Recruiting in rural America
There is a notable post-secondary degree “attainment gap” between students from rural and urban areas of the United States. As a result, higher education institutions, including the University of North Carolina (UNC), are trying to find ways to reach potential students in rural areas known as “education deserts.” The university’s primary goals include increasing enrollment and degree attainment among students in rural and low-income counties. Although many of these students meet the minimum admissions requirements and would benefit greatly from attending college, “there are a large number of qualified students who aren’t going to any college — not community college, not private colleges and not our system,” according to one UNC official. This can be tied to cultural and geographic barriers that higher ed institutions must break down. To do this, some local colleges are going above and beyond, such as by paying “visits to prospective students’ houses and speak[ing] to families about the college’s offerings and options for funding tuition” as well as by handwriting notes and sending letters to families in hopes of simplifying the application process.
Source: Inside Higher Ed
College presidents sharpen focus on mental health, survey finds
In a recent survey of more than 400 college presidents, 80% said mental health has become a focal point on their campuses over the past three years, and 72% said they have reallocated additional funding to mental health programs. By one estimate, the use of counseling services by students rose about 35% from the fall of 2009 to the spring of 2015. However, many counseling centers can’t handle the increased demand. The most common mental health issues among students were depression, anxiety, stress, and family and academic issues. This increase in demand has colleges taking steps toward teaching students how to cope and “de-stress through yoga and meditation and [how] to identify burgeoning mental health concerns in themselves and their peers”.
Source: Education Dive
Colleges are using big data to track students in an effort to boost graduation rates, but it comes at a cost
An estimated 1,400 colleges and universities are employing the use of predictive analytics to help identify students who might be struggling academically. This is done in hopes of reach students before they drop out. One Georgia State University (GSU) student had his eyes on a nursing degree was told to change directions after just one semester since it was predicted that he would likely not make the cut for the nursing program. GSU and other colleges that are using predictive analytics have access to roughly 10 years of students’ academic data, which helps them determine how likely students are to drop out or finish their degree. This technology comes at a cost, as “colleges are typically paying $300,000 a year” for access to big data. Companies behind this technology claim “this kind of pattern analysis can help colleges pinpoint which students are veering off course and help them when there’s still plenty of time for them to get back on track to finish college.”
Source: The Hechinger Report
Grades can hinder learning. What should professors use instead?
Grades have been a long-standing measure of individual students’ success for decades, with professors using them to provide feedback, gauge learning and motivate students. But research has shown that assigning grades alone may be counterproductive. In a research study where students were given different types of feedback — including letter grades, descriptive feedback in the form of written comments or no feedback at all — students “who received either grades or comments performed better on a later quantitative task than the students who did not get any feedback.” However, the study’s findings also revealed “that comments supported intrinsic motivation, while grades weakened it.”
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education