Student Voice: the Ultimate Higher Education Innovation?

Student Voice crowd participating with raised hands at event

Today’s student bodies are growing more diverse by many key metrics, underscoring the urgent need for institutional leaders and policymakers to address historic challenges affecting student finances, wellbeing, and success. In this environment, innovation is at a premium as leaders work to adapt to change. While many players within the higher education community pursue powerful…

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Built in Detroit: Strengthening the Motor City’s Talent Pipeline

Detroit City Skyline on water

With the economic reality that two-thirds of jobs will require education beyond high school by 2020, it’s clear that education or training beyond high school is a prerequisite for individuals to flourish in an increasingly complex and fluid talent economy. This also has clear, and worrying, implications for recovering economies across the United States: businesses…

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Unveiling the New TodaysStudents.org

How well do you know today’s students? Their stories may surprise you. Over the past few months, we’ve been reaching out to students and collecting stories that showcase just a few of the incredible individuals who are balancing family, career, finances, and education. At the newly-revamped TodaysStudents.org, you can listen to first-hand stories from student parents, veterans, working…

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[STATEMENT] Higher Learning Advocates Submits Comments Opposing Repeal of Gainful Employment Rule

For Immediate Release: September 13, 2018 WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 13, 2018) — Today, Higher Learning Advocates submitted comments in response the U.S. Department of Education’s proposal to repeal the Gainful Employment rule, a federal regulation that holds certain programs at institutions of higher education accountable based on the earning metrics of their graduates. In the written…

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Hearing Student Voice: Why Telling the Story Matters in Federal Policy

One of the challenges holding back federal policy is the disconnect between the experiences of today’s students and the conventional wisdom around what college is like. Too often, myths and misconceptions take root that contradict student realities. For example, we tend to think of students as 18-22 year-olds hanging out on the quad, studying in…

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[STATEMENT] Public Comment on Quality and Innovation at U.S. Department of Education Hearing

Bipartisan advocacy group urges the Department of Education to offer regulatory changes “through the lens of putting student outcomes first”   WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 6, 2018) — Emily Bouck, Policy and Advocacy Director at Higher Learning Advocates, testified at a hearing held by the U.S. Department of Education today as it considers a negotiated rulemaking process…

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It’s Time for a Real Definition of Student Success

I work for a 16,000-member association that, like many other higher education organizations, has a goal of helping all students succeed. In fact, I think the words “student success”, particularly for undergraduate students, may finally be popular enough to surpass “big data”, which are two words that I think have permeated nearly every institution over…

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Today’s Students and the Evolving Equity Movement in Higher Education

Family celebrating with Grad

The march toward equity has been, for nearly a century, a hallmark in the history of American education. The movement gained nationwide momentum with the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision at the Supreme Court, which found school segregation unconstitutional and established full and equal access to public education as protected under the Constitution.…

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