New York State Senate’s Post

Higher education has the potential to be the great equalizer by imparting knowledge, sparking curiosity, and providing a way to achieve economic stability. The California State University and its 23 campuses embrace this spirit and it is good to see that this work is recognized nationally. The Social mobility index rankings for 2023 has 5 CSU campuses in the top 10 and 9 in the top 20! #calstate #highereducation #socialimpact CSU Scores High for Social Mobility in 2023 College Rankings | CSU (calstate.edu)

In the interest of full transparency, I also mentioned pimple popping videos.

A positive step toward admitting the ⭐️ best and brightest ⭐️ students globally, regardless of financial status. Once in the U.S., international students who wish to remain long term should be strategic about the degree field and type of employers that they pursue. 🎓 💡STEM degrees currently offer the most options post-graduation 💡H-1B visas require that the individual’s degree field is required for the offerd job 💡H-1B cap exempt employers are not subject to the annual limit on H-1B visas 💡Increased job openings and immigration options in critical infrastructure sectors If you’re an international student looking for help mapping out your immigration options, let’s chat! 💬 📧 ksommer@fragomen.com #fragomen #studentmigration Fragomen

On Tuesday, I’ll be the least credentialed person on a panel to discuss higher education and social mobility. The distinguished panelist will be Mary Dana Hinton, Ellen Neufeldt and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta, Ph.D. Thanks Eric Kelderman for moderating and including me. We’ll be covering topics including: College rankings and classifications. Post-graduation outcomes. Strategies to ensure success for low-income students. https://lnkd.in/e2KvHXCA

“What happens on campus shapes what happens in Congress. This shift has transformed the role of large universities’ federal relations teams and required even the smallest of schools to prepare for congressional scrutiny. In an era where a handful of social media posts can lead to a Capitol Hill hearing, developing a plan before a crisis is critical.”   According to Partner Kent Holland and SVP Natalie Farr Harrison, policymakers are increasingly skeptical of higher education institutions. In an op-ed for University Business, Kent and Natalie share five key issues university leaders and staff should consider when developing response strategies over the next several months. https://lnkd.in/gDbUrQWd

Here's the latest New Lines newsletter from Stanford Digital Education (which I help to produce). It covers how Stanford is expanding to serve students at high schools in low-income communities and how such service is part of the university's founding document.

Ohio Northern University offers the best value of any university in Ohio, according to new rankings by the Wall Street Journal. ONU is ranked No. 1 in the Buckeye State in the Best Value category in the publication’s 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. See more about where ONU ranked in different categories by the Wall Street Journal: https://bit.ly/3TiRU7a

Learn more about how President Cheryl McConnell and her appointment to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s new State Board of Higher Education.

I'm happy to hear University of Notre Dame will no longer consider a family's financial situation when determining an admissions decision. But I'm disappointed that they have jumped on the misleading "no-loan" messaging. The Myth of No-Loan Financial Aid Packages: What Families Need to Know As college costs continue to rise, some institutions have started offering so-called "no-loan" financial aid packages to attract students. On the surface, these offers seem like a dream come true. However, the reality behind these packages can be more complicated, and in many cases, families still find themselves needing to borrow to cover the cost of education. Let’s break down how this marketing strategy works and why it can be misleading. What is a "No-Loan" Financial Aid Package? When a college advertises a "no-loan" financial aid package, it is essentially promising that the aid it offers will not include federal or institutional loans. Instead, the financial aid will be made up of grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The idea is to eliminate the need for students to take on federal student loans as part of their financial aid package. This sounds like a win-win: students get financial assistance, and there are no loans to repay after graduation. However, the promise of "no loans" doesn’t necessarily mean that college will be affordable for everyone. The Hidden Catch: The Family’s Contribution One of the most significant ways "no-loan" packages can be misleading is through the concept of the family’s calculated contribution to college, now referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI). Even though the student won't be offered loans in their aid package, the college still calculates how much they expect the family to contribute toward the total cost of attendance. Because this calculation does not factor in a family’s living expenses, this SAI figure will be far more than what families are realistically able to pay. For instance, a family might receive a financial aid package that covers tuition but still be expected to contribute $20,000 per year toward room, board, and other fees. If that family doesn’t have savings or available income to cover this amount, their only option is to take a loan to make up the difference. So while the college stays true to its "no-loan" pledge for the aid portion, families are still left having to borrow in many cases—just not in the form of the loans colleges conveniently exclude from their aid packages. A Disconnect Between Reality and Marketing In this sense, the "no-loan" promise is more about clever marketing than making college genuinely affordable. It allows schools to attract a broader range of applicants by suggesting that they’re reducing the burden of debt. But for many families, the burden of paying for college remains the same. #financial #success #collegesanduniversities #financialaid

Sadly I have to miss this debate (lecturing, ironically enough!). On the issue of #research funding though, one thing is clear: the funding system itself (primarily in the guise of Taighde Éireann) has a valuable and important opportunity to break from the limited vision of the past 10 - 15 years to create a public research system focused primarily on curiosity-driven and non-commercial research: i.e. we should avoid duplicating private sector research in the public sector.