UNINCORPORATED’s Post

Has higher ed forgotten its aim? Steven Mintz, author and professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, seems to think so. In a great piece for Inside Higher Ed, Mintz posits that higher ed has strayed too far from its traditional purpose: providing a holistic liberal arts education that produces students who are “life-ready.” This article raises excellent points about the current state of higher education and the “identity crisis” many schools are currently undergoing. Still, I can’t help but believe that preparing students to be life-ready vs. job-ready isn’t a matter of either/or but both/and. Surely, higher ed is a big enough umbrella that there can be more than one point to a college education.

Opinion | Higher Education at a Crossroads Will we allow a college education to become more stratified, transactional, and vocational, or will we push back and create a model that is more developmental and transformational? #HigherEd https://bit.ly/4aVcocX

An important survey results about higher ed's public perception in America. Majorities of survey respondents think four-year colleges positively influence students’ ways of thinking over all and their personal values. Still other data on different perspectives are quite interesting. Especially when compared with the value attributed to #highereducation in Europe and Asia, some of the results are surprising. https://lnkd.in/ek_k-KBt

The Biden-Harris Administration is laser-focused on creating training pipelines that ensure all Americans can access the hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs created by the President’s Investing in America agenda. This first-of-its-kind framework was developed directly by teachers and Micron to integrate industry-based career exploration and to engage students in deeper learning, such as analyzing information, thinking critically and applying knowledge, all while providing students with real-life, real-world skills.

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions practices, diversity gains made at the nation’s most selective colleges and universities were incremental at best, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Historically underrepresented students continued to disproportionately enroll in open-access institutions, which have less support resources available. “Broadening equitable access to the most selective colleges and universities is a vitally important goal moving forward,” said Catherine Morris, report co-author and senior writer/editor at CEW. “However, improving outcomes at open-access institutions — through increased state and local funding, as well as wraparound support services for students that begin in the K–12 system — could positively impact a much larger share of students and, ultimately, society as a whole.” https://lnkd.in/g2HTVgXE

Must read: "We can have the world’s greatest higher-education system, with all of the benefits it brings to our country, or we can have colleges and universities in which the open exchange of views is undermined by pressure campaigns from many directions. We can’t have both."

📜🗽Liberal Arts Grads Are Supposedly Well-Rounded, But How's Their Pay? Going to a small college doesn't mean a small paycheck, read today's newsletter to learn how liberal arts colleges provide their grads value ⤵ Link in the comments below

Exciting to see an increase in micro-creds....let's talk about this, anyone see an increase in microcredentials at your institutions for Fall or 2025? Those in my network--give shouts out to what you are doing. I know many of you are expanding in this area. #microcredentials #highereducation #changeiscoming Students pursue microcredentials in the liberal arts (insidehighered.com)

Higher education has been defined too narrowly and it is time to redefine and disrupt higher education. Check out the article in the February 24th issue of the Lehigh Valley Business Journal for some thoughts on this issue. #highereducation #nationallylicensed

According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2031, 68 percent of the jobs in #Connecticut will require postsecondary education and/or training, with 42 percent of those jobs specifically requiring a bachelors or masters degree. I spoke about this, and our increasing enrollment, with Melissa Sheketoff of WICC. I always appreciate her making time to talk about #highereducation! As the economy cools, higher ed will become even more important. Don’t let the narrative stick that we don’t need higher ed! Connecticut State Colleges & Universities and its institutions make up our state’s primary talent engine for #economicdevelopment, #socialmobility, and #communityimpact. But it’s not just about #jobs: higher ed makes people and society better. So all of us—#faculty, #staff, #students, everyone who has benefited from higher ed—let’s stand up and brag about the work we do. We serve and help millions of people every day. At CSCU we take that responsibility seriously and we could not be more proud.