Creating Change One Step at a Time: Efforts to Improve College Access and Success in Indiana

Offers lessons learned and best practices from the state's successful efforts to raise access to and attainment of higher education through academic preparation, affordability, and a differentiated higher education system and by addressing student needs

Tuition Policy Setting: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1960 - 2000

The purpose of this study was to describe tuition policy setting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1960-2000. A case study method was employed that involved interviews with current and former chancellors, campus business officers, presidents, system business officers, THEC officials, and a member of the board of trustees. A variety of documentary evidence was also reviewed to assist in triangulation of the data. Four significant themes emerged during the study. These four themes include: (1) there is no formal tuition policy at the University of Tennessee, (2) there is significant input in the decision making process, (3) there is minimal formal communication regarding decisions, and (4) the proliferation of special fees is a recent phenomenon. The overwhelming evidence confirmed there were no formal policies guiding tuition setting at the University of Tennessee, although the palpable long standing philosophy was “keep tuition low.” This low tuition approach was adopted as an informal policy dating back to at least the 1950s and held throughout most of the 40 year period of this study. There were considerable discussions every year during the budget process regarding the needs of the university, the likely state funding, and the share of expenses expected to come from students. The reality was tuition paid by students became the balance wheel, for the most part, in the budget planning process. The interviewees discussed many factors that influenced the tuition discussion including “what will the traffic bear”, peer comparisons regarding both tuition and faculty salaries, inflation, the state budget situation, enrollment, and the need for new programs and facilities. There was an overwhelming desire to remain competitive in the SREB region as it relates to tuition, but this desire continually competes with the desire for improved quality and expanded programs. The budget process was fairly consistent throughout the 40-year history. Keeping tuition low and shifting a portion of the expenses to fees is perceived to put the university in a more competitive position rather than combining these additional costs with the general tuition. This trend is expected to continue not only at the University of Tennessee, but also throughout higher education. Overall, the research participants were extremely committed to the purpose of higher education, fervent in their support for state funding for higher education, firmly convinced that students should pay a “fair share” of their own education, and skeptical of an improved state funding situation. In fact, only one of the twelve participants believed tuition should continue to rise, but all twelve believed it would continue to do so. In addition, none of them believed the state funding situation would significantly improve, at least not in the short-run. There must be a public policy debate in Tennessee regarding the significance of higher education to the state and why increased funding for higher education is important. We must develop a policy that recognizes the cumulative consequences of our decisions before they cause irreparable harm to some students by forcing them out of the higher education syste

Exploring the Views of Rural Colorado High School Students About College

Exploring the views of rural high school students about college has significant implications for the question: Why are Colorado\u27s kids not choosing college in greater numbers? Since the State of Colorado has one of the most highly educated adult populations in the nation, yet consistently underperforms in sending its high school students to college this dissertation is topical in presenting the opinions and perceptions of 1,012 rural high school students. By including the voices of rural Colorado students through a survey, by investigating what the students are thinking and feeling about their future, and by learning what their level of awareness is regarding options and choices, this study contributes to a wider body of knowledge about how rural high school students access the information that makes college choice possible. The survey which is at the heart of this dissertation was designed to examine the students\u27 possession of college-going assets, such as knowledge about standardized tests, access to college materials, articulation of options, expectations, and awareness of college costs and financing. One of the major findings in the Exploring Rural Views study was the difference between students who had been continuously exposed to college counseling and those who had not. There are statistically significant differences in the group\u27s identification of their assets. The survey results pointed out that these two groups act differently; the college counseled group had more agreement, and more assets. Other findings included: information about college is not reaching everyone who needs to be reached--approximately 11,000 kids on the Western Slope alone are identified as the paradox group, and more needs to be done to understand why these kids do not go to college, to capture their voices and better measure their understanding of the college attainment process. College fairs, college representative visits, the internet, virtual tours, college view books, college visits, parent and teacher expectations as well as information distribution are all necessary components of the college access continuum. These necessary components are not enough unless they are in concert as an established part of a college access culture

Developing MOOCs to Narrow the College Readiness Gap: Challenges and Recommendations for a Writing Course

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have demonstrated the potential to deliver quality and cost effective course materials to large numbers of students. Approximately 60% of first-year students at community colleges are underprepared for college-level coursework. One reason for low graduation rates is the lack of the overall college readiness. MOOCs offering remedial writing have the potential to better prepare high school graduates for college, thereby increasing their chances of completing a degree and reducing the cost of education for students, families, institutions, and taxpayers. However, MOOCs are typically more suitable for motivated and prepared students. Designing a MOOC on writing for a diverse group of students who lack basic academic writing skills requires thoughtful modifications. In this article, we examine the needs of basic writers and the challenges involved in providing personalized feedback on the content of student writings via a MOOC platform. We recommend some MOOC variations that would be suitable for college readiness writing courses: Limited MOOC (lMOOC), Hybrid MOOC (hMOOC), Flipped MOOC (fMOOC), Mini MOOC (mMOOC), MOOC Workshops (MOOCw)

Traditional Liberal Arts Colleges\u27 Consideration and Adoption of Online Education: A Presidential Perspective

National research studies have indicated that students are enrolling in more online courses annually (Allen & Seaman, 2010, 2014, 2015); yet, not all higher education institutions are adopting online education. In order to understand more about adoption of online education in higher education and presidents’ perceptions of online education, this study investigated the adoption of online education by traditional liberal arts colleges(TLACs). These institutions and their presidents currently face numerous challenges and threats as TLACs try to remain relevant in the 21st century while maintaining their liberal arts mission. The importance of this study lies in the realization that many higher education institutions and leaders are making decisions about the adoption of online education while also examining if and how online education aligns with their existing environment, mission, culture, and curricula. Drawing upon the diffusion of innovations theory as the framework for informing data collection, this study employed a two-phase, sequential mixed method design. Two research questions guided this study: 1) To what extent has online education been adopted at TLACs?; and 2) How do presidents at TLACs think about the adoption of online higher education in general, within traditional liberal arts institutions, and within their institutions specifically? In order to determine the level of online instructional education activity at each TLAC, the first phase was exploratory. The research sample for phase one of the study consisted of 55 TLACs that solely provided undergraduate curriculum in the arts and sciences. Major findings from phase one of the study indicated that more than half of TLACs (61.82%) did not have online education and did not offer any online courses. The remaining TLACs adopted online education either as fully online (16.36%) or hybrid (21.82%) courses. In the second phase, qualitative interviews with 11 TLAC presidents out of a population of 55 potential participants (20%) were conducted to understand how these administrators feel and think about the adoption of online education. Analyses of the TLAC presidential interviews resulted in three emergent themes: Apprehensions Regarding Online Education, Perceived Inferiority of Online Education, and Potential Opportunities From Online Education