On March 29, 2021, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of 33 sexual and gender minority students who reported discrimination at institutions that have a Title IX religious' exemption. Of the 25 institutions named in the suit, 14 have accredited social work…

In this dissertation, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) serves as a nodal point through which to examine the power relations shaping the direction and practices of higher education in the twenty-first century. Theoretically, my analysis is informed by Foucault's concept of governmentality, briefly defined as a technology of power…

In this paper, four qualitative case studies capture the complex interplay between the social and structural relations that shape community - academic partnerships. Collaborations begin as relationships among people. They are sustained by institutional structures that recognize and support these relationships. Productive collaborations centralize…

While cost and completion are important issues, they are not the fundamental problems that have put higher learning in crisis. What calls for urgent attention is low "value"--a critical deficit in the quality and quantity of learning in college. To state it as plainly as possible: Most students graduate without learning enough. There is no longer…

Preparing students to succeed in college and careers requires aligned systems that allow for smooth transitions between institutions as well as integrated supports to enable learners to progress toward careers. Student transitions from secondary to postsecondary education and/or careers have long been stumbling blocks because preschool through…

Given the importance of quality teaching for student success, it is clear that every child needs to be able to receive instruction from a teacher who possesses the knowledge and skills for quality teaching--an accomplished teacher. It is less clear, however, how current teacher development policies and practices can ensure that all students will…

In 2002 President Martin Jischke initiated a new era in strategic planning at Purdue. Under his leadership, strategic planning became a centralized activity with unit plans aligned to the university plan. Strategic goals were designed to have maximum impact, which would be measurable through metrics. Strategic planning at Purdue would be an…

"Transfer Students in Higher Education" presents what individuals know about transfer students, addresses assumptions and myths about the transfer experience, and explores the changing demographics of this student group. Adopting a student-centered approach, the monograph offers strategies to begin (and continue) the work of serving students and…

Assessing the quality of undergraduate student learning continues to be a priority in U.S. postsecondary education. Although variations in outcome assessment practices have long been suspected, they have not been systematically documented. To follow up the 2009 National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) report on institutional…

The economic meltdown has hit U.S. college campuses, and higher education is on the chopping block in state budgets, with cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars already approved and hundreds of millions in more cuts on the way. As veteran legislators, the authors have seen this story play out before in previous recessions. The mindset on…

Recent initiatives in higher education have been designed to increase Black undergraduate male collegiate retention and persistence through graduation for this historically underrepresented population. Although institutional leaders in higher education have focused on creating more inclusive campuses, designing and implementing programs to retain…

The chancellor of a state's community college system works with the college presidents to establish accountability for a common set of goals.

For almost two years, a major effort has been under way to redistribute responsibility and authority for ensuring academic quality in higher education among the federal government, accreditors, and institutions. The primary target for these efforts has been the community of federally recognized accrediting organizations, and the primary goal has…

Higher education in America faces such formidable problems as unaffordable tuition, lack of accountability, students ill-prepared for college, declining enrollment in math and science, and too few graduates fluent in critical foreign languages. This Opportunity 08 position paper recommends that the next President should take the following steps to…

An Institutional Goals Inventory (IGI) is used to assess a health science subsystem within a Western statewide higher educational system. Institutional goals are defined as ideal conditions the institution can continuously seek to maximize or perfect. Data were collected from each college and campus responsible for health science education and for…