For the technologies, curriculum, skills, and subsequent successes to be realized, higher education must first rethink and rebuild its culture. Yet the foundation of this necessary transformation may come as a surprise. Instead of "higher edding" solutions (wrapping innovation in cumbersome bureaucracy and complex procedures and…

Equity gaps in students' experiences and academic outcomes often exist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college courses, particularly early prerequisite courses. The Student Experience Project (SEP) is a collaboration between college instructors, university leaders, and national education and improvement organizations to…

Students, especially marginalized students, struggled to juggle online learning with the financial and personal stresses of COVID-19. No one would have wished for this pandemic to serve as the impetus to finally elevate and amplify students' voices. In addition to the pandemic, the national attention focused on race relations and disparities…

College students who identify as transgender face numerous roadblocks in accessing employment opportunities. With an unemployment rate three times higher than the U.S. average, much of the transgender employment discrimination reveals itself in the process of seeking employment. Research indicates students identifying as transgender feel pressure…

As several authors in last May/June's issue of "Change" pointed out, more and more students are coming to college with stories that need to be heard but are not being heard--stories of loss, survival, marginalization, resilience, oppression, persistence, trauma, and determined, stubborn love. They enter an environment that is so often…

Digital transformation (Dx) refers to a series of deep and coordinated culture, workforce, and technology shifts that enable new educational and operating models and transform an institution's business model, strategic directions, and value proposition. Dx initiatives on many campuses are anchored in student success goals. As a result of this…

How do students define success? Surely, they have many of the same goals as policy makers and institutional leaders, but maybe they are aiming for something more. Since students are partners in higher education, the authors thought it was important to learn what they had to say. This led to a student success project for the Higher Education Data…

Elon University's Center for Engaged Learning facilitates multidisciplinary and multi-institutional scholarship of teaching and learning collaborations that now collectively represent over 200 scholars from over 120 institutions across more than a dozen countries. The collaborations have explored issues of engaged learning, in and beyond the…

College learning in Asian countries has been highly structured and mandated. For example, students are asked to complete a series of required courses, attend weekly face-to-face lectures, and take summative midterms and finals. However, traditional practices are unlikely to prepare self-directed learners to meet future challenges. Partly supported…

There is no shortage of documentation that racial inequality is coursing freely through every artery of higher education. We are endlessly studying data reports that show Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students stuck at the lowest percentile of representation and achievement, from admissions to elite institutions to low graduation rates at the…

As higher education settles into the 21st century, the industry is facing numerous tensions and potentially significant disruptions. From enrollment shortfalls to graduation challenges to a crisis of relevance in core curricula, the industry is being asked to transform on several fronts. One of those important transformations must be a fundamental…

Early last year, the American Council on Education (ACE) released a comprehensive volume on the state of race and ethnicity in higher education. Borrowing from the findings of this volume, the authors highlight persistent equity gaps and observations for the field.

In 2017 the National Association of System Heads launched its Taking Student Success to Scale: High Impact Practices Network. The goals of this initiative were to identify and scale promising High Impact Practices (HIPs) at both the campus and system level to prioritize equitable participation for low-income and first-generation students and…

Equity is emerging as a new frontier in the student success movement. But it's not enough to tackle higher education's deep equity divides by looking only at markers such as persistence, transfer, course credits, and DWF grades. True equity accountability depends on clarity about the key components of a quality education, especially the kinds of…

Immigration is a topic of utmost concern for colleges and universities in the United States. International students and the institutions they attend are often caught in the middle of rapidly shifting policies, powerless to do more than try to keep up with the immigration times. Although the Immigration Act of 1952 and subsequent legislation laid…