Discover how one public higher education institution was able to succeed despite the many obstacles and challenges that it faced. This is the story of how and why Baruch College of The City University of New York became a "positive outlier," overcoming serious financial constraints, physical space limitations, and other difficulties to…

This article aims to understand how access, equity and redress challenges are addressed at South Africa's public universities based on their current funding frameworks. Relying on a pragmatic research approach combining desk-research literature review and secondary data analysis, government funding and tuition fees were found to be the primary…

Existing scholarship tends to understand university governance structurally (emphasizing formal authority and resource environments), culturally (focusing on history, norms, and leadership), or by combining both approaches (Kezar & Eckel, 2004). These models understand governance in instrumental terms, as the means for steering the university.…

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an increasing use of video conferencing software as e-learning platforms. Students and faculty members face many challenges in using these platforms as part of the teaching and learning process, including technical problems. This paper reviews these challenges and offers solutions to improve the experience. A…

This paper reports on the challenges faced by two researchers during data collection and translation of data and analysis in two public sector universities in Pakistan. Data collection from each institute involved different procedures and a different set of issues, including negotiating access with gatekeepers and participants, dealing with…

This paper examines the ability of a public higher education in Ghana to adapt to changes in teaching and learning in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. Measures taken to ensure uninterrupted migration to online teaching and learning included a regular monthly supply of data bundle from an internet service provider to faculty members, select support…

This report responds to the key questions raised by educators regarding English as a second language (ESL) practices, programs, and support services across the three California postsecondary systems: the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC). Though there is unanimous…

In this report, the authors tally the cost of child care and the price of attending a public four-year college--including tuition and fees, housing, food, books, and transportation--to determine a student parent's actual annual cost of pursuing a degree. That number is used to calculate the "student parent affordability gap," that is,…

As William & Mary celebrates the 100th anniversary of admitting women students as the first public college in Virginia to institute a co-educational system, this paper explores the life and times of the women who have shaped the College's legacy for future women students. In researching the first women at William & Mary, we have found…

Fewer than half of working-age adults hold a credential beyond a high school diploma. As the economy increasingly moves from an industrial base to a knowledge base, this population will need access to high-quality degree programs in relevant fields. Fortunately, online learning has made this achievable. The challenge of serving this population…

In the classic game of "Chutes and Ladders," the player can see square 100--the finish line--but it is not easy to get there. The player may climb one ladder only to land on the wrong spot and be sent spiraling down a chute. In the game, players are aiming for the blue ribbon on square 100, but for students enrolling in college, the…

This article documents the innovative practices and initial outcomes from the Grand Rapids Engaged Department Initiative, a cross-institutional collaboration designed in response to the failures of higher education to systematically engage in place. Created to incentivize and resource systemic and cultural shifts across three institutions of…

To increase the number of graduates, a growing number of pundits and politicians favor providing free tuition for students attending public colleges and universities. This proposal is flawed. Affordability is not the main obstacle to getting a degree. There is also a risk that a tuition-free system for public institutions would leave them solely…

There have been various shapes of opinions shared on the concept of academic freedom. This concept means different things to many and different people. Those outside the University view academic freedom with some level of suspicion. Even among the academia, academic freedom is rarely understood. To foster the growth of knowledge and its…

College affordability is a pressing issue that is made more urgent by rising costs, increasing enrollment, and changing student demographics. People entering the labor market today are finding it increasingly difficult to secure a good job without first pursuing some postsecondary education or training. As a result, college enrollments have…