Short Takes

A recent study conducted by McKinsey & Company explores students’ perspectives on incorporating online experiences into the learning process. The study offers valuable recommendations for institutions seeking to enhance existing programs or expand them to effectively address their students’ needs

Student parents comprise over 20 percent of today’s college-going population; however, they face substantial barriers to their persistence and degree completion, including mental health challenges. In their new publication, Ascend at The Aspen Institute and The Jed Foundation (JED) present the culmination of their three-year partnership focused on improving higher education’s understanding and support of student parents’ mental health and emotional well-being.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has released a new report that provides comprehensive enrollment data at the national level, including estimates for different degree levels, institutional sectors, enrollment intensity, age groups, gender, major fields, and state-level enrollment figures.

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has released the second of three reports as part of a research collaboration between SHEEO and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

College students who lose financial aid eligibility due to satisfactory academic progress (SAP) criteria face significant financial barriers to continuing in or returning to higher education. A new brief from Higher Learning Advocates explains how SAP can negatively impact certain populations of students.

The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General has released an advisory on the healing effects of community, emphasizing the importance of social connection for individual and community health and the negative consequences when this connection is lacking.

In a new issue brief, Louis Soares, the chief learning and innovation officer at ACE, explores the concept of a learning ecosystem for postsecondary education, with a focus on alternative providers. Alternative providers are positioned in terms of their potential advantages, such as short credential pathways, low costs, flexibility, and connections to the labor market.

In its annual report, the National Student Clearinghouse provides context in creating better outcomes for the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population, specifically on reenrollment, persistence, and credit/degree completion. The report found that this population now consists of 40.4 million people, a 3.6 percent increase from last year, likely induced by pandemic-era challenges in higher education.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators recently released a report providing guidance to college and university leaders on how to support borrowers waiting for their student loan repayments to resume or those beginning repayment.

e College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) has released a new report on the college admissions workforce, arguing that as higher education is undergoing unprecedented change, colleges and universities should take this opportunity to reconsider the future of their admissions departments.

In a new brief, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shares findings from a national survey focused on student parents’ financial challenges and comparisons between student parents’ and non-parenting students’ financial circumstances, behaviors, and decisions related to funding or paying for their education.

Researchers from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) recently released a short report on considerations around direct admissions policies. Direct admissions is a method to admit students to an institution while circumventing the traditional student application process.