Panel, Conference Presentation
Expanding Access to Higher Education
Milken InstituteBrandon Busteed, Christopher Eisgruber, Karen Symms Gallagher, Thomas LeBlanc, Jeff Maggioncalda, George Weiss
- Princeton plans to expand its undergraduate body to include more community college transfers, military veterans, and low-income students, noting that alumni support for this expansion is "tremendously popular" and that current entrants are 28 percent first-generation or low-income.
- Princeton projects that students with debt will graduate with an average of "somewhere around $7,000 or $8,000 in debt" attributable to discretionary purchases and anticipates that students with paying capacity "would be willing" to pay a higher price due to the return on investment.
- Georgia State University aims to raise its completion rates beyond the current "mid-50s" and is cited as an example of institutions finding creative ways to increase graduation statistics.
- USC's Neighborhood Academic Initiative has facilitated nearly 500 graduates over 25 years, while its hybrid high school program, now in its third year, expects 100 percent high school graduation and university acceptance rates.
- USC projects that transfer students from community colleges will maintain completion rates equivalent to incoming freshmen and that structural changes like scheduling flexibility and office hour utilization will improve outcomes.
- USC intends to use multivariate modeling analyzing "12 different things" to modulate the composition of its incoming freshmen class toward future optimal goals.
- George Washington University plans to continue focusing on graduation outputs and intends to address financial difficulties and belonging for first-generation students to improve statistics, while also vigorously price discriminating based on ability to pay.
- George Washington University expects that removing SAT requirements will result in freshman GPA predictions "just as accurate" as those generated using SAT scores combined with high school GPA.
- Coursera projects that work-integrated degrees will allow students to earn credentials over a longer period without losing paychecks, and that income-sharing agreements will be an available tool for some students and families.
- Coursera states that offering degrees designed for employees is a "smart way" to increase graduation rates, while its Google IT support certification program projects that individuals with no background can become certified specialists "in eight months."
- The University of London plans to award credit for finishing the Google IT certification and will use performance in that program as part of admissions criteria for a computer science bachelor's degree that can be completed "at work" without forfeiting a paycheck.
- The University of Illinois projects its online master's degree in computer science will cost "$25,000," with the expectation that "the whole thing could be paid for by the employer."
- Say Yes to Education plans to announce a fourth city partnership in the fall, bringing the total number of program participants to "close to 180,000," with a goal to raise high school graduation rates in cities currently ranging from "20, 40 percent" or the "lower 60s."
- Say Yes to Education partners with 103 private colleges to offer free tuition, aiming to ensure students who enter "graduate" rather than just matriculate, and seeks fundraising goals to increase the number of juniors returning to college.
- The federal government projects that a six-year timeframe is necessary to capture "99.9% of all cases" regarding graduation rates.
- Selective universities project that the student body has "very little interest" in shortening degree programs to four years, while a moderator plans to end sessions early to accommodate audience Q&A.
- Institutions can partner with local high schools to help students understand college requirements, a move described as "absolutely important" for supporting student success.