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This article by Bill DeBaun originally appeared on National College Access Network.
NCAN recently closed the Call for Proposals period for our National Conference that will take place in San Diego from Sept. 11-13, marking an exciting time of the year for us here at NCAN. We look forward to reading about ideas from members and non-members alike across all of the different threads of the college access and success field. We read about exciting ideas, thoughtful approaches, new research, and (near and dear to my heart) how we evaluate what is or is not working. Proposals flood in from every corner of our field and the country.
And this year we definitely do mean flood.
When the Call for Proposals period ended, we had 320total proposals for the 2017 NCAN National Conference! Let’s put this in context: That’s 68more than the 256 we had last year, an increase of 27 percent. This isn’t a blip, either. In 2016, we received 65more proposals than we did in 2015, an increase of 34 percent!
The conference track with the most applications this year was “Postsecondary Access and Readiness,” followed by “Student Success in Postsecondary Education.” A table with the total number of proposals and percentage of overall proposals appears below.
Last year, NCAN added “7-14-28” sessions to the conference lineup. Each one includes several similarly themed presentations that can last no longer than seven minutes each. Presentations may have no more than 14 slides, and the text on those slides cannot be smaller than size 28. These were remarkably well-received by conference attendees in 2016, as they allowed attendees to get rapid exposure to a number of approaches and lessons all within the same topic. We are pleased to announce that the 7-14-28 sessions will be making the trip to San Diego. This year, 67 of 324 proposals were for 7-14-28 presentations, roughly 21 percent of the overall sample.
The tough part begins now for NCAN staff and member readers. Despite a record number of proposals on-hand, we only have somewhere between 85 and 95 conference slots across the ninetracks. The number of slots varies from year-to-year according to the size of our conference venue, and the number of sessions we will offer per track depends on which topics NCAN staff and member readers feel we should emphasize. This year, for example, because of our work with the Strada Education Network on integrating career success into college access and success programming and members’ demonstrated interest in the topic, we want to be sure we have plenty in that area. At the same time, we want to ensure that there is something for everyone. It is a delicate balance, to say the least.
NCAN staff have been poring over the proposals, with each receiving at least two reads. The rest of the process works like this: Staff gather together to assess the proposals, topic coverage, and any tweaks we would like to suggest to proposals. Then we get input from member readers on which sessions and topics they believe will be most relevant to conference attendees. After the dust settles, we send congratulations to those whose presentations we select and condolences to those we were unable to fit in. We often consider proposals for which we are unable to find a slot for a webinar later in the year, which provides presenters another opportunity to share their work.
Why go into all this detail about call for proposals? First, it is a matter of transparency. Potential presenters put a lot of preparation into their proposals, and they deserve to have some sense of where that effort goes. Second, we want to share the good news about the volume of proposals we have received; we are sure this will contribute to our best national conference yet in San Diego!
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The letter was delivered in response to the department’s request for information regarding the disclosure of confidential wage records under the department’s regulations governing the confidentiality and disclosure of state unemployment compensation data. Strada also included specific recommendations for regulatory amendments.
Report indicates both success and need for improvement in meeting students’ varied goals
A new and improved Free Application for Federal Student Aid expected late this year should provide opportunities for more students and their families to access money to pay for college. Yet the transition to this new form presents unprecedented challenges for those who work to help students complete it.
According to new Strada Education Foundation research, community college attendees who complete an associate degree or successfully transfer to a four-year institution value their education at rates comparable to or higher than recent bachelor’s degree completers. However, researchers found first-generation students rated the value of their community college education about 20 percentage points lower than those who are not first-generation students.
Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president and CEO of College Futures Foundation and former chancellor of the California Community Colleges, will join a Strada Education Foundation webinar Sept. 7, when he and other panelists will explore Strada’s latest report, “The Value of Community Colleges: Recent Students' Motivations and Outcomes,” which captures several factors that motivated recent alumni to enroll in community college.
Major changes in the form, combined with an expected delay in its release, are combining to intensify the work of spreading the word about the updated FAFSA.
This article by Madeline St. Amour originally appeared in Inside Higher Ed.
Virginia’s largest community college and a prominent public research university have co-partnered with an educational management and student support service provider to improve academic outcomes for transfer students.
Edtech integration can cause headaches if technology solutions aren't "getting along"--but a new free tool could help alleviate that pain
New building will house over 500 employees
DXtera Institute, a nonprofit consortium of higher ed institutions, ed tech companies and other postsecondary education professionals, has released a free Next Generation Integration Scorecard (NGIS) aimed at improving technology integration in higher education.
Massachusetts will be the recipient of financial and technical help to build “data-driven approaches” to linking residents to jobs in growing industries, thanks to a partnership between the National Governors Association and the Strada Education Network.
This article by Carol D’Amico originally appeared on RealClear Education.
This article by Jeffrey J. Selingo originally appeared on the Washington Post.
The letter alerting Cal State Northridge students that they were being put on academic probation was pretty blunt and scary: shape up or risk getting kicked out.
Michigan State University has long worked with and competed against other colleges and universities in the United States.
One of the students leaving today on “Roadtrip Indiana” says she expects an “awakening” of what Indiana is about. Purdue University senior Shannon Newerth is joining two other Indiana students on a two-week RV trip throughout the state to take part in career exploration and work-based learning opportunities. The trip, organized in part by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and several private partners, will be the subject of an upcoming public television documentary.
As a lifelong baseball fan, former high school baseball player, and coach for 20 years, I have always been struck by how deeply intertwined baseball and learning really are. An education advocate for most of my career, I have seen firsthand how a passion for sports can shift mindsets and create sustainable pathways to college, meaningful careers, and inspired lives.
More than half of adults in the U.S. would change at least one aspect of their higher education experience, according to a new survey from Gallup and the Strada Education Network. Common regrets were choice of institution and major or field of study. Comparatively, relatively few regretted their degree type.
A majority of Americans who attended college say they received a quality education. But half would change at least one of these three decisions if they could do it all over again: the type of degree they pursued or their choice of major or institution.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Half of college graduates regret their choice of school or major, according to a national survey.
Approximately half of all U.S. adults who pursued or completed a postsecondary degree would change at least one aspect of their education experience if they could do it all over again, including their major or field of study, the institution they attended, or the type of degree they obtained.
Regrets, I’ve had a few…and so have most Americans — at least when it comes to decisions they’ve made regarding their education. A new Gallup poll out today finds that 51 percent of Americans would change at least one of their education decisions if they had to do it all over again. Thirty-six percent said they’d choose a different major, 28 percent would attend a different school and 12 percent would pursue a different type of degree, according to the poll.
On May 2, the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus in conjunction with the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted “College and Career Pathways: Stories of Innovation.” The Alliance is a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization focusing on high school redesign for underrepresented students. The briefing revolved around “highlighting innovative approaches across the country to college and career pathways that have led to positive outcomes for traditionally underserved students.”
Data analytics has proven to be a powerful tool in a number of industries, and in higher ed, it has significant potential to help institutions streamline operations and improve experiences for students. But in using that data, colleges and universities must also be careful to also consider the underlying causes behind some of those numbers.
This is important news for admissions officers, who may feel that low-income students pose more of a risk at a four-year college or university. These students are just as capable of thriving as those from more affluent households, but institutions and policymakers must also consider that they may need more resources.
In a Monday morning session at the ASU+GSV Summit in Salt Lake City, a panel of thought leaders discussed how to expand access and success, particularly among low-income, first-generation and underrepresented student populations.
INDIANAPOLIS — Higher Education Commissioner Teresa Lubbers recently announced a new initiative, “Roadtrip Indiana,” that aims to help Hoosier students make more informed decisions about their futures through intentional career exploration and direct engagement with employers across the state.