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Tag: colleges

  • Long Island MBA program rankings and tuition costs compared | Long Island Business News

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    Stony Brook University leads ‘s with 530 students enrolled in 2024, operating from Nicolls Road in Stony Brook. Andrea Goldsmith serves as president. The program offers part-time and online options with tuition of $7,615. The school provides financial aid to 38 percent of students and admits 85 percent of applicants. The university founded its MBA program in 1957 with concentrations in innovation and operations analytics.

    Hofstra University ranks second with 445 students, including 234 full-time and 212 part-time enrollees, with Susan Poser serving as president. The university operates from Hempstead and charges tuition of $62,352. The institution provides financial aid to 51.69 percent of students and admits 50.32 percent of applicants. Hofstra founded its MBA program in 1935.

    New York Institute of Technology enrolls 401 students, with 322 full-time and 79 part-time students. The school operates from Old Westbury with Henry Foley serving as president

    Operating from Jamaica, Queens, with Long Island-based students, St. John’s University has 338 students, all enrolled part-time. The university charges $1,575 in tuition.

    St. Joseph’s University, New York, which is based in Patchogue, enrolls 120 students, with 54 full-time and 66 part-time. Donald Boomgaarden serves as president. SJUNY charges $22,860 in tuition, provides financial aid to 61 percent of students, and admits 78 percent of applicants. The program began in 1916.

    Go to LIBN’s Leads and Data Center to download the complete MBA Programs list or any other LIBN list. Subscribe to LIBN’s Leads and Data to gain year-round access to the data from LIBN’s lists.

    Forvis Mazars is the Premium Sponsor of LIBN’s 2026 Book of Lists.

     

    Claude.ai assisted with the creation of this article based on LIBN data.


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    Regina Jankowski

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  • Trump’s plan to dismantle Education Department takes first major step

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    WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Department of Education is starting to break apart its major offices and hand their duties to other agencies — an early sign of how U.S. President Donald Trump might follow through on his campaign promise to shut the department down completely.

    Several offices that support the nation’s schools and colleges will be moved to departments such as Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, and even the State Department. Officials say federal funding for schools and colleges will continue as Congress intended, but they have not said whether current Education Department employees will keep their jobs.

    Since taking office, Trump has pushed to get rid of the Education Department, saying it is too influenced by liberal ideas. Department leaders have already been preparing to split up their work among other federal agencies. In July, the Supreme Court allowed major layoffs that cut the department’s staff in half.

    Education Secretary Linda McMahon has recently begun publicly arguing that her department should be closed, saying on social media that states and other federal agencies could handle its main tasks — such as giving out grants and answering questions from schools — more effectively.

    But questions remain about whether other agencies are prepared to take on these responsibilities. The Education Department manages billions of dollars in federal aid and helps states interpret complicated education laws. Closing it will test whether the administration can make the transition smoothly or whether students who depend heavily on federal support — including those in rural and low-income schools and students with disabilities — will be harmed.

    Money Will Still Flow

    Although most school funding in the U.S. comes from state and local governments, the Education Department plays a crucial role in sending federal money to schools and colleges. Officials say that money will continue to flow, but often through different agencies. For example:

    • The Department of Labor will now manage major funding programs, including Title I money for schools serving low-income students. Labor already took over adult education programs in June.
    • Health and Human Services will handle grants that help parents who are attending college.
    • The State Department will run foreign-language education programs.
    • The Interior Department will oversee programs for Native American students.

    One of the Education Department’s biggest jobs is managing the US$1.6 trillion federal student loan system. For now, this will not change, though both Trump and McMahon have said another agency might be better suited to run it. Pell Grants and federal student loans will still be issued, and borrowers must continue making payments.

    The FAFSA website, which students use to apply for financial aid, will stay open, and the department will continue to help families with the application. The department will also continue to oversee college accreditation, which allows schools to accept federal aid.

    For now, the department will continue to handle student disability funding, though McMahon has said it could eventually be transferred to Health and Human Services.

    The Education Department also oversees investigations into schools accused of discrimination — including cases involving disability rights, sex discrimination, racial discrimination, and shared ancestry bias. These responsibilities will stay within the department for now, though McMahon has suggested they could be moved to the Department of Justice.

    However, after the mass layoffs in March, the Office for Civil Rights has been operating with far fewer staff. The cuts have raised doubts about whether it can reduce its enormous backlog of student and family complaints. Department data shows it has been resolving fewer civil rights cases even as new complaints continue to rise.

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  • Tracking Trump’s Crackdown on Higher Education

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    President Donald Trump wasted no time targeting higher education reform in his second term, kicking off a fight that often seemed personal.

    Education in recent years has been the battleground for culture war disputes from immigration to transgender rights along with political posturing on issues like student loan forgiveness, admissions practices and free speech on campus.

    Republicans have long been skeptical of higher education and accuse academics of indoctrinating youth with progressive ideologies, and Trump claimed that college campuses have been “infested with radicalism like never before.” Trump’s efforts revolve around curbing what he calls a “woke” agenda, with many of his steps aimed at reversing diversity, equity and inclusion policies that he says unfairly benefit some students over others.

    As president, Trump has leveraged the power of the federal government to threaten funding and restrict foreign student status, demanding an unprecedented role in university admissions, curriculum and operations. In many cases, he has used accusations of antisemitism or the credo of law and order as wedges to force broader scrutiny of higher education administrators and employed civil rights laws aimed at providing fair access and equal protection to recast the definition of discrimination and roll back safeguards for historically disadvantaged populations.

    The battle – which, at times, has escalated into an all-out war – has seen Trump focus on individual universities that refused to bend to his will, perhaps most prominently Harvard University.

    Here’s a look at the key areas of Trump’s agenda and some of the noteworthy moves he has made when it comes to higher education:

    The administration has filed lawsuits and cut or threatened to limit billions of dollars in funding in an attempt to influence policy at universities nationwide on issues ranging from DEI and LGBTQ+ interests to immigration policy and even university leadership and the academic curriculum. The funding freezes were taken by agencies across the administration, from the National Institutes of Health to the Department of Defense to NASA and others. They have been met with varying levels of resistance by administrators.

    • The Trump administration in March sent letters to 60 universities – among them many of the nation’s most elite institutions – warning them of “potential enforcement actions” for violations of Title VI, the federal statute prohibiting discrimination, relating to antisemitic discrimination and harassment. It empowered a Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism to investigate and report violations.

    • The White House in March cut $400 million in funding to Columbia University, a focal point of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses across the country, after demanding that administrators change policies regarding student protests and discipline and reorganize the leadership of the school’s Middle East studies department. Federal officials warned other universities that they could face similar actions. Columbia University in July said it reached a deal with the Trump administration to resolve several federal probes into the school. The agreement, which does not include Columbia University admitting to any wrongdoing, involves the school paying the government a $200 million settlement over three years. “Under today’s agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated, and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored,” the school said in a statement.  

    • Federal officials in April froze $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard University after warning the school it was in violation of federal civil rights law. Harvard University ultimately rejected the administration’s wide-ranging demands that it reform its hiring and admissions practices, restructure the university’s governance and end DEI programs among a host of other stipulations. That led to an escalating dispute that has seen all additional federal funding withdrawn, new civil rights investigations initiated over hiring practices, threats to end the university’s tax-exempt status and a presidential proclamation banning foreign students from studying at Harvard, among other actions. In a major win for Harvard, a federal judge in early September ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it terminated the $2.2 billion in grants, calling the administration’s actions part of a “targeted, ideologically-motivated assault.” It barred the White House from ending or freezing any additional funds to the school.

    • The Trump administration, embroiled in an ongoing dispute with the state of Maine over its allowance of transgender high school athletes competing in girls sports, suspended millions in funding for the University of Maine’s floating offshore wind program. In a letter to the university in April, a Department of Energy official said the funding was suspended for 90 days because the university failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the grant – which includes Title IX antidiscrimination language the Trump administration recently revised to revoke LGBTQ+ protections. In March, the Agriculture Department suspended funding to the university over Title IX concerns, but it was quickly restored after an investigation determined the school was in compliance. 

    • Cornell University, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University were among schools that saw billions of dollars cut, frozen or suspended. The government has given several reasons for the moves, most prominently accusing the schools of tolerating antisemitism but also including race-based policies in admissions and hiring. In some cases, no clear reason was provided. 

    • The Department of Justice in June filed separate lawsuits against Texas, Kentucky and Minnesota over policies granting in-state college tuition to residents who were in the country illegally. Texas, which had the policy in place for two decades, quickly settled. The moves were foreshadowed in an April executive order on immigration. 
    • Brown University announced a settlement with Trump in late July that would see the school’s federal research funding resume and an end to the investigations into alleged discrimination. The university agreed to adopt the Trump administration’s definition of “male” and “female” as well as remove race as a consideration in its admissions. “Woke is officially DEAD at Brown,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the deal.
    • The Trump administration in October sent nine universities a proposal: priority access to federal funding if they follow a wide-ranging list of demands. The schools would have to take several steps to change their policies, like nixing consideration of race or sex in hiring and admissions and limiting foreign student enrollment. The University of Texas expressed interest in the deal, though most of the other schools would not give an answer at the time. California Gov. Gavin Newsom hit back at the controversial proposal, saying any California schools that sign it would lose “billions” in state funding.

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    Republicans have called for the elimination of the agency almost since its inception in 1980, seeing it as a symbol of government bloat, waste and federal overreach. But in recent years the issue has taken on new momentum among hard-line conservatives who bristled at pandemic-era school shutdowns and what was seen as the undermining of parental rights to implement policies that advanced DEI and LGBTQ+ interests.

    • Trump on March 20 signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” In July, the Supreme Court allowed Trump to move ahead with plans to fire about 1,200 Education Department workers. Experts say the reduced workforce could result in delays, particularly in processing FAFSA forms and efficiently distributing aid. 

    Combining the administration’s goals of restricting immigration as well as curbing protests critical of U.S. policy, universities have reported seeing student visas revoked for things like participation in demonstrations as well as criminal violations, some of them as minor as traffic infractions. Collectively, the moves have led to some students being detained or deported, including in several high-profile arrests nationwide.

    • After pledging to “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses” during his opening days in office, Trump’s State Department in March revoked visas for more than 300 foreign-born students at schools in the U.S. who were said to have taken part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.  

    • Federal officials terminated the status of thousands of students in a database used by universities and government officials to account for their movements in the U.S., a step that jeopardized their ability to remain enrolled and could lead to their visas being revoked. However, in April, it reversed, abruptly restoring thousands of international students’ ability to study across the country. But the Trump administration made clear it was not abandoning its effort. Instead, it began working on a new system to review their records. 

    • As a part of Trump’s effort to pressure Harvard University to conform with Trump administration policies, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew the university’s certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas in May. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s effort in June. Trump switched strategies in June, signing a memo to “safeguard national security by suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University.” Harvard University, again, sued, and a federal judge, again, put a temporary block on the effort. 

    Student loan reform was a priority for many Republicans critical of former President Joe Biden’s moves toward student loan debt forgiveness. Biden and his administration erased some $190 billion in borrowed funds – moves that Republicans insisted were in defiance of court orders and were politically motivated to bolster the Democratic base.

    • Trump in March signed an executive order to restrict who is eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program for people who work in public service to get their remaining student loans forgiven after making 10 years of minimum payments. Trump’s plan is to exclude people who work for organizations “that engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.” But the broad language could be used to target a number of activities that might even extend to activism and the constitutionally protected exercise of free speech. However, the change must go through the rulemaking process at the Education Department.

    • The Education Department in April announced it would resume collections on student loans that were in default after not pursuing the outstanding payments since March 2020. The Biden administration began collecting student loan repayments in October 2023 after a pause during the pandemic but instituted a one-year grace period in which borrowers faced no consequences. The Trump administration said it would begin withholding tax refunds and garnishing the wages of borrowers who were in default and had not taken the appropriate steps to resume repayment. 

    • In July, the Education Department announced that roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers would start to see interest resume on their debt balances in August after the Biden-era grace period exempted them for about a year. 

    • Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will bring sweeping changes to federal student loans in July 2026, including setting a total lifetime borrowing limit of $257,500 for all federal student loans. 

    Federal agencies, including the Education Department, have targeted what the Trump administration is calling “woke” spending, consistent with the views of many conservatives that higher education is biased and its research is used by academics to validate a Democratic agenda.

    • The Transportation Department in May terminated seven university grants that totaled $54 million, saying the grants were used to “advance a radical DEI and green agenda that were both wasteful and ran counter to the transportation priorities of the American people.” The department cited as examples a $6 million grant to New York University for research into providing “e-bikes to low-income travelers in transit deserts” and a $6 million grant to the University of New Orleans to study “how neighborhood stabilization efforts support environmental justice.”

    • The Department of Commerce in April announced it was cutting $4 million in research funding for Princeton University to study climate change. The administration said the research promoted “exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as ‘climate anxiety,’ which has increased significantly among America’s youth. Its focus on alarming climate scenarios fosters fear rather than rational, balanced discussion.” The University of Washington similarly saw a $1 million grant into climate research canceled.

    • The National Science Foundation canceled hundreds of grants that “are not aligned with program goals or agency priorities,” including university researchers studying DEI, environmental justice and misinformation or disinformation.

    The Trump administration has made efforts to rollback diversity, equity and inclusion programs embraced by the Biden administration. On his second day in office, he signed an executive order to terminate “to the maximum extent allowed by law” DEI offices and positions.

    • The DEI executive order also mandated an end to such programs at universities that receive federal funding. Schools that don’t comply risk losing federal money. The move, according to the Trump administration, is meant to correct recent discrimination “against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families.”

    • A February memo from the Education Department instructed schools to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid and hiring. It stated that personal essays for college admissions cannot be used to predict a student’s race. “Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding,” it said. But a federal judge in August blocked the memo, along with another one from April that requested state education agencies certify they were not using “illegal DEI practices,” saying the policy changes did not follow procedural requirements.

    • The Trump administration has launched investigations into dozens of institutions for their DEI practices. In one high-profile case, the University of Virginia president announced in June he would resign rather than “fight the federal government.” In another case, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights accused George Mason University of violating Title VI by using race and other protected characteristics in its hiring and promotion practices. The department demanded that Gregory Washington, the university’s president, apologize. In a letter, Washington’s attorney said the university president would not apologize.
    • Trump on Aug. 7 signed a presidential memorandum aimed at “ensuring transparency in higher education admissions.” The memo requires colleges and universities to submit additional admissions data to the Education Department in an effort to “ensure race-based preferences are not used in university admissions processes.” McMahon said in a statement that the Trump administration “will not allow institutions to blight the dreams of students by presuming that their skin color matters more than their hard work and accomplishments.”
    • The Education Department in September announced plans to end discretionary grant funding for several minority-serving institutions programs. It said the projects “discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas.” The agency said it would cut about $350 million from seven programs, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions and predominantly Black institutions. “These funds will be reprogrammed into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities,” it said. A few days later, the agency announced a $495 million investment in historically Black colleges and tribal universities with funds it redirected from other programs “that the Department determined are not in the best interest of students and families.”

    Republicans have long expressed concern with foreign funding flowing into U.S. colleges and universities. They say the money raises questions about foreign influences over research as well as national security issues relating to potential espionage and theft of sensitive information.

    • Trump in April signed an executive order to require the “full and timely disclosure of foreign funding by higher education institutions.” The order asks for stricter enforcement of a federal law that requires colleges to disclose financial ties with foreign sources. “We believe that certain universities, including, for example, Harvard, have routinely violated this law, and this law has not been effectively enforced,” White House staff secretary Will Scharf said at the executive order’s signing ceremony.

    • The Trump administration opened investigations into Harvard University; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of California, Berkeley; and, most recently, the University of Michigan over foreign funds. 

    Accreditation is a process colleges and universities are required to go through to gain access to federal financial aid. Using the accreditation process to target institutions that the Trump administration deems “low-quality” could lead to major financial fallouts for the institutions that rely heavily on federal financial aid and could give conservatives a greater say over higher education standards.

    • Trump in April signed an executive order to “overhaul the higher education accreditation system, ensuring colleges and universities deliver high-quality, high-value education free from unlawful discrimination and ideological overreach.” The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions, a group of some of the largest federally recognized college accreditors, pushed back on Trump’s claims, adding that “ultimately, concerns about accreditor recognition can be escalated to federal court.”

    • A May letter from the Education Department detailed guidance to quicken the process of switching accreditors in an effort to “remove unnecessary requirements and barriers to institutional innovation.” McMahon said the new policy as well as the executive order will “ensure this Department no longer stands as a gatekeeper to block aspiring innovators from becoming new accreditors nor will this Department unnecessarily micromanage an institution’s choice of accreditor.”

    • The Education Department took steps to notify accreditors of violations its Office for Civil Rights found at certain institutions, including Harvard University and Columbia University. It accused both schools of violating federal antidiscrimination laws, saying, in turn, that the schools no longer appear to meet their accreditor’s standards. The agency noted in its press releases that “if a university fails to come into compliance within a specified period, an accreditor must take appropriate action against its member institution.”

    Trump has put a strong focus on banning transgender people from participating in sports, including at colleges and universities. He signed an executive order that declared the federal government recognizes two sexes: male and female. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” Trump’s executive order states. “Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy.”

    • As part of the executive order declaring that the federal government recognizes two sexes, the Trump administration rescinded Title IX protections prohibiting discrimination that were extended to the LGBTQ+ community during the previous administration.

    • Trump in February signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”

    • The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights launched investigations into several universities, including the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender woman’s participation on the women’s swim team three years ago. The Ivy league school announced in July that it reached a deal with the Trump administration to limit transgender people’s participation in its athletic programs. McMahon called the agreement a “great victory for women and girls not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation.”

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    Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder

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  • International student enrollment drops in U.S. amid policy changes

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    Colleges and universities across the United States are preparing for a significant drop in international student enrollment this fall as President Donald Trump aims to overhaul the vetting and admission process for foreign students.Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), said, “In terms of tuition dollars to universities, that will certainly be an impact, but in addition to universities, they contribute to the local economy.”The Association of International Educators says the drop in foreign enrollment could be as high as 15% this fall, which could deprive the U.S. economy of about $7 billion in spending, result in more than 60,000 fewer jobs, and strain school budgets across the country.Trump acknowledged the importance of international students last week, saying, “I like that other country students come here. And you know what would happen if they didn’t? Our college system would go to hell very quickly.” However, he has also argued that foreign students take slots from Americans and only wants those who “can love our country.”Critics claim that the administration’s policies are contributing to the decline by pressuring colleges to limit enrollment, tightening visa screening, and revoking thousands of visas, arguing that those students broke the law or supported terrorism. Trump stated, “We don’t want troublemakers here.”The administration maintains that these measures are about security, but experts like Aw argue, “This idea that international students are a national security threat is one that there is no evidence to support that at all.”Trump last week suggested doubling the number of Chinese students in American universities, a move that contrasts with his previous crackdown and has sparked criticism from conservatives.

    WASHINGTON —

    Colleges and universities across the United States are preparing for a significant drop in international student enrollment this fall as President Donald Trump aims to overhaul the vetting and admission process for foreign students.

    Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), said, “In terms of tuition dollars to universities, that will certainly be an impact, but in addition to universities, they contribute to the local economy.”

    The Association of International Educators says the drop in foreign enrollment could be as high as 15% this fall, which could deprive the U.S. economy of about $7 billion in spending, result in more than 60,000 fewer jobs, and strain school budgets across the country.

    Trump acknowledged the importance of international students last week, saying, “I like that other country students come here. And you know what would happen if they didn’t? Our college system would go to hell very quickly.” However, he has also argued that foreign students take slots from Americans and only wants those who “can love our country.”

    Critics claim that the administration’s policies are contributing to the decline by pressuring colleges to limit enrollment, tightening visa screening, and revoking thousands of visas, arguing that those students broke the law or supported terrorism. Trump stated, “We don’t want troublemakers here.”

    The administration maintains that these measures are about security, but experts like Aw argue, “This idea that international students are a national security threat is one that there is no evidence to support that at all.”

    Trump last week suggested doubling the number of Chinese students in American universities, a move that contrasts with his previous crackdown and has sparked criticism from conservatives.

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  • Spate Of Hoax Calls About Active Shooters Stir Fear At College Campuses Around The US – KXL

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    (AP) – A rash of hoax calls about active shooters on college campuses — some featuring gunshots sounding in the background — has sent waves of fear among students around the nation as the school year begins.

    The calls have prompted universities to issue campuswide texts to “run, hide, fight.” Students and teachers have rushed to find cover, often cowering in classrooms for safety. Officers have swarmed campuses seeking out the threat. Yet in every recent case, the threat didn’t exist.

    “It’s looking as if this was another swatting or hoax call,” University of Arkansas Police Department Assistant Chief Matt Mills said after false reports of an active shooter Monday prompted school leaders to cancel classes for the day.

    Number of college campuses receiving hoax alarms grows
    The hoax calls and false alarms have hit at least 11 college campuses from Arkansas to Pennsylvania.

    On Monday alone, law enforcement responded to calls claiming there were active shooters at Arkansas, Northern Arizona University, Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado University and the University of New Hampshire. More calls were made Tuesday at the University of Kentucky as well as Central Georgia Technical College and a nearby high school. The Kentucky call was determined to be a hoax before an alert could be issued.

    The goal of swatting, which sometimes uses caller ID spoofing to disguise numbers, is to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to respond to an address.

    The FBI said Tuesday that it was working with law enforcement on the swatting cases on college campuses, which come as such false reports surge nationwide.

    A wave of threats three years ago was believed to have come from outside the country, the FBI said at the time. The agency provided few details about the recent campus threats, including whether they are coordinated, but the calls appear to share similar traits. Most of them involved multiple calls to authorities about an active shooter or shooting, and at least four included the sound of gunshots in the background.

    In an era of mass shootings, the calls create a climate of fear and sap law enforcement resources. The FBI stressed in a statement that the threats also put “innocent people at risk.” In 2017, for instance, a police officer in Wichita, Kansas, shot and killed a man while responding to a hoax emergency call.

    Climate of fear can linger
    The emotional toll on students and staff can linger for days or even weeks, said Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a consulting firm that focuses on K-12 safety.

    Miceala Morano, a 21-year-old senior journalism major at the University of Arkansas, knows that firsthand. She hid behind a green screen in the broadcast room and called her grandmother as officers outside donned bullet proof vests.

    “As of right now, I’m safe. I love you,” said Morano, who was raised on active shooter drills.

    As a child, she learned to stack chairs in front of the classroom door and to climb into the ceiling if there was no other way out. Now this.

    “There’s just these few minutes where all you really feel is fear, whether the threat’s there or not,” she said.

    Casey Mann, a 19-year-old classmate, said she couldn’t sleep until 2 a.m. afterward.

    “It’s just a scary reality the time we’re living in right now,” she said, her voice choking up. “It just makes me wonder what we’re supposed to expect in the future when it comes to the frequency of events like this.”

    Latest wave of swatting calls began in Pennsylvania
    The wave of reports began on Thursday, when law enforcement in Pennsylvania received multiple calls about shots purportedly fired on Villanova’s campus by a man armed with an AR-15 style weapon. Sounds of gunfire could be heard in the background of the calls.

    The calls — which also included a false report of someone wounded by gunfire — sent students gathered for orientation mass rushing into building and prompted the school to go into temporary lockdown. Chairs were scattered on the school’s lawn and some students hid in a utility closet.

    Two hours later, the lockdown was lifted and the school’s president denounced the “cruel hoax.”

    “Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued,” the Rev. Peter M. Donohue said in a statement.

    Hoax calls spread around the country
    The same day, Tennessee authorities received calls reporting an active shooter at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga armed with an AR-15 style rifle and four people shot. Dispatchers reported hearing multiple gunshots on the calls.

    “This incident was a criminal act, intended to be disruptive and cause chaos,” the school said in a statement.

    The University of South Carolina also received two calls Sunday reporting an active shooter at the school’s library, with the sound of gunshots in the background.

    Experts fear hoaxes may make students dismiss warnings
    The hoaxes are risking creating complacency at campuses and students where active shooter alerts and drills have become a regular part of life.

    “It does make me worry that people will be inclined to think it’s a false alarm,” said Mya Norman, a chemistry instructor at Arkansas who hid under her office desk as the Fayetteville campus remained on lockdown. “We live in tornado alley where people go hear a tornado warning and go outside to look. So it does concern me that we could end up with that kind of an effect.”

    Security experts said that risk remains, but campus officials must find the right balance in keeping students and teachers on guard for any real threats in the future.

    “It’s that delicate balance, not downplaying an active shooter because those things are occurring but also we don’t want people to go to work paranoid and panicked every day,” said Trump, the school safety consultant.

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    Jordan Vawter

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  • As U.S. Workers Seek Upskilling and New Jobs, ACE Offers Affordable Courses and Programs in Alignment with In-Demand Skills

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    A leading provider of quality, affordable online degrees leverages insight from data, employers and workers to ensure its programs teach skills that industry needs today and in the future. 


    INDIANAPOLIS, July 24, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Nearly half of all Americans who want to change occupations say that their lack of education, skills or credentials is a barrier to that new job. American College of Education (ACE) offers a solution for those job-seekers, with data-driven programs that are directly tied to in-demand skills, equipping students for success in the job market without saddling them with student debt.

    ACE, founded in 2005, is a national innovator in providing quality, affordable and accredited online graduate degrees. ACE is the third-highest conferrer of education master’s degrees in the United States1 and maintains low tuition, which enables nearly nine out of 10 students to graduate debt-free2.

    ACE’s commitment to accessible and career-relevant undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees is essential in a modern economy where workers are increasingly willing to change their occupations. The new McKinsey American Opportunity Survey, released in May, found that about four in 10 U.S. workers would change occupations, but 45% of them say a need for more skills, credentials, education or experience would prevent them from doing so.

    ACE helps workers achieve new opportunities and better wages, often without the burden of student loans, through what it terms a “triangulated” approach: The college analyzes data, consults with businesses and gathers input from ACE graduates working in the field in order to design affordable degree and certificate programs that meet market demands.

    Data is the first piece of the triangle. ACE studies labor market trends, job descriptions, and government and private-sector data to determine the skills needed for positions related to its degree programs. “It all starts with understanding what the data in the market is telling us about what skills are required for jobs – not only what is needed today but what is expected for tomorrow,” said Mark Pollack, ACE’s senior vice president of learning products.

    ACE also maintains a dedicated field team that builds relationships with school districts, hospitals and other businesses to understand what skills employers seek. “Those conversations provide insight into what employers say their employees will need today and what they will need in the future. That piece is critical because it confirms what the data from Lightcast, the Bureau of Labor Services or any of our other data services are providing for us,” Pollack said.

    Student input is the third piece of ACE’s approach. The college surveys its alumni and meets with alumni groups 10 or more times a year. “We follow up with alumni to make sure that they’re achieving what they need in the roles that they receive after they’ve completed their degree with us, and that their new skills are translating into better work performance and better salaries,” Pollack said.

    ACE takes the information from its various data analyses, industry consultation and alumni feedback to examine how those needed skills align with the curriculum for each course it offers. When it sees gaps, Pollack said, it builds curriculum to teach those skills.

    ACE also closely tracks emerging skills to enhance its courses – with artificial intelligence as a prime example. “Five years ago, AI meant something totally different than what it means today. So we have a surgical effort to make sure that our curriculum is helping our students understand what AI is and how to use it,” Pollack said. “For example, in the K-12 education field, we are not only arming our students to be able to understand AI literacy and usage in their own degree path, but also how they’re going to help their students with AI literacy and usage.”

    ACE’s triangular approach is manifested in a first-of-its-kind program launching this fall, a Certificate in Professional Skills in Travel Nursing. ACE collaborated with all players in the system – hospitals, hiring agencies representing travel nurses, a trade organization and the nurses themselves – to create a program that teaches nurses how to adapt and function in constantly changing settings.

    ACE continuously designs, reviews and improves its programs while maintaining its focus on its value proposition for its students. ACE keeps its quality high and costs in check by leveraging its in-house faculty and curriculum development team, rather than relying on third-party publishers to keep its curriculum up to date, engaging and relevant.

    “ACE is committed to delivering quality, affordability and flexibility to our students,” said ACE President and CEO Geordie Hyland. “That means we will dedicate the people and resources needed to ensure our programs give our students the skills they need to attain the jobs and opportunities they’re looking for, while still keeping our degrees accessible and affordable for all.”

    1nces.ed.gov/IPEDS/datacenter

    2Internal research completed in March 2025

    About American College of Education
    American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, fully online private college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, healthcare and nursing. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 60 innovative and engaging programs for adult students to pursue a doctorate, specialist, master’s or bachelor’s degree, along with graduate-level certificate programs. 

    Source: American College of Education

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  • American College of Education Keeps Tuition Affordable with ‘Online-First’ Programs Built for Effective Learning and to Facilitate Career Progression

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    ACE offers its students high-quality online instruction and engaging and relevant curriculum, while avoiding unnecessary expenses.


    INDIANAPOLIS, July 15, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Getting your degree online should be less expensive than pursuing it in person, but recent reports show traditional colleges charge as much or more for online courses than in-person programs. In May 2025, the Hechinger Report documented how the costs of online education are soaring because colleges have recognized online education as a money-making opportunity, even though technology allows it to easily scale while avoiding bricks-and-mortar overhead costs.

    American College of Education (ACE) builds its programs online-first, optimized for a fully virtual experience and designed to be relevant to today’s economy. That relentless focus on high-quality online teaching and learning allows ACE to keep its expenses in check and pass savings on to its students. ACE has not raised tuition since 20161, making its tuition among the most affordable in the nation.

    ACE, founded in 2005, is a national innovator providing quality, affordable and accredited online undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees. ACE is the third-highest conferrer of education master’s degrees in the United States2. ACE’s low tuition enables nearly nine out of 10 students to graduate debt-free3.

    “At ACE, students are learning through a truly online, career-focused program, not a traditional classroom program that is forced into an online format,” said ACE President and CEO Geordie Hyland. “That way, ACE provides education that delivers real returns for the student and does it more efficiently and affordably.”

    While 80% of people believe online education should be less expensive than in-person programs, a 2024 survey of colleges’ online learning officers found that 83% of schools charge the same tuition or more. A 2024 report by the Education Data Initiative found that at public four-year colleges, the tuition rate for online instruction was $341 per credit, slightly higher than the $325 per credit cost for in-person instruction.

    In contrast, ACE provides an education that nine out of 10 students and 96% of employers consistently recommend, and at far less than the average cost: $215 per credit hour for most bachelor’s-level courses, $235 per credit hour for master’s-level courses and $306 per credit hour for doctoral-level courses.

    The key is ACE’s high-quality instruction and its curriculum development process. ACE’s faculty are pro-active, passionate practitioners who bring real-world and relevant experience into the online classroom.

    ACE’s curriculum is purpose-built for effective online learning. “We build our courses the same way you build a house,” said Jill Delcambre, ACE’s vice president of learning innovation and design. “You don’t start with the materials – you start with a blueprint of where you want everything to go and how it all fits together.”

    ACE’s curriculum development process begins with academic leadership conducting program planning through market research and stakeholder input to determine the concepts and skills each course should cover. From there, ACE develops learning outcomes and a “course map” for the faculty to create content.

    Faculty members collaborate with ACE’s dedicated curriculum development team to create the course, which is usually a 12-week process. They plan and develop the course content, ensuring programs and courses have measurable outcomes and that materials are at the proper level and that student expectations are clear.

    ACE’s learning design team creates visually engaging, accessible and easy-to-navigate courses in the online platform for a seamless learning experience. “Another thing that ACE does differently is that we produce all of our video in-house,” Delcambre explained. The e-learning content designers produce all course videos – whether filmed with faculty in the ACE studio or designer-created content – ensuring engaging, top-quality video and vocal presentation. “We’re not going to send students to YouTube to watch videos someone else has created or just put someone in front of a camera and have them start talking,” Delcambre said. “We ensure that the content in our videos is evidence-based, backed by research and pulls students in to create meaningful engagement and active learning.”

    The content designers also leverage AI as a tool to help them create interactive elements for students. For example, an education course’s module on classroom management would include designer-created “branching scenarios,” built with AI assistance, on how teachers should handle specific situations.

    ACE’s rigorous development process is designed to ensure that courses keep students engaged and learning, and in a manner that allows the content to remain relevant and updated. This commitment to quality through in-house development and production represents a significant institutional investment that ultimately benefits students through both quality control and affordability. “Our investment in our courses is significant, but it’s an institutional priority that we absorb rather than pass on to students,” Delcambre said. “We’re intentional about incorporating technology that enhances learning outcomes and serves a clear educational purpose.”

    ACE can also keep tuition low because of its intentional decision to forego Title IV federal student loans, even though the college is qualified to accept them. By avoiding the administrative and overhead costs of the loan programs, ACE can reduce its operational expenses and the related costs to students.

    With ACE’s degree programs built and priced as true online services, students are paying less than they would for online programs offered by colleges with a physical campus. For more information, please visit ace.edu.

    1 Excludes RN to BSN program

    2 nces.ed.gov/IPEDS/datacenter

    3 Internal research completed in March 2025

    About American College of Education
    American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, private fully online college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, leadership, healthcare and nursing. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 60 innovative and engaging programs for adult students to pursue a doctorate, specialist, master’s or bachelor’s degree, along with graduate-level certificate programs. In addition to being a leader in online education, ACE is a Certified B Corporation and part of a global movement to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

    Source: American College of Education

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  • ACE Partnerships Solve Human Capital Shortages for K-12 Schools, Community Colleges, Healthcare, Businesses

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    As of 2024, American College of Education Partnered With More Than 2,500 Organizations to Create Solutions That Provide Top-Quality Online Programs and Train or Upskill Workers to Fill Crucial Positions


    INDIANAPOLIS, June 18, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    In 2024, American College of Education (ACE) expanded its partnership reach to more than 2,500 colleges, school districts, healthcare systems and other businesses. The expansion demonstrates ACE’s commitment to making a world-class education available to all and helping its partners solve persistent human capital challenges.

    As organizations across both the public and private sectors struggle to recruit and retain talented employees, ACE provides bespoke education solutions that enable employers to recruit, retain and upskill their employees.

    “By working together, ACE and our partners provide employees with access to greater career opportunities. At ACE, we are fully committed to helping to strengthen the talent pipeline in this manner across education, healthcare and other fields,” said ACE President and CEO Geordie Hyland.

    ACE, founded in 2005, is uniquely positioned to provide quality, affordable and accessible online graduate degrees, undergraduate degrees, doctorates and certificates in education, leadership, healthcare and business. In 2024, ACE demonstrated its value to students with an eighth consecutive year of no increase in tuition charges. ACE’s affordable tuition enables nearly nine out of 10 students to graduate without debt1.

    ACE built its first cohort of students through a partnership with a public school district in Illinois, which sought a flexible and affordable way to create a pipeline of skilled educational leaders.

    Today, ACE continues that legacy with partnerships that transform colleges, schools and hospitals nationwide. In Central Texas, ACE worked with Temple Independent School District to address the statewide and national shortage of K-12 classroom teachers. As part of the partnership, the school district facilitates career advancement for its staff by recruiting and supporting employees and teachers through ACE’s online programs.

    “We have seen many of our staff excited about the opportunity to advance their careers from paraprofessionals to licensed educators. There is a sense of pride within the cohort of teachers in the program, and it’s terrific to see that,” said Adrian Lopez, Temple ISD’s director of employee relations.

    ACE also partnered with Rio Salado College, one of the 10 Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, to develop flexible and affordable content-specific graduate credit options for the training and licensure of high school dual enrollment teachers. “ACE has proven to be a valuable and responsive partner,” said Rick Kemp, dean of instruction and partnerships. “The graduate credit content area instruction and prior learning assessment options provided by ACE meet a critical need in providing viable pathways for dual enrollment teachers toward meeting their credentialing requirements.”

    ACE’s partnerships also help hospitals and healthcare groups solve the national nursing and healthcare worker shortage. In Arizona, ACE partnered with GateWay Community College, also part of Maricopa Community Colleges, to create a new RN to BSN to MSN pathway. This pathway enables nursing students to transfer credits from their BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program into ACE’s (MSN) Master of Science in Nursing program – shortening their time to completion by six months to a year and bringing nurses into the job market more quickly.

    “Working with the ACE team to create a seamless, efficient pathway for a concurrent enrollment program for the RN to BSN (at GateWay) to ACE’s MSN was a wonderful and collaborative experience,” said Dr. Margi Schultz, nursing faculty administrator for Maricopa Community Colleges. “The ACE team is responsive and student-focused. We have had significant interest from our students and look forward to building and expanding upon this initial partnership.”

    ACE has also partnered with a healthcare system to help address its leadership development needs. Its nurses and employees who complete the internal leadership program can seamlessly apply earned credits to an ACE degree program, thereby reducing program completion time and cost while maximizing on-the-job training and development.

    ACE serves its broad spectrum of partners by developing customized solutions, not uniform, one-size-fits-all benefit options. “We work with our partners to identify their unique, specific needs and then collaborate with them to develop effective solutions,” Hyland said.

    Those solutions may include benefits such as direct bill, tuition reduction, seamless credit transfer pathways from a program the partner offers to one of ACE’s programs, transcription of coursework the partner offers into academic credit and more. ACE’s higher education partnerships are sometimes eligible for concurrent enrollment, where their students can simultaneously complete schoolwork at their college and ACE to expedite completion.

    ACE’s partnerships deliver a value proposition for both students and businesses: Students benefit from degrees that allow them to advance their careers while maintaining their jobs, family life and financial stability, while employers benefit from having more capable and motivated employees and incentives to keep them in the organization.

    “For 20 years, ACE has been collaborating with employers to build human capital pipelines that address staffing gaps with advanced degrees and/or certifications,” Hyland said. “Our partnerships prove what’s possible when institutions come together to provide students with the flexible, affordable and high-quality education opportunities they need.”

    To learn more about how ACE partnerships can benefit your organization, visit ace.edu.

    1 Internal research completed in March 2025

    American College of Education

    American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, fully online college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, leadership, healthcare and nursing. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 60 innovative and engaging programs for adult students to pursue a doctorate, specialist, master’s or bachelor’s degree, along with graduate-level certificate programs.

    Source: American College of Education

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  • American College of Education Pledges to Make 2025 Another Year of ‘Higher Education Done Differently’

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    ACE celebrates 2024 milestones in providing master’s degrees online, building business partnerships, affirming quality standards and continuing its tuition freeze for an eighth straight year, and plans to continue expanding accessibility and improving efficiency in 2025.


    INDIANAPOLIS, January 29, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    American College of Education is celebrating its attainment of new milestones in enrollment, accreditation, partnerships and value in 2024, achievements that position ACE for its 20th year of “Higher Education Done Differently.”

    ACE, founded in 2005, is a national innovator in providing quality, affordable and accredited online graduate degrees, undergraduate degrees, doctorates and certificates in education, leadership, healthcare and business.

    ACE has adopted “Higher Education Done Differently” as its slogan for the 20th anniversary year. Geordie Hyland, ACE’s president and CEO, said the college has earned that description.

    “ACE is different from the vast majority of American colleges because of our absolute dedication to the value proposition for our students,” Hyland said. “We have proved that colleges can provide students with an education that allows them to advance their careers while maintaining their jobs and family life, often without amassing any debt.”

    ACE’s message has caught on with students. In 2024, ACE crossed new growth thresholds, with more than 12,000 current students – compared to its initial class of just 24 Chicago schoolteachers at its 2005 founding. Over the last two decades, ACE has produced more than 44,000 graduates.

    ACE also made 2024 its eighth consecutive year with no increase in tuition charges, demonstrating its continued commitment to provide value to students. Low tuition makes ACE degrees affordable without the need for student loans, as 86% of its students graduate without debt1.

    Students at ACE receive a strong value proposition and return on the investment in their studies. An independent study found that ACE graduates receive a salary boost of $19.20 in income for every $1 they spend on tuition, salary gains that graduates do not have to spend on repaying loans.

    ACE reaffirmed its position as an innovative, high-quality education provider in 2024. The college received its 10-year reaccreditation review from the Higher Learning Commission, a respected higher education-accrediting body. ACE also strengthened partnerships with leading institutions in higher education, healthcare, business and K-12 school districts.

    The quality of ACE’s operations and employees was recognized in 2024. For the third consecutive year, ACE received a Top Workplaces USA award from USA Today and Energage, winning 12 workplace culture badges based solely on employee feedback collected via Energage’s employee engagement survey. ACE students gave the college an NPS score of 69.5, a score generally recognized as outstanding.

    Despite those successes, ACE still sees opportunities to improve in 2025, Hyland said. Goals include continued improvements to curriculum and instruction, further improvements to the student value proposition, strong engagement from ACE’s faculty and staff, as well as helping to strengthen the human capital of employer partners by providing innovative and bespoke solutions. The college will optimize operations and further leverage artificial intelligence in service of ACE’s mission of maintaining affordability and accessibility for students. The college will also invest in belonging and wellness initiatives to help every member of ACE’s learning community reach their full potential.

    “Our goals are the same as they were at our outset two decades ago: We want to create a way for working adults to access truly affordable education that can move their careers forward,” Hyland said. “To deliver on that promise, we need to keep pushing the boundaries of higher education so it focuses on the needs of the students. That’s how ACE will continue to grow and succeed.”

    For more information, please visit https://ace.edu/.

    1Source: Internal research completed in June 2024

    About American College of Education
    American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, fully online college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, leadership, healthcare and nursing. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 60 innovative and engaging programs for adult students to pursue a doctorate, specialist, master’s or bachelor’s degree, along with graduate-level certificate programs.

    Source: American College of Education

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  • Critical thinking in the digital age of AI: Information literacy is key

    Critical thinking in the digital age of AI: Information literacy is key

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    Key points:

    From New York to Texas, the pro-Palestinian protests sweeping U.S. colleges have become a flashpoint for viral disinformation, from falsely attributed “Jewish genocide” chants to debunked claims of Hamas presence. With the tenor of allegations reaching a fever pitch, Columbia University students have even launched their own fact-checking Twitter account. As this highly-charged moment collides with a hyper-partisan landscape, it offers a stark reminder of how disinformation thrives at the intersection of fierce emotions and polarized politics, threatening to drown out nuance, facts, and good-faith dialogue when they are needed most. All of this points to the urgency of tackling disinformation through information literacy.

    Disinformation has long played a role in global events. Technological change and increasingly global communications have made the deliberate spread of inaccurate information faster and more impactful. With the birth of AI, disinformation has entered a new era, rendering it critical to teach students how to question sources, spot fakes and be discerning consumers of news, social media, and information.  

    AI has dramatically complicated the information landscape by rapidly generating and amplifying deceptive narratives, deepfakes, and AI-generated visuals, drawing concern from global leaders as a major emerging challenge. The World Economic Forum’s latest Global Risks Report, which surveyed experts from academia, business, government, the international community, and civil society, named misinformation and disinformation from AI as the top global risk over the next two years–ahead of climate change and war.

    The stakes are high, especially as the U.S. approaches a critical election year–one that will undoubtedly be subject to disinformation, a force that voters will remember as having played a critical role in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

    As an academic who has studied how digital technology is used by governments and non-state actors for the purposes of repression and information control, these issues are especially concerning. There is an urgent need to promote greater critical thinking among young people, to give them the tools to detect what information is authentic and what has been manipulated. Information literacy, specifically across digital platforms, should be a mandatory part of every K-12 curriculum, to combat the rise of disinformation and develop more discerning students ready to take on an AI-driven future.

    How and where disinformation can take place

    Disinformation can show up anywhere, but it thrives on stories that appeal to emotions. Election issues and partisan politics are a prime example. During the pandemic, COVID-19 disinformation narratives, spanning the bizarre claims that the disease is spread by 5G and other conspiracies, spread faster than the virus itself–thanks to digital technology. Anti-vaccine groups essentially tricked Facebook’s algorithms into allowing posts that spread disinformation by using a carrot emoji in place of the word “vaccine.” Looking at climate change–another highly polarized and partisan issue–a probe into a subset of social media accounts revealed hundreds of AI-generated and stolen pictures used in greenwashing campaigns.

    Praying on the emotions that emerged after the deadly October 7th attacks and the ensuing attacks on Gaza, deepfakes powered by AI have spread at an unprecedented pace. Soon after October 7th, a fake story emerged that Qatar had threatened to cut off the world’s natural gas supply if Israel didn’t stop its bombing in Gaza, garnering millions of views before it was ultimately debunked. More recently, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been a target of disinformation, thanks to a network of fake accounts and websites that have collaborated to spread accusations about the agency’s ties with Hamas. 

    Not only is disinformation incredibly damaging to the delivery of accurate, verifiable information, it has eroded the public’s trust in some of our most reliable institutions. Only 32 percent of Americans say they trust the mass media, a figure that is tied with record-low levels in 2016.

    Engaging with disinformation and AI as teachable moments

    Disinformation can be rectified through fact checking, but in many cases, a false story has already done its damage before it is corrected. Another strategy is ‘prebunking,’ a technique gaining momentum that helps to build preemptive resilience to misinformation.

    We can combat the spread of disinformation by encouraging and teaching more critical thinking, especially about AI, algorithms, and deception, and the value of greater subject matter knowledge.  

    Whether you are a teacher in K-12 schools, a university instructor, or simply an individual who actively engages in online platforms, there are many steps that can be taken to ensure a greater understanding and literacy around disinformation and AI. This will in turn instill greater trust in the institutions and organizations that disseminate the information we are seeking.

    Context-based case studies, such as videos of celebrities and influencers, can serve as important teaching moments. In my classes, I’ve challenged students to discern what is a deepfake or AI-generated image through exercises such as reverse image searches. This teaches them to detect clues such as fuzzy details, inconsistent lighting, out-of-sync audio and visuals, and the credibility of the image source. We spend time analyzing and discussing the spread, origins, and nature of social media manipulation, which equips students with important data literacy skills.

    Bringing the study of disinformation to the classroom

    What we know about the world ultimately informs how we approach disinformation and deception. Today’s students need a cross-disciplinary approach that starts early, so the foundations of critical thinking and information literacy are instilled at a young age and stick with them as they grow and mature.

    In Finland, media literacy constitutes a core component part of the national curriculum, starting in preschool. They start with understanding the basic elements of media, and build from there to understand more complex elements, such as identifying sources. It is not a single subject–rather, it is taught across different disciplines, including Finnish language and literature, math, and art to grow a well-rounded set of analytical skills. In a survey published by the Open Society Institute in Bulgaria, Finland has ranked No. 1 of 41 European countries on resilience against misinformation for the fifth time in a row. Finland’s population also has a higher level of trust in news and other institutions, with 76 percent of Finns considering print and digital newspapers to be reliable, according to a survey conducted by market research company IRO research.

    There is no denying the impact of disinformation and the stronghold it is having on political processes around the world. We will doubtless see the use of disinformation throughout 2024 U.S. presidential election battle, but a concerted effort on developing greater critical thinking can help alleviate the impact. By becoming more knowledgeable about what disinformation is, as well as different countries, cultures, and subjects, we can better navigate the array of disinformation scenarios in the digital world and foster a questioning mindset.

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    Dr. Marc Owen Jones, Northwestern University in Qatar

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  • Carousel Digital Signage Achieves TX-RAMP Level 1 Certification

    Carousel Digital Signage Achieves TX-RAMP Level 1 Certification

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    MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – Carousel Digital Signage has achieved Level 1 Certification under the Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program (TX-RAMP), a Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) program that makes governmental technology more secure, cost-effective and forward-looking. The Level 1 Certification approves and recommends Carousel Cloud for use with all state government agencies including higher education community colleges.

    Level 1 Certification is ideal for businesses like Carousel Digital Signage that process low-impact, low-sensitivity data in the cloud for broader public consumption. The certification, valid for three years, confirms Carousel Cloud as a secure and reliable technology partner for education and government facilities that represent two of Carousel Digital Signage’s busiest verticals.

    Carousel Cloud has also just released an updated SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance report, which confirms that Carousel has implemented the appropriate internal controls around security to protect customer data delivered to digital signage end points in the cloud.

    Carolyn Korchik, Director of Information Security and Compliance for Carousel Digital Signage, shares that she and her team built onto its existing SOC 2-approved cloud security framework for cybersecurity to achieve TX-RAMP Level 1 Certification. DIR analyzed all cybersecurity risks and solutions built into the Carousel Cloud framework before approving its certification.

    “TX-RAMP Level 1 Certification requires many of the same controls for active monitoring of security-related procedures, and the certification itself is an assessment of our cybersecurity procedures,” said Korchik. “There is no additional cost to our education and government customers in Texas. As an approved vendor, new customers are assured that we have met DIR’s stringent IT and cloud security requirements, and all necessary policies and controls are built into the Carousel Cloud framework.”

    About Carousel Digital Signage

    Carousel is Digital Signage Content Management Software that is easy to use, scalable, and reliable. With a deep feature set and strong technology partnerships Carousel gives you the most value in digital signage. Carousel Digital Signage is a division of Tightrope Media Systems. You can reach the Carousel team at (866) 866-4118, or visit  www.carouselsignage.com.

    eSchool News Staff
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  • Is higher education worth the cost? New study says it depends on the school

    Is higher education worth the cost? New study says it depends on the school

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    The value of a college degree largely depends on where you go, a new HEA Group study found.

    And as college tuition continues to increase – more than 30% in the next five years for Cal State University – some are wondering if higher education is worth the investment.

    Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president and CEO of College Futures Foundation, set out to answer that question when he commissioned the HEA Group to analyze how long it would take low and moderate income students to recoup the costs of attending colleges — from four-year institutions and community colleges to trade schools.

    “We believe that we are in a crisis moment, particularly when it comes to higher education opportunities,” Oakley said. “We all know that the cost of attendance continues to rise. The public is asking questions about the value of a degree. There are a lot of conversations about whether or not your college degree still has the same value that it once promised.”

    Oakley, who is the former chancellor of the California Community Colleges, said higher education is one of the largest investments that students and their families will make in their lifetime, so they should see a return on that investment.

    The “Golden Opportunities” study by HEA uses data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard to determine how long it takes 731,000 low and moderate income students at 292 higher ed institutions in the state to recoup their cost of attendance. Students whose family income is less than $75,000 a year are defined as low and moderate income.

    The study calculated the net annual cost of attendance – books, housing, transportation and tuition – after all scholarships and grants are awarded. Then, HEA multiplied that figure by the number of years it would take a student to receive their credential: four years for a bachelor’s, two years for an associate’s and one year for a certificate.

    HEA’s study measured the median salary of former students after 10 years of enrolling at each school and compared it to the salary of a high school graduate with no college experience – $26,073. That salary was then used to calculate how long it would take a student to pay down the cost of earning their degree.

    The HEA Group found that generally, students who received associate’s degrees were able to recoup their educational costs quicker than students who received bachelor’s degrees or certificates.

    According to the study, San Jose State University costs $47,769 for a low/moderate income student to attend. Graduates made $45,924 more annually than a student with no college experience. Under that scenario, the former student would recoup their costs of attendance in one year.

    A student at De Anza Community College in Cupertino paid $9,117 to attend, and would earn $30,766 more on average than a high school grad without a college degree. In that case, the report found, the former student could get back their cost of attendance in less than six months.

    But a student who attended Menlo College in Atherton would have to spend nearly four years earning a salary of $56,512 – barely $30,000 more than a high school graduate without a college degree – before they could recoup the $115,852 it cost to attend the private school.

    Michael Itzkowitz, founder and president of the HEA Group, said the analysis aimed to get a bird’s eye view on what kind of economic outcomes colleges and universities are providing students.

    “The number one reason why students attend higher education today…is for greater employability and to obtain a financially secure future,” Itzkowitz said. “The number one reason why students don’t attend college is because of cost.”

    Itzkowitz said the survey found that most higher ed institutions in California (79%) allowed for low and moderate income students to regain the cost of attendance in five years or less, and nearly a third allowed students to recuperate their costs in under a year.

    But 24 schools showed that students received no economic benefit from enrolling in college and earned even less than a typical high school graduate. Many of those schools were cosmetology schools or technical colleges.

    “I’d argue that they may actually be worse off financially after they attend, being that they’re earning so little and they paid so much to earn their (credential),” Itzkowitz said.

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  • Teach Access Calls for Proposals for Its 2024-2025 Grants Program

    Teach Access Calls for Proposals for Its 2024-2025 Grants Program

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    The national nonprofit’s Teach Access Grants supports college instructors in creating and delivering college curricula that introduce concepts and skills of accessibility into their courses.


    EATON RAPIDS, Mich., March 21, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    College faculty members can now apply for $2,000 grants from the Teach Access Grants program to develop academic course materials to teach about accessible design and development. 

    Teach Access is a national nonprofit that works to close the accessibility skills gap. Through collaboration with colleges, industries, government, and advocacy groups, Teach Access helps build curricula that will teach the future workforce about digital accessibility and universal design. 

    The Call for Proposals for the sixth round of Teach Access Grants for the 2024-2025 school year is now open. Grant applications should be submitted by 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 31, 2024. Information and applications for the grants program are available at https://teachaccess.org/2024/03/teach-access-grants/.

    The Teach Access Grants program is supported by foundation grants and the nonprofit’s sponsors, including Verizon, Salesforce, Google, Meta, Yahoo!, and other leading companies in technology, consulting, and healthcare. 

    “Teach Access Grants is our flagship program, beginning in 2018, and thanks to our sponsors, we’ve been able to award more than $350,000 to faculty in higher education,” said Kate Sonka, executive director of Teach Access. “The program also helps us grow our open educational resource, the Teach Access Curriculum Repository, which is a primary bridge to help teach students about disability and accessibility.”   

    Teach Access grants are intended to support educators in developing ways to incorporate teaching about accessibility into their existing courses rather than requesting the creation of a new course. For the 2023-2024 academic year, Teach Access awarded grants to 19 recipients to support creating and delivering accessibility-infused college curricula. 

    “My Teach Access grant gave me the opportunity to include a greater emphasis on accessibility in my Human-Computer Interaction course. It also inspired me to think more carefully about how to best teach accessibility through more interactive and engaging techniques,” said Rachel Adler, associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a 2020 Teach Access grant recipient. 

    To be eligible for a Teach Access grant, an applicant must be an instructor of an existing course in any field or discipline that can incorporate curricula designed to impact a student’s knowledge of fundamental accessibility concepts and skills and their ability to implement the principles of accessibility. The instructor must plan to teach the course in the 2024-2025 academic year and be employed at a two-year or four-year university or college in the United States or a U.S. territory.  

    Teach Access is committed to equity and strongly encourages applications from faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) such as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Community Colleges (CC), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU).  

    In service of the Teach Access mission of expanding accessibility curricula through collaboration, grant recipients are required to present their work at their institutions and contribute to the Teach Access Curriculum Repository (TACR).  

    The TACR is a free collection of open education resources developed by faculty to support teaching accessibility to students. It contains various teaching tools, including syllabi, slide decks, assignment prompts, discussion questions, and quizzes. The materials span disciplines including computer science, human-computer interaction, web design & development, user experience (UX) design, visual and graphic design, game & interactive media design, instructional technology, technical writing, and more. 

    Teach Access Grant recipients say the awards aid them in professional development while also advancing the cause of accessibility education.  

    “Meeting other Teach Access grantees helped me build connections that have led to successful collaborations and greater career success. Most importantly, the grant helped further the goal of accessible design for all,” Adler said. 

    To apply for a Teach Access Grant, please visit https://teachaccess.org/initiatives/grants/.

    To make a donation to support Teach Access programs and resources, please visit https://teachaccess.org/donate/.

    About Teach Access 

    Teach Access is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization collaborating with education, industry, government and disability advocacy organizations to address the critical need to enhance students’ understanding of digital accessibility as they learn to design, develop, and build new technologies with the needs of people with disabilities in mind. Teach Access envisions a fully accessible future in which students enter the workforce with knowledge of the needs of people with disabilities and skills in the principles of accessible design and development, such that technology products and services are born accessible. 

    Source: Teach Access

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  • Pacific University Implements Guaranteed Grad School Admissions

    Pacific University Implements Guaranteed Grad School Admissions

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    Pacific Priority allows students to apply for and receive conditional admission to select Pacific graduate programs before they even start college, providing a clear pathway to graduation and the next step in their education & career journey.


    FOREST GROVE, Ore., February 9, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Pacific University is easing the path to a successful college and professional career, implementing an innovative program that provides guaranteed graduate school admissions at the same time as undergraduate admission.

    Part of the Pacific Priority program, guaranteed grad school admission allows students to “save a seat” in a Pacific University graduate program before they even begin their first year of college. 

    Incoming students can apply for grad school as soon as they commit to Pacific, and current undergraduates and transfer students can apply as juniors. Students are then guaranteed a spot in the graduate program of their choice, provided that they meet specific academic and admissions benchmarks throughout their undergraduate studies. 

    The program is available now for students entering Pacific in 2024-2025 and also will be available to current Pacific undergraduate students.

    The guarantee applies to 10 different graduate programs, including three doctoral programs, four disciplines in the health professions, and three master’s programs in education:  

    While many Pacific Priority students choose to begin graduate classes upon completion of their undergraduate studies, some programs will allow for accelerated dual admission or allow students to take graduate classes during the fourth year of their undergraduate career.

    “Students often choose Pacific with a clear sense of purpose. Many are planning on careers in healthcare or education, and the Pacific Priority program gives them a clear path to achieving those goals,” said Pacific University President Jenny Coyle.  “Our students are passionate about serving their communities and uplifting others through their careers, and we are here to empower them in that vision.”

    The Pacific Priority program also includes the university’s longstanding four-year graduation guarantee for undergraduate students, and it introduces a similar two-year graduation guarantee for transfer students.

    “College is an investment for our students and their families, and they want to know that it is one that will pay off,” said Sarah Phillips, interim vice president of enrollment management and student affairs. “These programs assure students that they can graduate on time and have a direct pathway to the next step in their lives.”

    Pacific University is the only comprehensive university in Washington County, Oregon, serving more than 3,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students in the arts and sciences, business, education, health professions and optometry.

    Source: Pacific University

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  • Pathify Shatters Expectations for Fourth Straight Year

    Pathify Shatters Expectations for Fourth Straight Year

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    Higher ed’s fastest growing SaaS company continues to dominate the student portal and digital experience space.


    DENVER, February 6, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Pathify — the only centralized user experience hub for higher ed — achieved 65% annual revenue growth for fiscal year 2023, assuming the leadership role as the most widely used non-SIS, system-agnostic student portal and digital experience hub.

    “I never had any doubt we’d reach this point as a business,” said Pathify’s Co-founder and CEO, Chase Williams. “I think it’s the speed we’ve gotten here that is so amazing. More and more schools are recognizing the need to replace a long list of legacy solutions with our integrated experience hub.”

    Pathify also leapt past 1,000,000 unique lifetime users while surpassing the major milestone of 100 U.S. institutions deployed and in production. A few notable schools that chose Pathify in 2023 include:

    • George Washington University
    • Valencia College
    • The New School
    • Concordia University – Wisconsin
    • Collin College
    • The University of Virginia
    • Saginaw Valley State University
    • Touro College
    • Nova Southeastern University

    “When I look at the list of schools we partnered with in 2023, I can’t help but smile when I see how widely distributed it is across all types of campuses — physical, digital and hybrid,” said Matt Hammond, Pathify’s Chief Revenue Officer. “It’s kind of remarkable how we’re able to make an impact at almost any size institution.”

    With an eye to scale, Pathify invested significant resources this year to ensure customers did not experience any lapse in white glove service. This culminated in the company’s NPS score increasing from 60 to 68 year over year. Pathify finished 2023 by hiring a seasoned executive — Jennifer French — to lead the Customer Team into the future.

    Pathify set a strategic goal in 2023 to form partnerships with organizations that share the same values and dedication to student success. The outreach was extremely successful, with examples including the Higher Education Systems and Services (HESS) Consortium, the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU).

    The company will continue positive momentum in 2024 by debuting a native GenAI-powered chatbot, poised to dramatically improve both access and extensibility based on how deeply Pathify currently integrates across its customer’s existing tech stack. Pathify also is planning major additions to the Communities module.

    “Our team achieved amazing milestones last year,” said CEO Williams. “We’re already off to a great start in 2024, and the team’s looking forward to smashing through a whole new set of milestones throughout the year.”

    About Pathify

    Obsessed with making great technology while developing long-term relationships with customers, Pathify remains hyper-focused on creating stellar experiences across the entire student lifecycle — from prospects to alumni. Delivering cloud-based, integration-friendly software designed to drive engagement, Pathify pushes personalized information to the right people, at the right time — on any device. The team at Pathify focuses every day on the company’s values of Impact, Wit, Contrast, Technique and Care.

    Learn more at pathify.com.

    Source: Pathify

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  • Gov. Shapiro lays out sweeping plan to reform higher education in Pennsylvania

    Gov. Shapiro lays out sweeping plan to reform higher education in Pennsylvania

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    A semester at a state university or community college would cost just $1,000 for many students under a proposal Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he will detail in his second budget address next month.

    Shapiro won the governor’s office in 2022 campaigning, in part, on improving access to higher education and developing Pennsylvania’s workforce to boost the state’s economy. In his first budget address last February, Shapiro declared the state’s higher education system broken.

    RELATED: Philadelphia public schools hope to raise $40 million by 2028

    “Every Pennsylvanian deserves the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed,” Shapiro said in a statement. “For some, that means going right into the workforce – but for those who want to go to college or get a credential, we need to rethink our system of higher education.”

    Pennsylvania’s public universities have suffered disinvestment for 30 years, Shapiro said, leaving students without enough affordable options to earn a degree and enter the workforce. Pennsylvania spends less on higher education than any other state except New Hampshire, the governor’s office noted.

    Enrollment in state universities and community college has decreased by about a third, the governor’s office said. And colleges are competing for the same students, duplicating programs, driving up costs and reducing access.

    On Friday, Shapiro announced a three-pronged plan to reinvigorate public higher education by:

    • Uniting Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities with the state’s 15 community colleges under a new governance system

    • Setting tuition at those schools at $1,000 per semester for low and moderate income students and increasing Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency grants for students attending private universities by $1,000

    • Distributing state appropriations to Pennsylvania’s state-related universities – the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State, Temple and Lincoln universities – according to a performance-based formula

    Democratic lawmakers spoke in support of the plan, noting that it would help Pennsylvanians avoid the burden of student debt. 

    “We need to make it easier and more affordable for students to attend our state schools, which provide vital job training and a quality higher education for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians every year and remove barriers for students transferring between schools here in the commonwealth,” House Democratic leaders said in a statement.   

    While Republican lawmakers said the plan was short on details, they said they were glad to see the administration join Republicans in putting students first while acknowledging the state’s financial needs.

    “We will work with education stakeholders, the administration, and Pennsylvania families to continue moving away from the endless funding of systems in Pennsylvania so we can move toward a student-first, family-focused, and taxpayer-accountable system of higher education,” Jason Gottesman, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), said.

    Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) said ensuring that Pennsylvania is an economic leader depends on a strong workforce and jobs in the commonwealth and preserving access to higher education is a key to promoting economic growth.

    Pittman said the changes that Shapiro proposed are substantial and his plan lacked information about how the state would fund them. Key considerations in implementing such changes include the cost to taxpayers and the impact on communities where state universities are located, Pittman added.. 

    “Details matter and a proposal of this magnitude will require extremely close examination,” Pittman said, adding that he looks forward to discussing the proposal with Shapiro and fellow lawmakers. 

    For several years, funding for the state-related universities used only to provide tuition discounts for Pennsylvania residents, has stalled in the General Assembly during budget season. Republican lawmakers have cited objections to research using fetal tissue cells, gender affirming care, a lack of transparency, and rising tuition as reasons for withholding the two-thirds majority votes needed to approve appropriations to the private institutions.

    State Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), who is the GOP’s ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, was less complimentary of Shapiro’s plan, however, describing it as a “three-step plan for financial disaster.” It would come with unsustainable spending increases, depletion of the state’s $12 billion surplus and future tax increases, Grove said. 

    “The bottom line is this plan creates more bureaucracy, necessitates more spending, and creates more questions than answers,” Grove said, adding that it doesn’t comport with the Republican position that the state should fund students, not institutions.

    “Shapiro should propose direct grants so every child of God will have options for higher education.  But given his track record on reneging on school choice, it appears the Governor is once again siding with unions over students,” Grove said.

    Shapiro’s announcement included statements of support from the heads of the state university system and each of the state-related universities. 

    PASSHE Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the consolidation of several state universities over the last six years has shown that collaboration benefits students, communities and employers. Shapiro’s proposal would build on the strengths of state universities and community colleges.

    “Together we can create a new, larger system with better collaboration that gives students more pathways to a degree or credential, rapidly adjusts to the changing knowledge and skills employers want, and provides the lowest-cost option for students throughout their lifetime,” Greenstein said.

    Performance-based funding for the state-related universities would not only improve transparency and accountability, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said, but it would also help ensure positive outcomes for students.

    “I am extremely pleased to see that part of Gov. Shapiro’s blueprint is a call to establish a predictable performance-based funding formula, and we look forward to working with the legislature to implement such a model,” Bendapudi said.

    Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kim Lyons for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.



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  • Pathify and the HESS Consortium Partner to Transform Campus Experiences

    Pathify and the HESS Consortium Partner to Transform Campus Experiences

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    This New Strategic Partnership Supports Student-Centric Innovation for HESS Member Institutions


    DENVER, November 9, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The future of digital campus experiences for independent colleges and universities in the U.S. gets brighter as the HESS Consortium and Pathify announce their strategic partnership ahead of the highly anticipated HESS Consortium National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. 

    With 350+ member institutions, the HESS Consortium includes over a dozen Pathify customers including St. Mary’s College, St. John’s University-New York, Seton Hill University and Rollins College. This partnership offers the opportunity for HESS members to unify their technology stacks under Pathify’s portal, creating personalized modern student experiences. 

    Keith Fowlkes, Executive Director of the HESS Consortium, expressed his excitement, stating, “We’re thrilled about officially partnering with Pathify. Their vendor-agnostic approach aligns seamlessly with the numerous apps and solutions our members use, and their dedication to the student experience and ability to consolidate tech investments makes life easier for IT leaders and administrators.”

    In addition to discounted pricing, the partnership ensures premium implementation support and success services tailored specifically for consortium members. “We’ve had the privilege of witnessing HESS’s values and mission through collaborations with several of their member institutions,” said Matt Hammond, Chief Revenue Officer at Pathify. “We are excited about extending our impact across a broader spectrum of HESS members.” 

    This partnership expands Pathify’s recent collaboration efforts, including those with the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the Georgia Independent College Association (GICA), and the Kansas Independent College Association (KICA).

    About HESS Consortium

    The HESS (Higher Education Systems & Services) Consortium is a dynamic network and community of practice for technology and business leaders in private, non-profit higher education. Founded in 2014 on the principles of innovation, collaboration, and excellence, the consortium explores cutting-edge solutions and best practices across higher ed technology, including cloud connectivity, information security, and learning management. 

    Learn more at hessconsortium.org. 

    About Pathify

    Obsessed with making great technology while developing incredible long-term relationships with customers, Pathify remains hyper-focused on creating stellar experiences across the entire student lifecycle — from prospect to alumni. Delivering cloud-based, integration-friendly software designed to drive engagement, Pathify pushes personalized information, content, and resources to the right people, at the right time — on any device. Led by former higher ed executives, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders, the team at Pathify focuses every day on the values Impact, Wit, Contrast, Technique and Care. 

    Learn more at pathify.com.

    Source: Pathify

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  • 4 Best Practices for Smarter College Admissions Procedures | Entrepreneur

    4 Best Practices for Smarter College Admissions Procedures | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In the world of higher education, few things can cause greater headaches for administrators than the admissions process. According to research from Common App, the number of college applications has grown by 21.3% between 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 alone, overwhelming admissions departments with an ever-growing number of applications.

    All too often, this leads to admissions officials spending hardly any time looking over applications. In other circumstances, poor alignment between campus recruiters and admissions officials can create misconceptions about the admissions process that unfairly challenge students.

    Then, of course, there are factors expected to impact admissions in the long term, such as declining numbers of high school graduates, a shift away from the humanities and toward “practical” degrees as well as increased scrutiny on the true value proposition offered by educational institutions.

    With so many challenges, higher-ed admissions procedures must adapt and improve to better serve students and administrators alike. So, here are four key tips that higher-ed institutions can use to create smarter admissions procedures:

    Related: How to Make Your Higher Education Institution More Appealing to Prospective Students

    1. Provide straightforward and streamlined applications

    In an article for The Atlantic, author and Arizona State University professor Jeffrey Selingo decries the practice of colleges advertising the use of “holistic” admissions when most schools still primarily base decisions on grades, high school courses and tests. He also notes that asking for extra essays, recommendations and more can “place a particularly unfair burden on students without access to resources such as college counselors, supportive parents or teachers and even a computer with reliable internet access.”

    To address this, two solutions are possible. One is a more streamlined system that eliminates the need for essays, information on extracurricular activities and so on. Another is what Selingo describes as an “iterative” approach, where students initially submit high school transcripts. If the transcripts are good, the next “phase” of applications could entail submitting essays, then collecting references until an admissions decision is made.

    With either solution, a more transparent (and potentially less demanding) application process can be especially helpful for less privileged students while also easing the burden on administrators.

    2. Stick with test-optional and test-blind policies

    The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in many schools removing SAT and ACT testing requirements for admissions due to many of these exams being canceled. Even with a return to “normal,” however, many schools are continuing to use these policies in an effort to eliminate barriers for disadvantaged students.

    Schools that adopt or maintain test-optional policies are better positioned to obtain more applications from low-income and historically disadvantaged groups. As Christopher Rim, CEO of Command Education explained in an interview with U.S. News, “If you have time outside of school to prepare for these exams, you can do that. But if you are low income, you may not have time to study because you might need to get a part-time job in order to support your family on paying rent or with the groceries and things like that.”

    Essentially, test-optional policies remove a potential barrier for prospective students. Indeed, a report from EAB found that 15% of college applicants chose a college because of its test-optional policy, with even higher percentages among Black and Hispanic students (24 and 21%, respectively).

    Related: When This 22-Year-Old Graduated From MIT, He Thought He’d Be a Software Engineer. Instead, He Launched a Company That’s Shaking Up the College-Admissions Game.

    3. Track data with a centralized system

    Just like with business organizations, properly tracking and organizing data — in this case, student applications — is crucial for getting the results desired by a higher education institution. Without the right software tools in place, a college admissions office could experience slow response times, miscommunications or delayed communications with prospective students, and potentially even the loss of documentation.

    None of this will do much to build confidence among prospective students, and with enrollment declines and underfunding putting many schools in financial jeopardy, these are mistakes no institution can afford to make. Such mishaps could make all the difference in a student choosing to attend another school, further undercutting tuition earnings.

    Because of this, higher-ed admissions departments should use quality customer relationship management software (CRMs) that allows them to store, track and update admissions data. The use of such software can ensure that no student slips through the cracks and that all admissions decisions are handled in a timely and professional manner.

    4. Coordinate efforts with all stakeholders

    While each of the previous points may seem to fall within the exclusive domain of admissions officials, such efforts should also be communicated to and coordinated with campus recruitment, advisers, the financial aid office and more.

    For example, campus recruiters must be able to provide accurate information to prospective students regarding the admissions process. Their ability to explain steps in the admission process and potential outcomes can eliminate misconceptions and increase the odds for student success.

    In addition, communicating your end goal for application management — be it collecting admissions from as many incoming freshmen as possible or focusing on students who meet certain academic criteria — is crucial for campus recruitment’s marketing efforts. Everything from events to print materials can and should be influenced by admissions goals.

    By also coordinating efforts with other involved stakeholders in college administration, such as registration and financial aid, you can ensure a smooth hand-off that will make students more likely to choose your school.

    Higher education institutions should be at the forefront of innovation — yet for too long, they’ve remained bound by outdated and inefficient admissions processes that deter students and create unfair barriers to entry. A more efficient, fair and streamlined system, fully coordinated between admissions and recruitment and powered by technology, may prove key to providing necessary steps forward.

    Related: Improving Returns On Investment Made On Campus Recruitment

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  • How to Make Your Higher Education Institution More Appealing to Prospective Students | Entrepreneur

    How to Make Your Higher Education Institution More Appealing to Prospective Students | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Since peaking in 2010, college enrollment has steadily declined each year. The period between spring 2020 and spring 2022 saw some of the sharpest declines yet, with a 7% decline in enrollment — a loss of roughly 1.3 million students.

    For many institutions of higher education, such losses can prove financially devastating, particularly for smaller schools that rely heavily on tuition dollars. In fact, a 2021 survey of higher education professionals found that 74% of colleges were facing financial challenges, with schools with fewer than 5,000 students facing the most significant constraints.

    2022 saw this trend continue, with several smaller colleges shutting down — some of which had previously served students for over 150 years.

    In the midst of this financial turmoil, few things can prove more crucial for your institution’s lasting stability than its ability to become more appealing to prospective students. So, here are a few tips to get started:

    Related: 3 Marketing Tips to Increase Enrollment Rates for Pre-College Programs

    Offer virtual tours, info sessions and more

    There are various reasons why campus tours and info sessions can be inaccessible to prospective students. Perhaps they live on the other side of the country, or maybe they work a job to help support their family and can’t attend during the times when scheduled on-campus sessions are available. In this case, going digital can improve accessibility for all.

    For example, Arizona State University provides online self-guided video tours for each campus location. The tours are available online or via mobile app, and prospective students can personalize their virtual tour experience based on their areas of interest. Curated tours that highlight popular campus locations are also available.

    While virtual tours and info sessions often became necessary during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, they continue to provide great value by helping more students get a feel for what it is like to be on campus. The flexibility to match a student’s available schedule will go a long way in getting them more engaged with your school and more motivated to apply.

    Of course, you can (and should) still offer tours and info sessions in-person whenever possible. Still, even these in-person events can take on a digital twist that expands your reach and makes them more engaging. Even something as simple as live-streaming an info session or posting highlights to social media can expand your reach and influence.

    Related: How Virtual Tours Can Elevate Your Marketing Strategy

    Let current students do the talking

    Social media can be a powerful tool for showing off your campus, classes and activities to prospective students. But the messages that come directly from your college aren’t going to be nearly as persuasive as the messages coming from the students who already attend your school.

    For example, Brigham Young University regularly hosts #MyViewFromBYU posts and reels on its Instagram account, in which current students are given the opportunity to “take over” the Instagram account as they share stories about their life as a student and their journey to the university.

    This is a great method to provide a more candid and casual look at student life at your institution of higher learning — and in a way that can feel more relatable to prospective students. Of course, social media isn’t the only place where this can occur. You could also feature blogs and videos from current students and alumni on your website or in other marketing materials.

    Alumni can be an especially powerful voice for making your institution more appealing to prospective students. Highlighting alumni success stories — be they in sports, business or the sciences — and their ties to your university can be an incredibly powerful testimonial for students who share similar goals.

    Related: 3 Digital Trends Shaping the Future of College Admissions

    Get personal

    When making the pitch for your institution, it’s important to remember that messaging shouldn’t necessarily be focused on the school itself. Rather, your focus should be on the student and the experiences they will be able to create for themselves while attending your school.

    For example, a case study from EAB that evaluated 1.2 billion student interactions found that student-focused recruitment copy increased response rates by 50%. Something as simple as using the word “you” and focusing on the student’s individual journey — rather than your “excellent curriculum” or “highly-trained professors” — can prove much more persuasive.

    Your messaging should also be personal and focused when it comes to parents. A study of 2021 high school graduates found that 48% ranked “parental influence” as one of the top sources of information they used to make their enrollment decision. Parents were actually the second most commonly cited source of information, only ranking behind college websites.

    Because of this, institutions of higher learning should also focus much of their personalized messaging on the parents of prospective students. Marketing campaigns that frame the institution and its benefits with a focus on the parents’ mindset can lead to more highly influential parent-driven conversations.

    To combat financial instability, institutions of higher education should focus on becoming more appealing to prospective students by offering virtual tours and info sessions, letting current students do the talking on social media, featuring alumni success stories and getting personal in their messaging to potential students.

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  • Pathify Announces Partnership With RMIT Online

    Pathify Announces Partnership With RMIT Online

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    RMIT Online selects Pathify to drive student engagement via a customized communications portal

    Press Release
    –

    Feb 23, 2023 08:00 MST


    DENVER, February 23, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Pathify, an Australian-founded higher ed tech company and the only provider of a centralized higher education Engagement Hub, proudly welcomes a new partnership with RMIT Online, the premier Australian university’s digital extension, into its growing roster of customers who share in the mission of improving the college experience.

    Dedicated to offering students high-quality digital education, RMIT Online will amplify its support with a unifying platform tailored to its large and complex student population.

    “At RMIT Online, we are passionate about making online learning as engaging, innovative, and fun as the on-campus experience RMIT is globally renowned for delivering,” says Director of Technology and Enablement, Will Calvert. “We chose Pathify as our platform to help us achieve this goal and provide our students a single home to consolidate and easily access all their systems and services. This is particularly important for the lifelong learner audience RMIT Online services.”

    He continued to say, “We see Pathify playing a major role in helping students access, plan, and understand their learning journey and enjoy all the social and support services one would expect on campus. We’re very excited for what 2023 has in store for our student experience!”

    Pathify’s Engagement Hub fills the void at the center of the higher education digital ecosystem. It creates a centralized user experience unifying all things digital. Offering highly personalized experiences for users at every point in their journey, the Engagement Hub encourages system-agnostic integrations, collaborative social groups, personalized tasks, and multi-channel communication across web and mobile.

    RMIT Online joins existing Pathify customers such as Utah State University, Alabama A&M University, Johnson & Wales University—and many more.

    About RMIT Online

    RMIT Online is a subsidiary of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, which serves as the university’s digital learning platform providing a variety of short courses and accreditation courses designed for professionals seeking to upskill and progress in their careers.

    Learn more at online.rmit.edu.au.

    About Pathify

    Obsessed with making great technology while developing incredible long-term relationships with customers, Pathify remains hyper-focused on creating stellar experiences across the entire student lifecycle—from prospects to alumni. Delivering cloud-based, integration-friendly technology designed to drive engagement, Pathify pushes personalized information, content, and resources to the right people, at the right time—on any device. Led by a team of former higher ed executives, builders, and technology leaders, the team at Pathify focuses every day on serving the needs of learners everywhere. 

    Learn more at pathify.com.

    Source: Pathify

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