Working at the university level prepares campus employees to deal with a diversity of negative issues and even with crises. COVID-19 did away with the rule book for how to handle university crises as universities fell into the middle of a worldwide pandemic beyond what almost every university employee could have imagined. When administrators first…

Higher education in the United States has seen incredible change over the past year and a half due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Postsecondary institutions have had to become increasingly flexible as they continue to deal with myriad changes including but not limited to: social distancing, mask mandates, virtual and hybrid…

The COVID pandemic has exacerbated structural, demographic, and financial challenges faced by American higher education institutions and their honors programs and colleges. Likewise, the Black Lives Matter movement has made plain the inequities in the higher education sector. The new "normal" post-COVID will challenge honors…

This empirical study examined undergraduate college students' perceptions about HyFlex/hybrid courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 305 students (73 male, 234 female) completed an online survey that assessed technological strategies, instructional strategies, and perceptions about HyFlex classes. Students indicated that most of their…

The abrupt closing of college campuses this spring due to the spread of COVID-19 upended the lives of students and their families and disrupted the higher education sector. The impact of these closures and the questions of whether and how to reopen campuses this fall have been widely discussed. Less attention has been paid to the potential…

In October 2019, New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) called together a group of economists and higher education leaders for a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to discuss the future of higher education ("Preparing for Another Recession?"). No one suspected that just months later, a global pandemic would turn the…

This demonstration features the collaborative work of a state-funded project matching university-based PBIS trainers with school level implementers in a rural setting. Strategies and lessons learned when implementing PBIS with fidelity during challenging times is shared. The information learned from this regional example highlights the need for…

The Maine Community College System is providing this letter in accordance with 20-A MRSA §10013. This law requires the Maine Community College System (MCCS), University of Maine System (UMS), and Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) to provide the following information about first-generation college students by January 15th of each year: (1) Data…

In response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions of higher learning locked down their campuses and altered their ways of teaching. This article discusses changes made to courses at five highly varied public universities in New England participating in the multiyear Campuses for Environmental Stewardship (CES) program. The…

Almost two-thirds (64%) of students who are considering dropping out of college cited emotional stress or personal mental health challenges as the reason--more than twice the percentage of those who cite the cost of attendance. The mental health crisis disproportionately impacts students of color, and there is also a critical lack of diversity in…

Faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at the University of New England (UNE) have recently transformed introductory and advanced chemistry curricula by embedding the high impact practice of undergraduate research. Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have provided experiential learning opportunities for over 272…

Public Law 2015, Chapter 261 created the Public Higher Education Systems Coordinating Committee to recognize more formally the importance of cooperative efforts between Maine's two public systems of higher education. The Committee is comprised of the Chancellor of the University of Maine System (UMS), the President of the Maine Community College…

Community college students are more likely to be low-income, people of color and first generation in their family to attend higher education than their four-year peers. For a combination of these reasons, they are more apt to be housing insecure. This article discusses how some community colleges are providing new solutions for residences for…

Faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at the University of New England (UNE) have recently transformed introductory and advanced chemistry curricula by embedding the high impact practice of undergraduate research. Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have provided experiential learning opportunities for over 272…

Lumina Foundation seeks to increase the proportion of Americans who hold a postsecondary credential to 60 percent by 2025, across all racial, ethnic, immigration, and income groups. Recognizing that this goal cannot be achieved through a focus on traditional-age college students alone, Lumina launched the Adult Promise initiative in 2017. Between…