Learning Resources

Keep on Keepin’ on

Customized Retention Practices Helped Low Income and Single Mom Students to Persist

By: Andrew J. Smith, EdD, and Jennifer Vamvakas, EdD

A support program for low-income and/or single-mother students to improve their persistence and retention was revisited 15 years after it had been launched at Charter Oak State College. Did follow-up with the graduates show that the effort had aided the former participants in obtaining their college degree? Had the collaboration between the institution’s Academic Services, Enrollment Management, and Financial Aid departments—and the support they offered—help the students to persevere? Based on survey results, was the program still of value, and what improvements needed to be made?

From Volume 49 Number 2 | January–March 2021

Abstract: This article is based on follow-up survey research from a doctoral case study that highlighted effective retention practices for low-income and/or single mothers who were students within the Women in Transition (WIT) program at Charter Oak State College. The concept of retention in this instance is an enrollment management practice aimed at maintaining a student population while aiding the institution in sustaining organizational success. Emphasis is placed on the retention concepts of social and academic integration that enabled the specific population to persist and succeed.

Institutions Mentioned: Charter Oak State College
Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Assessment / Analytics, Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Measuring the Plan, Original Research, Student Retention, Student Success, Student Support Services, Underserved Students

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Book Review: Academic Library Makerspaces

A Practical Guide to Planning, Collaborating, and Supporting Campus Innovation

By: Karen Merritt, PhD

Built on the authors’ wide-ranging examination of the literature and examples drawn from a variety of higher education institutions, this book offers a detailed roadmap of steps and strategies for planning these facilities and successfully integrating them into the academic fabric of an institution.

From Volume 49 Number 2 | January–March 2021

Abstract: by Katy B. Mathuews and Daniel J. Harper
Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD: 2020
166 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4408-7206-6
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-4408-7207-4

Institutions Mentioned: Ohio University-Main Campus
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Learning Environments, Library, Library Planning, Maker Space

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Universal Design in the Age of COVID-19

Changes Are Demanding That Campuses Include All Learners

By: Greg Havens

Demographics on campuses have changed, expectations for accessibility have increased, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to provide inclusive experiences for all learners. Thirty years after the ADA was signed into law, much has been achieved; however, there is more to be accomplished at colleges and universities if we are to provide inclusive experiences for all learners. A renewed approach to campus planning and design, informed by the principles of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning, and with a commitment to delivering hybridized online and in-person models of educational delivery, is needed now.

From Volume 48 Number 4 | July–September 2020

Abstract: In context of COVID-19, institutions are developing new approaches to online learning at an unprecedented pace. Looking ahead, this great experiment may offer lessons for broadening the definition of accessibility. Three decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act established minimum accessibility standards for the built environment, this moment of accelerated change presents a unique opportunity to utilize hybrid delivery models and universal design principles to rethink accessibility. Sasaki principal Greg Havens examines how continued emphasis on improvements to the physical environment, when combined with hybrid learning and services, could transform the way we plan the human-centered, accessible campuses of tomorrow.

Institutions Mentioned: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Accessibility, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), COVID-19, Facilities Planning, Learning Environments, Online Learning, Underserved Students

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Challenging “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Success of Active Learning Is About More Than the Space

By: Jeffrey Ashley, Susan Frostén, Jeffrey Klemens

Active learning spaces can be catalysts for improved teaching and learning. Yet the key to planning for and effectively implementing them on campus is faculty who are willing to change, accept, and evolve their instructional delivery.

From Volume 48 Number 2 | January–March 2020

Abstract: Five years ago, Thomas Jefferson University East Falls Campus (formerly Philadelphia University) planned and implemented an initiative to more mindfully design spaces that optimize active and collaborative teaching and learning. For active learning spaces to be true change agents at the institutional level, we suggest colleges and universities ground an active learning space initiative in the institution’s mission and strategic goals, designate a coordinator to involve stakeholders throughout the entire project, identify faculty members willing to participate, and build a network of support structures within which those faculty members can share their ideas and experiences.

Institutions Mentioned: Thomas Jefferson University
Planning Types: Academic Planning, Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Engaging Stakeholders, Faculty, Learning Environments, Teaching and Learning

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Super-Sizing Active Learning

The University of Illinois at Chicago had small spaces. It was time to trade up.

By: Ellen Bailey Dickson and Sara Gaum

Campuses are familiar with small spaces outfitted with active learning design, but what could be added to a large space—such as a lecture hall for freshman pre-requisite courses—to keep students engaged in the instruction?

From Volume 48 Number 1 | October–December 2019

Abstract: While small-scale active learning classrooms are common on campuses, large-scale active learning environments are just being explored. This University of Illinois at Chicago study explores the research, planning, and communication that was required to develop large-scale active learning environments that incorporated innovative teaching, immersive education, and cutting-edge technology to contribute to student success.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Illinois at Chicago
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Active Learning Environments, Facilities Planning, Learning Environments

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If Tuition Rises . . .

. . . Does Racial and Ethnic Minority Student Enrollment Plummet?

By: QianQian Yu

When the cost of American higher education goes up, access to economic opportunity, social mobility, and positive academic outcomes are, subsequently, restricted for students of color. Campus admissions and retention planning professionals are first witnesses to the inequality.

From Volume 48 Number 1 | October–December 2019

Abstract: This article explores the impact of tuition increases on student retention and higher education admission and retention planning for racial and ethnic minorities. Research shows that the racial and ethnic minority student population on campus is negatively affected by tuition increases. Literature is examined for potential impacts of tuition increases on a student’s decision of school choice. And although literature provides little in the way of recommendations for resolving the issues associated with tuition increases, this article offers some suggestions for student retention planning.

Planning Types: Student Affairs Planning, Strategic Enrollment Management Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Cost of Higher Ed, Racial Equity, Student Retention, Tuition Pricing, Underserved Students

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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
April 1, 2019

An Analysis of Instructional Expenditures in U.S. Public Higher Education

From 2004 Through 2015

By: Dawn Iwamasa, Michael Thrasher

Results indicate that, when adjusted for inflation, instructional expenditures at U.S. public institutions increased from 2004–2015; however, evidence suggests that the rise was more modest and less consistent than may be known.

From Volume 47 Number 3 | April–June 2019

Abstract: Due to the rising price of tuition, the prevailing narrative regarding higher education is that the cost of delivering a college degree is increasing substantially. However, the cost of delivering an education is not definitively linked to the price in tuition paid to attend. Prior studies confirmed small increases in instructional expenditures per full-time-equivalent student from the 1980s to 2000; however, more recent trends in instructional costs are relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to track instructional expenditures from 2004 to 2015 at U.S. public two-year and four-year institutions, and to calculate those expenditures as a proportion of U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

Planning Types: Resource Planning
Tags: Cost of Higher Ed, Original Research, Tuition Pricing

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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
April 1, 2017

College Affordability and Institutional Pricing Policies

By: Sandra R Baum

Institutions would do well to make their complex pricing policies more clear to students and families to help them understand how a higher education is more affordable than most people believe.

From Volume 45 Number 3 | April–June 2017

Abstract: The complexity of college pricing policies makes it difficult for students and families to understand how much they will have to pay and which colleges will fit their budgets. Colleges and universities should be able to explain their pricing and aid policies and why they have chosen them. Both financial aid and the high returns on a postsecondary education make college more affordable than most people believe. Colleges should take responsibility for clarifying this confusing issue.

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Communication, Operational Planning, Tuition Pricing

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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
April 1, 2017

Beyond the Headlines

The Mechanics of a Tuition Reset

By: Randy Eldridge, Deborah Cawley

Might a tuition reset be right for your institution? This article is a behind-the-scenes look at the yearlong process of a tuition reset at Rosemont College.

From Volume 45 Number 3 | April–June 2017

Abstract: Beginning with the 2016–2017 academic year, Rosemont College took the bold step of reducing its tuition by 43 percent in an initiative termed “Our Tuition Promise.” The initial announcement generated national news coverage and resulted in a significant increase in applications.
Rosemont made this shift because it believed it was the right thing to do and was in keeping with the college’s mission and values. The process from start to finish was the result of a year of research and careful planning. While the headlines were big and up-front with the basic details, here is a behind-the-scenes look at how Rosemont College reset its tuition.

Planning Types: Resource Planning
Tags: Communication, Operational Planning, Tuition Pricing

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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
April 1, 2016

Do We Need Classrooms Anymore?

By: Thomas Fisher

The innovation and creativity so prized in the 21st-century economy thrives not in isolated, specialized spaces, but in open, flexible environments.

From Volume 44 Number 3 | April–June 2016

Abstract: The forms and layouts of classrooms reflect the societies and economies that students will face when they graduate. As happened in the previous two industrial revolutions, classrooms today need to respond to an emerging “third industrial revolution,” with its demand for innovation and creativity and its provision of information on demand. Active learning classrooms represent a transition to a future in which most learning will no longer happen in what we call a “classroom” today. Instead, students and teachers will be able to move to a variety of spaces, on demand, in order to accommodate different kinds of intelligences and pedagogies.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Learning Environments

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