EWA Higher Ed Seminar for Journalists
Sunday, November 6, 2011

20 Million Degrees and Rising: Meeting the Demand for More College Graduation

This is an important moment for higher education, and an exciting time for the journalists who cover it. In the face of severe economic difficulties, experts are pointing to postsecondary education and training as key weapons in the fight to get America back on track economically and secure its long-term prosperity.

As our nation’s political and education leaders call for more Americans with postsecondary credentials, the capacity of colleges and universities to rise to this challenge is being tested by the very economic problems that have made those institutions' services so vital.  For these reasons and more, higher education has emerged as a more prominent public-policy issue on the local, state, and national stages. Thus, the need for journalists to understand what is at stake in the policy debate over postsecondary access and success is greater than in the past.

EWA’s Nov. 4-5 Higher Education Seminar, 20 Million Degrees and Rising: Meeting the Demand for More College Graduates, focused on how post-secondary institutions are adjusting to the economic realities their students are facing, and how they’re approaching the challenge of creating millions more degree holders in the years ahead.

Catch up with the seminar at The Educated Reporter; watch video recaps of panels and interviews with panelists; and listen to podcasts of select sessions (When Getting a Job Means Getting a Degree and It’s Never Too Late to Learn). The original agenda is available here.

Among the coverage informed by the seminar were the following stories:

Two national stories by Justin Pope of the Associated Press (Can Washington fix what ails American higher ed? and The other student loan problem: too little debt)

Two national stories from USA Today (Study: College freshmen move left on key issues and Today’s college freshmen hitting books harder, study says)

Two national stories in U.S. News & World Report (10 Things You Need to Know About Net Price Calculators and 4 Things You Need to Use a Net Price Calculator)  

 One story from the Los Angeles Times (More college freshmen see getting good job as key goal, poll finds)

A story from Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (Higher Education Leaders Urged to Improve Data Collection for College Completion Efforts )

Three stories from the San Francisco Chronicle (UC expected to ask state for $412 million boost, CSU tuition could go up again without state aid, and CSU trustees raise tuition 9% as students protest )

Two stories from the San Jose Mercury News ( UC likely to ask state for $430 million more in 2012  and Liberalism spreading among college freshmen, survey finds)

One story from the Post & Courier of Charleston, S.C. (How much does college really cost?)

One story from the Miami Herald (Online tool helps predict college costs)