HEI staff members share what we’re contemplating this month. We welcome your ideas to consider for next month!
Tashera Gale, Director of Evaluation Services
Ratchetdemic: Reimagining Academic Success by Dr. Christopher Emdin
INSIGHT: “Though only a few pages in, the little Black girl in me feels a deep sense of empowerment, inspiration, and affirmation that my identities—professional and cultural—can co-exist, though structural norms have always dictated otherwise. Being both provocative and an act of resistance to mainstream thought, this educational reframing can aid in demonstrating the interconnectedness between the ivory tower and urban classrooms if only success is reimagined.”
Kelly Krupa Rifelj, Assistant Research Analyst
“Moving Beyond Free: A College Affordability Compact for the Next Generation” – The Third Way
INSIGHT: “The Free College movement often puts equity at the center of the discussion by noting free college for all means students in the highest income bracket often receive the biggest benefit. Moreover, what students in lower income brackets also need is support beyond tuition (e.g., housing, food assistance, etc.). In this recent article, the authors go a step further by noting that the students who never go to college do not even have this smaller benefit (i.e., small tuition assistance with the leftover funds able to be used for some living expenses). While in some ways, that’s obvious, they also suggest pairing college affordability with changes in The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to support workers who lack the support even modest grants provide.”
Tait Kellogg, PhD, Director of Research & Strategic Services
“We Need to End Structural Racism and Inequities. How Can Data and Evidence Help?” – Project Evident
INSIGHT: “I’m always seeking new resources related to how data can be utilized as a tool for equity. This is worth a look.”
Donté McGuire, Research Analyst
Returning to Campus and Competing Priorities for Decision-makers (no link)
INSIGHT: “Perhaps like most people, I have been thinking a lot about what it means for colleges and universities to welcome students back to campus this fall amid the current COVID pandemic. There are so many difficult decisions that institutional leaders, staff, faculty, students, and their families are having to make—decisions that seem to be made more difficult by the competing priorities of the institution’s traditional financial and education model and community health and safety.”