Ensuring Equity: Policy Recommendations to Increase the Diversity of Selective Public Institutions of Higher Education
Not all institutions of higher education are equal—in their funding, resources, or student outcomes. Selective public institutions, typically defined as those with lower acceptance rates and high graduation rates compared to other public institutions, often offer the best odds for their students to succeed. Enrollment at selective institutions is correlated with student success, including higher…
Read MoreFactsheet: Equity Gaps in Higher Education
There is a significant and persistent disparity in educational attainment between different groups of students. Equity gaps between students of different races and ethnicities often begin in K-12 education—87 percent of white students graduate high school on time, compared to 76 percent of Hispanic and 73 percent of African Americans students. These gaps—the results of…
Read MoreThe Playbook for Today’s Students
Higher learning is the ticket to economic opportunity for Americans, as well as to rebuilding our country’s economy. But we are failing too many of today’s students. Fewer than 67% of Americans enter a higher education program, and of those, only 60 percent finish with a credential. A large-scale overhaul of higher education policy is…
Read MoreWhat Works for Today’s Students: Increasing Diversity at Selective Institutions
Low-income, Black, and Latinx students are underrepresented at selective colleges and universities. Only 34 percent of low-income students with high standardized test scores will enroll at the nation’s most selective colleges, compared to 78 percent of students in the highest economic quartile. And only 19 percent of Black and Latinx students with high test scores…
Read MoreHigher Education Policy & Regulatory Transition Recommendations
WASHINGTON (October 6, 2020) — Higher Learning Advocates provided recommendations to advance higher education policy and regulations in key areas that will empower our nation’s students to obtain the skills they need to gain employment and succeed in the 21st century, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Download the memorandum here.
Read MoreChampion Check-In: Tonjua Williams, President, St. Petersburg College
Higher Learning Advocates Champion Dr. Tonjua Williams, President of St. Petersburg College, shares how the college has responded to the coronavirus pandemic, and how it will affect the future of higher education.
Read More#ConnectCollegeStudents: Crystal
Crystal Leua Correa, a graduating senior at the University of Washington, shares the challenges she faced when her school transitioned to online learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. Crystal lost access to campus technology, and since she didn’t own a laptop, had to borrow friends’ computers or do assignments on her phone.
Read More#ConnectCollegeStudents: Makayla
Makayla just finished her freshman year at James Madison University. When her campus closed, she went home to her parents’ house in rural Virginia, but is unable to get internet at home.
Read MoreMedia Analysis: Today’s Students
In partnership with the Education Writers Association and Whiteboard Advisors, Higher Learning Advocates conducted an analysis of media coverage of Today’s Students. You can view the media analysis deck here.
Read MoreFact Sheet on Student Caregivers
Research on student parents and their unique challenges commissioned by Higher Learning Advocates. Nearly a quarter of today’s students are parents, and they have unique time constraints because they must balance caregiving, school work, and employment. Student parents are more likely to be older, more likely to have a low-income, and more likely to work…
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