Lumina Foundation’s Post

Ah, the plight of #highereducation and a challenge for #highered #marcom: "Goal ambiguity might be a natural by-product of modern institutions trying to be everything to everyone. But eventually, they’ll pay the price. Any institution that finds itself promoting a thousand priorities at once may find it difficult to promote any one of them effectively. ... Complex organizations need to do a lot of different jobs to appease their various stakeholders, and they need to hire people to do those jobs. But there is a value to institutional focus, and the past few months have shown just how destabilizing it is for colleges and universities to not have a clear sense of their priorities or be able to make those priorities transparent to faculty, students, donors, and the broader world. The ultimate problem isn’t just that too many administrators can make college expensive. It’s that too many administrative functions can make college institutionally incoherent."

A great analysis of state funding models! This report sheds light on how each state funds its community college sector, highlighting how the models may inadequately fund the community colleges in those states. #communitycollege #studentsuccess #communitycolleges ##equity #highered #highereducation #highereducationleadership #higheredleadership

Wondering about the “Cost of College: The Price Tag of Higher Education and Its Effect on Enrollment”? It’s expensive, of course, but perhaps it can be less than advertised - and some see its value outweighing the cost. Check out Laura Aka’s report on a brand-new study from Lumina Foundation and Gallup – right here: https://bit.ly/3UkWQZX “During the 2021-22 academic year, the average cost of attendance ranged from $10,000 per year at public, two-year institutions to over $56,000 at private, four-year nonprofit colleges,” the study found. “Students’ net cost is typically much less than the advertised sticker price due to institutional grant aid and scholarships. However, 38% of undergraduates still need to take out loans to pay for their education.” #College #CostOfCollege #StudentLoans #HigherEducation

Perspective on what students (and parents) can control and not control in the college admissions process. When creating your list of schools, institutional priorities MUST be factored in. Thanks for sharing Christine Salerno! https://lnkd.in/eYQXwFen

THE ONLY CRITERIA SHOULD BE YOU SHOW MERIT BUT DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS FOR COLLEGE-SIMPLE AS THAT BTW-WHY IS TUITION SO HIGH? ARE WE ADDING TOO MANY ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF AT COLLEGES? EXAMPLE: We all know tuition is high. I paid $1,550 total my freshman year at UW for room, board, a meal plan and tuition. I could make that hauling garbage for the City of Milwaukee in a summer. I was fairly clueless, definitely not the smartest, but hard working--and got a pharmacy degree. As a first-generation college student, I figured out the bumps and turns of college on my own and built up confidence.  I’m puzzled by why we are adding so many administrative staff at UW? Especially when our professional schools such as the school of pharmacy have a hiring freeze? As I walked around campus last week, I saw that the Old Red Gym was now a multi-cultural center (MCC). Here is what I found, and as an alum and past pharmacy school board member, I’m concerned.  1.  The Multi-Cultural Center (MCC) has 40 head count 2.  The UW system now has 188 full time DEI staff 3.  The School of Pharmacy is in a hiring freeze. I’m not sure if other professional schools are too.   My Conclusions: 1. We need professional degrees, therefore the staff to teach students. Those schools produce graduates. Let’s not shortchange these professional schools by adding (what I call) admin positions of marginal value to the taxpayer. 2. Having 188 DEI staff and 40 MCC staff (Total of 228 headcount) is excessive. That probably is about $50MM in added expense annually. As an alum I would prefer they add teachers in engineering, business, nursing, pharmacy, PT, vet, law, medical, etc. Adding 228 positions in DEI and MCC is laughable. Maybe add 2 DEI staff and 1 in multicultural activities and put them in the HR department. We even have an Associate Chancellor of Diversity making $300K annually. Clearly our chancellor Jennifer Mnookin doesn’t see the value of a degree-but she sees the value of social cause programs.   3. Are 18-year-olds incapable of navigating university living without constant support groups?  It’s why you make friends with as many students as possible in your dorm. That IS your support group along with other friends, family & counselors. No wonder this group of “adults” has the highest anxiety levels ever seen. Maybe we can remind our university staff that 18-year-olds landed at Normandy and were sent to Vietnam. I’m sure that wasn’t easy either but as humans we are programmed to adapt to stress and fear, and we become resilient because of this. 4. DEI staff seem to have a philosophy that has nothing to do with student learning. It is closer to you are either oppressed-or the oppressor. This instills distrust, envy and even hatred among students. It is not bringing people together. DEI helps foster what we are tragically seeing today on campuses, that is, calling Jewish student’s "oppressors and colonizers." It is unhealthy.     #uwmadison #dei

I'm looking forward to diving into Stephen Burd’s book on #enrollmentmanagement today. Curious to see how he addresses the lack of direct federal assessment and its potential impact on financial aid within #collegesanduniversities. It's crucial for institutions to balance enrollment goals without compromising student access to federal aid like #PellGrant and #studentloans. The reliance on data-driven decisions in enrollment management can have unintended consequences for students, especially as federal financial aid options have limits. As the boundaries between enrollment management functions blur, the #USDepartmentofEducation needs to set clear expectations for colleges and universities to ensure student support remains a priority. Sadly, many institutions are moving toward “proprietary school models” which are ill-fitting for the non-profit sector. So, consideration should be given to develop appropriate “guardrails” - regulations - to assess and address this phenomenon. #OnwardByAllMeans

Supporting students by providing basic needs funding in the form of grants can lead to a greater likelihood of those students staying enrolled as compared to peers who didn't receive that funding, especially as non-traditional students make up greater parts of student populations. #GreatCollegeAdvice #FinancialAid #CollegeEnrollment

Todd Richmond writes: #Indigenous students from any of Wisconsin’s 11 tribes will be able to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison for free beginning next fall, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday. The #Wisconsin Tribal Education Promise program will use private donations and other internal funding to cover #tuition, fees, housing, meals, books and other expenses for #undergraduate students after they’ve applied any other #scholarships and grants they’ve earned, Mnookin said at a news conference. Students must show they’re enrolled tribal members to qualify. Confirmed tribal members who pursue a law or medical degree will get their tuition and fees covered as well. The program will begin with the fall 2024 semester. Colleges in several states have implemented special financial aid programs for Indigenous students. The University of #California system, the University of Minnesota, the state of #Michigan and the University of Maine system waive tuition and fees, for example. #Oregon provides Indigenous students with grants that cover all remaining expenses after students use whatever other grants and scholarships they’ve earned, mirroring UW-Madison’s initiative. #IndigenousEducation #PayingForCollege #NativeAmericans #AffordableEducation #RacialEquity #DiversityInclusion #DEI

Taking a gap year and starting somewhere else and transferring are helpful strategies for many students, not just “close friends or family of major world leaders or major donors.” People don't really grasp what it takes to be a "major donor." While it depends on the university, an *annual* gift of $100,000 or more is adequate for most universities. A one-time gift of $200,000 wasn't sufficient even back in the 1980s. At one institution, an aunt's gift of $19M didn't prompt the college to accept her nephew (she may even have advised against it!) because the student simply was not a good fit in any way for that college. It's better to find the right fit, not the most prestigious. https://lnkd.in/eJZw3U6s #collegecounseling #collegeadmissions #highereducation #gapyear

Supporting students by providing basic needs funding in the form of grants can lead to a greater likelihood of those students staying enrolled as compared to peers who didn't receive that funding, especially as non-traditional students make up greater parts of student populations. #GreatCollegeAdvice #FinancialAid #CollegeEnrollment