The political fault lines of higher education extend far beyond
headline-grabbing student protests and furor over
controversial speakers.
In fact, that sound and fury often distracts from a more
practical political issue facing higher education today: How
should Americans pay for college? Should students themselves bear
the full costs of their education or should taxpayers help keep
costs low? And if so, how should the burden be apportioned
between state and federal taxes?
Quick: Picture a “typical” college student. Are you envisioning a
young person wearing a college sweatshirt, living in a dorm and
attending school full time?
Try again: Full-time students who live on campus account for
less than 15 percent of all undergraduates, according to the
National Center for Education Statistics.
At a recent Education Writers Association seminar, three experts
on student demographics suggested that investigations into
changes to the makeup of the nation’s undergraduate student body
can spark fresh and impactful stories.
Sure, a plumber should be able to stop a leak or fix a toilet.
Those job skills are essential, and easily measured.
But what about the rest of the equation — the people skills
customers also want? How does an employer really know if an
applicant has what it takes? Can’t there be a test or something?
Students and workers looking to quickly advance their careers are
beginning to seek shorter and cheaper alternatives to traditional
college degrees. And colleges, worried about a decline in
the number of “traditional” freshmen, are creating alternative
programs to attract new tuition-payers.
The question of which students should win admission to selective
colleges is so heated that it has sparked state legislation,
discrimination lawsuits and a celebrity-studded bribery scandal.
So news that the College Board had been providing admissions
officers data on the kind of “adversity”
to which applicants had been exposed couldn’t help
but stir controversy.
In the midst of legal and political battles over preferences
given to different kinds of college applicants, news broke that
the College Board has been experimenting with providing
college admissions officers with what some have called an
“adversity score” for each applicant to, potentially, give
admissions boosts to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Institute for Higher Education Policy is known for issuing
wonky, data-heavy reports. So why did the Washington-based
think tank just
issue a report focused on the personal stories of 17
low-income students struggling with inadequate financial aid?
Eric Kelderman of The Chronicle of Higher Education for EWA
Driven by changing student demographics and demands from
employers, colleges are experimenting with new, more flexible and
affordable bachelors’ degrees, a panel of higher education
leaders and experts told journalists at the Education Writers
Association’s 2019 National Seminar.
Colleges are trying boot camps, competency-based education,
credit for prior learning, and other strategies to lower costs,
speed up and improve the value of bachelors’ degrees.
In 2018, Meghan Irons and her colleagues at the Boston Globe set
out to document a troubling paradox: Their city is famous for
its world-class universities, but working-class Bostonians
were largely failing to thrive there and move up the economic
ladder.
Vimal Patel of The Chronicle of Higher Education for EWA
Most journalists covering universities focus
on undergraduate programs, even though, in many cases, the
graduate student population is larger and has a bigger
impact on the school’s financial health. So
graduate schools can be a trove of fresh, under-covered
story ideas, according to graduate student representatives and
researchers who spoke at the Education Writers Association’s 2019
National Seminar.
Dan Berrett of The Chronicle of Higher Education for EWA
Many instructors still use traditional-style lectures despite
growing scientific evidence that less-passive approaches are more
effective in building students’ skills and knowledge. At the
Education Writers Association 2019 National Seminar, Harvard
professor Eric Mazur demonstrated to journalists how active
engagement – both inside and outside the classroom – stimulates
higher-order thinking and motivates students to learn.
While the hottest higher education story of early 2019 involved
celebrities trying to bribe their kids’ way into
elite colleges, many other important stories are
likely to make news in the 2019-20 academic year, according
to Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed.
The veteran higher education journalist and editor listed
the 10 topics he thinks every higher education reporter should be
ready to cover in the coming months.
Many Political Battles Over Higher Education Boil Down to Money
Partisans dispute how, how much, or even whether, taxpayers should support colleges
The political fault lines of higher education extend far beyond headline-grabbing student protests and furor over controversial speakers.
In fact, that sound and fury often distracts from a more practical political issue facing higher education today: How should Americans pay for college? Should students themselves bear the full costs of their education or should taxpayers help keep costs low? And if so, how should the burden be apportioned between state and federal taxes?
Colleges Struggle to Adapt to Changing Demographics
More diverse student body poses challenges in admissions, teaching and counseling
Quick: Picture a “typical” college student. Are you envisioning a young person wearing a college sweatshirt, living in a dorm and attending school full time?
Try again: Full-time students who live on campus account for less than 15 percent of all undergraduates, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
At a recent Education Writers Association seminar, three experts on student demographics suggested that investigations into changes to the makeup of the nation’s undergraduate student body can spark fresh and impactful stories.
Soft Skills Training Teaches Electricians to Fix Fuses, Not Blow Them
Community colleges award budding trades workers badges in empathy
Sure, a plumber should be able to stop a leak or fix a toilet. Those job skills are essential, and easily measured.
But what about the rest of the equation — the people skills customers also want? How does an employer really know if an applicant has what it takes? Can’t there be a test or something?
EWA Tip Sheet: Covering College Certificates and Microcredentials
Here are resources for understanding non-degree higher education alternatives.
Students and workers looking to quickly advance their careers are beginning to seek shorter and cheaper alternatives to traditional college degrees. And colleges, worried about a decline in the number of “traditional” freshmen, are creating alternative programs to attract new tuition-payers.
Word on the Beat: Adversity Score
What reporters need to know about the College Board's experimental "Environmental Context Dashboard"
The question of which students should win admission to selective colleges is so heated that it has sparked state legislation, discrimination lawsuits and a celebrity-studded bribery scandal. So news that the College Board had been providing admissions officers data on the kind of “adversity” to which applicants had been exposed couldn’t help but stir controversy.
College Board Explains ‘Environmental Context Dashboard’
In this on-the-record interview, David Coleman objects to the term "adversity score."
In the midst of legal and political battles over preferences given to different kinds of college applicants, news broke that the College Board has been experimenting with providing college admissions officers with what some have called an “adversity score” for each applicant to, potentially, give admissions boosts to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Power to the Pupil: The Case for Using More Student Voice in Your Reporting
The Institute for Higher Education Policy is known for issuing wonky, data-heavy reports. So why did the Washington-based think tank just issue a report focused on the personal stories of 17 low-income students struggling with inadequate financial aid?
EWA Tip Sheet: Covering Innovations to the B.A.
Driven by changing student demographics and demands from employers, colleges are experimenting with new, more flexible and affordable bachelors’ degrees, a panel of higher education leaders and experts told journalists at the Education Writers Association’s 2019 National Seminar.
Colleges are trying boot camps, competency-based education, credit for prior learning, and other strategies to lower costs, speed up and improve the value of bachelors’ degrees.
Collaboration, Patience, Empathy: Higher Ed Reporters Share ‘How I Did the Story’
In 2018, Meghan Irons and her colleagues at the Boston Globe set out to document a troubling paradox: Their city is famous for its world-class universities, but working-class Bostonians were largely failing to thrive there and move up the economic ladder.
EWA Tip Sheet: How to Cover Graduate Schools
Most journalists covering universities focus on undergraduate programs, even though, in many cases, the graduate student population is larger and has a bigger impact on the school’s financial health. So graduate schools can be a trove of fresh, under-covered story ideas, according to graduate student representatives and researchers who spoke at the Education Writers Association’s 2019 National Seminar.
EWA Tip Sheet: How to Cover Instruction
Many instructors still use traditional-style lectures despite growing scientific evidence that less-passive approaches are more effective in building students’ skills and knowledge. At the Education Writers Association 2019 National Seminar, Harvard professor Eric Mazur demonstrated to journalists how active engagement – both inside and outside the classroom – stimulates higher-order thinking and motivates students to learn.
Top 10 Higher Education Story Ideas for 2019-20
Inside Higher Ed's Scott Jaschik says admissions, free speech and rising graduation rates will make headlines.
While the hottest higher education story of early 2019 involved celebrities trying to bribe their kids’ way into elite colleges, many other important stories are likely to make news in the 2019-20 academic year, according to Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed.
The veteran higher education journalist and editor listed the 10 topics he thinks every higher education reporter should be ready to cover in the coming months.