Higher Ed 2016

In many industries, innovation is the engine that pushes businesses toward success, but colleges and universities haven’t changed much in centuries. What are some universities doing to change the academic experience for students and break down the barriers between departments, for example, making courses in science and engineering more attractive to more students? And how can students use these experiences to solve real-world problems?

A majority of states have created some type of performance-based model that provides public colleges and universities with extra dollars for showing better results, like graduating more students. To some, these policies force colleges to make sure they are getting the most out of taxpayers’ dollars. To critics, the outcomes-based approach encourages administrators to enroll fewer low-income or first-generation students, as those pupils are less likely to graduate and might hurt the school’s finances. What does the evidence show about these arguments?

Few news articles about student financial aid omit the staggering fact that total student loan debt for former college-goers stands at $1.3 trillion. While the U.S. Department of Education has aggressively enrolled more borrowers into repayment plans that are based on how much they earn, millions of people remain either in default or near it. As a result, several efforts — both private and public — have emerged to potentially help students manage their college loans.

For students who are the first in their families to attend college, navigating higher education can be particularly challenging, in part because they can’t turn to their families for guidance from experience. But some programs are starting to work with families before students even apply to college, offering information and support to help the students succeed once they enroll. How might such programs, in addition to other ways of supporting first-generation students, help them better adapt to college?