Three Lessons Higher Ed Can Learn From Charter Schools

grade school children at a table drawing and coloring

While various aspects of the charter school model remain at the center of hot-button political debates, there are many lessons that can be learned from their successes and failures. A more nuanced look reveals that, when done well, charter schools can provide a high-quality—and greatly personalized—educational experience to students. The stories found at successful charter…

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Understanding Student Financial Success Through Data

portrait of Elaina Mule Mug

Elaina Mulé was fortunate to have a rewarding undergraduate and graduate experience due to impactful mentors, work and research opportunities, igniting her own personal passion for higher education. Today, working on the Community Development team at Charles Schwab Bank in Las Vegas, Elaina is helping to guide efforts to give back to the community by…

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Moving From Access to Success: How Outcomes-Based Policy Helped USF Change Course

portrait of Paul Dosal

For decades, colleges and universities have focused on access as the primary means of fulfilling higher education’s promise to change students’ lives. The University of South Florida, where I work as the vice president for student success, was no different. But nearly 10 years ago, we began to turn our attention to outcomes. While ensuring…

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Centering Student Outcomes, A Simple Yet Radical Mission

students gathered around coffee cup at a desk taking notes

Students should be at the center of our higher education system. It’s a simple sentence, not even a very long one at that, yet there is a profound and radical sentiment in that brevity. Students should be at the center of our higher education system. Because the truth is, students aren’t at the center of…

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Bridging the Gap on Accountability

Emily Bouck West was quoted in Inside Higher Ed where she argues for using metrics other than the cohort default rate to hold institutions of higher education accountable for student outcomes.

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A Q&A with Geronimo Rodriguez, Chief Advocacy Officer at Ascension Texas

aerial view of an urban community

An attorney by training, Geronimo Rodriguez currently serves as the Chief Advocacy Officer for Ascension Texas, one of the leading non-profit and Catholic healthcare systems in the United States. Previously, he served as Counsel to the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor, overseeing 140 labor and employment laws in the United States during the…

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Access Begins with Affordability

aerial view of blue bracelets on individuals performing a team hand stack

As an educator, it’s been my privilege to support students investing in their future by attending college. Many students share aspirations of being the first in their family to graduate college and dreams of a fulfilling career and improved financial stability.   A college degree is the surest path available for students from low-income backgrounds…

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An Inspired Community College Leader’s Rise from Poverty to the Presidency

portrait of Dr. Tonjua Williams

With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Tonjua Williams is recognized nationally as an expert in student development. She has a passion for helping others realize their potential and has made it her personal mission to do so through her community outreach and higher education career. “I believe everybody’s worth the…

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