College President's Report

College President’s Report – May 2017

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Highlights

Iowa Board of Regents Elects New President:

Dr. Michael Richards has been unanimously elected to serve as the next president of the Iowa Board of Regents. Dr. Richards will become the 22nd president of the Iowa Board immediately.

University of Missouri Names New Chancellor:

The University of Missouri has named Dr. Alexander Cartwright as the school’s new chancellor. Cartright is currently the provost and executive vice chancellor of the State University of New York School System. He will begin at Missouri on August 1st.

Utah President David Pershing Resigning:

Dr. David Pershing has announced that he will resign. The resignation comes amid turmoil over a power play for control of the Huntsman Cancer Institute after the sudden firing—then reinstatement—of the institute’s director and CEO, Mary Beckerle. Preparations for the search of a successor are currently underway.

To see the full report visit our website HERE.

Schools Using College Data in New Approach to Course Placement

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A new movement across college campuses is emerging to rethink – and revise – the single test, single cut score approach that places new college students into remedial or credit-level courses.  Several state systems and institutions are beginning to use additional indicators to gauge a student’s college readiness. Studies show that taking into account multiple measures could be a more accurate way for students to succeed in college-level courses, and reduce the chance they will be placed in remedial courses.

Recent studies from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) found that a student’s high school GPA is often a better indicator of future college level performance rather than only using their standardized test scores (such as the SAT or ACT) or general placement exam scores.  Prior to using multiple measures, North Carolina released a report prepared by the CCRC, that revealed nearly one third of its students were being severely misplaced, resulting in significant costs to both students and the system.  With these findings, the state of North Carolina established a system, based on a hierarchy, that first looked at students’ high school GPA when considering placement.

At least 15 states and college systems now incorporate multiple measures to determine a student’s initial course placement.  These measures include GPA, high school English and math grades, diagnostics exams, previous college courses, and student self-placement.  In Ohio, the placement policy allows campuses to look at writing assessments, high school GPA, and other indicators­ – such as previous college coursework.  Hawaii is experimenting with using grades in specific high school courses as an indicator on whether or not students are placed into credit-bearing courses.

North Carolina and California’s community colleges and most schools in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas have recently required the use of multiple measures for course placement.  Although many states still use single standardized testing to determine placement, research has shown the move toward multiple measures could lead to fewer students being directed toward remediation and far more completing their degree.

College Phishing

Don’t Take the Bait: Phishing Scams on College Campuses

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New phishing scams are targeting colleges and students nationwide.  Reports from Amherst College, Louisiana State University, Dartmouth, and more say students have reported multiple types of online phishing schemes in recent weeks.

Phishing scams are usually performed online, through email.  One scam features emails that contain fake job opportunities and request student’s personal information.  The Department of Homeland Security reports that scammers use email pretending to be interested in hiring a person. The email then asks for critical information, such as one’s address or social security number.  Once the information is obtained, scammers are able to access bank accounts and personal information.

Several thousand students at Dartmouth received emails that appeared to come from President Phil Hanlon.  In reality, the messages were linked to malware designed to steal information.  At LSU, IT Services Communications Officer Sheri Thompson said spam bots were impersonating the university’s help desk.  She said, “Be skeptical, be skeptical about any links that you get, any request for information that you get. Even if it says it’s coming from an LSU person, be skeptical.”  Wellesley college recently alerted students of fake versions of its student login page.  The school’s IT department said, “This scam copied our login page, even using our Wellesley College Images! What set the scam website apart was that it was not located at Wellesley.edu and wasn’t a secure website.”

University Employees have also been targeted through scams. Institutions across the country are experiencing a phishing fraud with an email that indicates a change in their employee’s human resource status.  The email then directs the employee to a fake login page.  If employees provide login information, their login can be stolen and paychecks can be rerouted to the scammers.

As attackers continue to impersonate emails and web portals, it is important that faculty and students take extra precautions to protect themselves.  The Research and Education Networking Information Sharing and Analysis Center (REN-ISAC) warns that these attacks are particularly prevalent during both calendar and fiscal end of year financial wrap ups.  Users should be cautious when accessing email and never send account information to others.  In addition, students receiving unsolicited emails should remain skeptical, and be alert to poor spelling and demands for a rapid response.  To report phishing emails, forward them to spam@uce.gov – and to the organization, company, or college impersonated in the email.

 

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Student Loan Defaults Grow in 2016

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New data released by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that millions of Americans are currently defaulting on Federal Direct Loans.  These loans are serviced through companies, hired by the federal government, to help students in debt.  In 2016 alone, 1 million Federal Direct Loan borrowers defaulted.  The end of 2016 resulted in 4.2 million total Federal Direct Loan borrowers defaulting.  The number is up from 3.6 million in 2015.

Rohit Chopra, Senior Fellow at the Consumer Federation of America is quoted as saying, “3,000 preventable student loan defaults each day in America is 3,000 too many.”  He went on to say, “Our broken system works well for the student loan industry, but is failing borrowers, taxpayers, and our economy.”

According to the Consumer Federation of America, the data validates recent claims made by federal regulators that service providers are putting borrowers at higher risk by purposely failing to help them find the best repayment plans for their needs.

Four major servicers are contracted by the US Department of Education to collect payments on loans.  The report notes that Navient, formerly Sallie Mae, has the lowest percentage of loans being paid using the PAYE and REPAYE plans, which are designed to help struggling borrowers.  Navient was sued in January by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for making it more difficult for borrowers to repay loans.  Navient has disputed all charges, and The Department of Education has declined to comment.

As the cost of student’s tuition has risen, so has student debt.  In 2013, the average student borrower owed $26,300.  Since then, the average owed per borrower has jumped 17%, to $30,650.  One positive is that less people are defaulting for the first time.  However, the number of individuals defaulting for the second or third time is up.

Many are wondering why such a rise in defaults given the strengthening labor market, lower unemployment, and higher wages.  Research shows that many borrowers in default never graduated and haven’t found consistent work.  One reason for the rise in the overall balance owed may be that more graduate students are borrowing.  The typical graduate school loan is much higher than undergrad.

The Obama administration tried to reduce debt defaults by highlighting plans that set borrowers’ monthly payments as a share of their incomes, and then ultimately forgive part of their balances.  Enrollment in the plan has grown steadily in the past few years.  President Trump proposed to offer a similar version of income driven repayment plans during his campaign.  So far, the administration has yet to announce details of such a plan.

 

College President

College President’s Report – April 2017

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Highlights

Baylor Appoints its First Female President

Baylor University has appointed Dr. Linda A. Livingstone, dean at George Washington School of Business, as its 15th president.  Livingstone will replace interim President David Garland on June 1st.

University of Arizona Approves New President

Dr. Robert Robbins has been approved by The Arizona Board of Regents to a three-year contract as president at the school.  Robbins will take over for Dr. Ann Weaver Hart, who announced she will step down on June 1st.

William and Mary President to Retire After a Decade of Service

Mr. W. Taylor Reveley has announced that he will retire at the end of next year from the College of William and Mary. Revely said, “Serving as president of a college or university is one of the most challenging but meaningful jobs anyone can possibly have.” He continued with, “It has certainly been so for me. And it has been a rare privilege to lead this magnificent school. All parts of the William & Mary family, working together, have taken crucially important steps forward. I’ll leave the Brafferton in June 2018 with confidence that W&M’s momentum will keep rolling, while I enjoy the Elysian Fields of retirement at long last.” Revely has served as president since 2008.

To see the full report visit our website HERE.

Students Uncertain About Predictive Technology

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As colleges continue to use big data more frequently, the long-term effects are yet to be fully understood. Major institutions and software companies see high tech programs as a means to an end in predicting the foreseeable outcome of students at colleges and universities. Though, this may to some extent be true, a growing number of students believe big data may be used to classify and designate them before they have a chance to get their academic careers off the ground. Students are concerned that data will depersonalize the student teacher relationship, and push them down a predestined path based off of a computer’s algorithm and not a student’s individual achievements.

Students from Michigan’s Macomb Community College raised concerns about these predictive programs recently at EduCon 2.9, an education and technology conference in Philadelphia. As reported by Hechinger Report, the panel of students from Macomb CC feel that existing stereotypes are already in place, and many students are not ready to trust the new, digital systems. “We don’t know who is choosing it and who is pulling the strings,” said Luis Manzano-Anzures, a student at Michigan’s Macomb Community College.

Proponents of big data’s predictive analytics argue that the programs are in place for the benefits of students. They say the information is there to identify students who are at risk of failure and provide support for those students. Students are still skeptical, asking what happens if analytical data is turned against them. Last year at Mount St. Mary’s University, their president made news after he proposed using their system’s data to find struggling students and “drown the bunnies” as he phrased it, to make them leave.

Students are worried that a similar type of program may be put into place. Hechinger Report concluded that the students at EduCon expressed concern that they won’t get to see the data being stored, and that computers may be overly predicative when it comes to academic ability. Many students see Ed tech systems that don’t take human relationships and outside influences into account. If a student is struggling because of personal reasons, predictive technology may not take that into consideration. For now, especially at community colleges where digital resources are limited and students and faculty concentrate on working class realities, digital technology may create a system that is unreliable at predicting the future of students.

Does Revenue Sharing Have a Future in Online Education?

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In today’s competitive higher education market more schools are turning to online education to provide alternate revenue and growth.  According to a recent poll from the National Center for Education Statistics, 25% of college and university students are taking some form of distance education courses.  Colleges and universities often partner with third party entities, known as Online Program Managers, to cut overhead costs.  OPMs are companies that design, run, and market online education programs for colleges and often receive a percentage of a student’s tuition in compensation.  According to Online Report Card, this figure averages around 50%, and in some cases, is as high as 85%.

But why do non-profits turn to OPMs in the first place, thereby surrendering large amounts of tuition revenue?  According to Inside Higher Education there are three basic reasons.  Many schools have never tried distance learning in the first place, so they have a lot to learn.  Some institutions do not have the internal expertise, whether it be the right people, systems, or technology.  Lastly, most schools do not have the financial resources to sustain a program while supporting the necessary marketing effort.  Though giving up high amounts of tuition revenue seems unappealing, most schools do not have a choice.

OPMs almost always operate on a tuition-splitting basis, but according to John Katzman, who opened one of the most successful OPMs in history, a new OPM model is taking hold.  His company, Noodle Partners, uses a flat fee for services instead of tuition-sharing.  Katzman says, “For a fee, we help schools assemble the tools, services, and tech to run great programs without taking money from students – it’s more flexible and transparent and wildly less expensive.”

According to Online Report Card, from 2013 to 2014, private not-for-profit institutions distance enrollments grew by 11.3%.  For-profits saw enrollments drop by 2.8 %.  An estimated 80% of online education programs are being outsourced to online program managers.  According to research by Online Report Card, 85% of students who study at least partially online are at public schools and receive federal compensation.  Millions of dollars in federal loans are being used to finance OPMs.

When the Obama administration decided to crack down on questionable for-profit market compensation, certain OPMs asked if tuition-sharing would still be allowed.  The Department of Education agreed to continue to allow tuition sharing in public and nonprofit schools as a reaction to the notion that it had previously been allowed for for-profit schools.  As a result, it now seems that nonprofit and public institutions are engaging in the same strategies that for-profits once used; aggressive, income driven marketing.

According to The Atlantic, Robert Shireman, a former Department of Education deputy in the Obama administration, believes that eventually public pressure and school leaders will bring change to the tuition-sharing process.  John Katzman also believes in the transition, saying, “The only real question is, how quickly will the old revenue-sharing model die?”

Big Data and Student Performance

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A growing number of colleges and universities are using big data to identify student performance and whether a student is in danger of failing. Known as predictive analytics, colleges are analyzing thousands upon thousands of student’s academic and personal records in an effort to save the average college student from dropping out.

With less than half of college students graduating in four years, institutions are facing increased pressure from parents and lawmakers to improve success rates. Is big data the answer? The New York Times reports that predictive analytic companies are growing in number, and currently work with around 200 universities. These companies, as noted by The New York Times, identify trends in a backlog of student data and create computer programs that identify student progress and alert counselors when students are at risk of being left behind. The idea being that a student’s performance in a certain course may predict the student’s future at the school.

Civitas Learning is a predictive analytics company that has been hired by dozens of colleges and universities across the country. The New York Times reports that data analysts at Civitas found the likelihood of graduating dropped if students received less than an A or B in a basic course pertaining to their major. The Times notes that at the University of Arizona, English Comp was essential to a student’s performance. Less than half of students who received a C in the class ended up graduating, while close to 70 percent of students with A’s and B’s received a degree. As a result, The University of Arizona began to provide more resources for its incoming freshman in writing. Frederick Corey, Vice Provost at Arizona State, said the school has been using big data to recommend possible courses for students. This helps students pursue classes that may otherwise not count toward their major, saving wasted tuition and crucial credit hours.

The payoffs in predictive analytics have been worth it at Arizona State University. Since beginning the program nearly a decade ago, the school has seen its graduation rate grow by 20 percent. At Georgia State, in 2016 the four-year graduation rate rose 5 percent and the six-year rate rose 6 percent. By monitoring graduation rates, big data helps keep tuition coming in by keeping students from dropping out. Predictive analytics is still in its infancy, as only a few hundred institutions are currently using the system. However, as technology and data continue to integrate themselves into higher education, colleges and universities are becoming more open to the idea of its use.

The Small College Struggle

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In the wake of the recession, a growing number of small liberal arts colleges are facing major financial challenges.  These small schools share specific traits: high tuition, minimal endowments, and locations in rural or suburban areas.  Today’s students continue to shy away from expensive, liberal arts schools that leave them in debt and are considering larger, public universities.  Moody’s recently released a report about college closures, and said the amount of colleges closing this year is expected to triple with small colleges the most at risk.

The recession has forced many students to think more about value.  In recent years, larger schools have been able to offer better rates of financial aid and lower tuitions.  With less students choosing smaller, more expensive universities, revenue from tuition has fallen.  Bigger schools have bigger endowments, allowing for flexibility.  Smaller, private schools don’t always have the assurance of large endowments to fall back on.  When budgets are stretched, the first thing to go are specialized programs and facilities.  Eventually smaller schools may be forced to lay off faculty and staff, thus decreasing overall value in the eyes of potential students.

Most recently, due to “financial challenges” St. Joseph’s College has announced that it will cease operations at the end of the spring semester.  The school has lost $4 to $5 million each year since 2012.  Board Chairman Benedict Sponseller says the school took out a large mortgage in hopes of increasing enrollment. When enrollment did not increase St. Joseph’s began to spend its endowment, around $24 million in 2015, to stop the bleeding.  Currently the endowment is about $6 million; money the school plans to use for employees’ severance packages.

St. Joseph’s is not alone as Dowling College, St. Catharine College, and Marian Court College are among others who have shut their doors in recent years.  David Warren, head of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, says small schools must understand their own value and cut costs to survive.  With larger schools offering what today’s students want- generous financial aid, access to urban areas, and numerous school programs backed by large endowments- small liberal arts schools have a lot of value to make up.

 

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Illinois’ Public Universities Face A Difficult Year Ahead

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State budget and enrollment issues are plaguing public universities across Illinois. February will be the twentieth straight month state officials have not agreed on a budget, and the standoff between lawmakers means that Illinois’ 48 community colleges and 12 public universities are not receiving the usual funding needed to run its institutions. Enrollment is also taking a hit. In 2016, freshman enrollment at regional public universities declined as much as 25 percent compared to the year before. Schools such as Eastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University have both seen drops of over 20 percent. The Chicago Tribune reports that Senator Laura Murphy has spoken to students who are “not even considering Illinois Schools because nobody wants to put up with uncertainty.”

Cuts in state funding have forced Illinois schools to raise prices and cut programs. Chicago Mag reports that Illinois-Urbana has raised instate rates by 59 percent in the past 10 years. Rising tuition, along with grant based funding issues, isn’t allowing money to stretch as far is it used to. The Chicago Tribune interviewed Senator Bill Cunningham, whose daughter is a freshman at Illinois state. He said, “I know more than a few (students) were warned by their college counselors that perhaps the school they were looking at might not offer their major in a year or two,” referring to schools cutting programs because of budget issues. He continued saying, “the General Assembly and the governor are forcing state universities to make very difficult decisions about what programs to keep.”

The lack of confidence with the state budget situation, rising tuition, and recruiting from nearby states is compelling many potential students to study out of state. Neighboring state schools are able to attract students with scholarships while still earning more than they would from in-state students. States like Missouri are also allowing out of state students to become eligible for residential status after one year, insuring a better rate of return.

Governor Bruce Rauner said he’s ready for change and compromise. “Well, I’m pushing every day to get a balanced budget with more resources for education. For me, education is the number one priority,” Rauner said. The governor has said a budget deal has been discussed and sent to party leaders, but negotiations are still ongoing.

The bottom line is colleges across the state are guessing on what to do. Do schools raise tuition and fees while waiting for appropriation? Will they receive appropriation in the near future?   With a budget deficit approaching $12 billion only time will tell for the colleges and universities in the state of Illinois.