools have been outsourcing the service. Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a for-profit childcare provider, first began offering childcare on campuses in 1997, and has grown to “50 locations for universities and colleges” across the United States. However, some campuses have decided “to cut ties with Bright Horizons in recent years, opting to manage child-care facilities on their own.” Students who protest for-profit childcare providers cite concerns about the higher cost of care and “higher teacher-student ratios and higher employee-turnover rates.” Currently, in-house university childcare is often based on students’ income, whereas for-profit providers may opt to raise prices to reflect market value.
But the question remains, are these higher education institutions fit to run childcare services themselves?
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Remedial education in the nation’s community colleges
Many student success advocates and higher education researchers are rethinking the usefulness of remedial education classes. These classes are often criticized for creating “an unintentional barrier to student success, particularly for [their] impact on low-income and minority students’ persistence and completion outcomes.” While remedial courses often rely upon a single placement test, such as the ACCUPLACER, colleges across the nation are beginning to look into alternative placement tests that “transition to co-requisite models of remediation or eliminate developmental education all together.” Warren County Community College (WCCC), located in New Jersey, eliminated remedial education requirements and “saw its graduation rates double.” The college allowed students to opt out of taking remedial education classes and instead “provided them with alternative courses to grow their competencies, and began to help students focus on readiness for their chosen major and career at an earlier stage.” As a result, WCCC’s “graduation rates are at 45% for the college as a whole, 55% for African-American students and 75% for Latinx students.”
Source: Diverse Education