Office Hours With EAB

Pam Royall joins Madeleine Rhyneer to examine findings from EAB’s most recent survey of first-year college students. The two discuss what the survey tells us about overall student satisfaction with the college experience and about the impacts of test-optional policies on application activity. They also highlight survey findings that show parents have greater influence over their children’s college search process than they did just a few years ago.

EAB’s Meacie Fairfax hosts a conversation with Melissa Burwell, Executive Director for Student Success at Carthage College, about the potential risks of using student alerts as a one-size-fits-all blunt instrument. The two discuss Carthage’s rollout of their early alert system to faculty, advisors, care units, and staff, and the adjustments they made based on analysis of data that showed significant variability in how those alerts were raised and resolved across different student populations. Meacie and Melissa also share recommendations on ways to customize your early alert system to close equity gaps and help more students graduate.

Graduate enrollments across 2020 and 2021 grew at the fastest rates in nearly a decade. However, roughly one-third of institutions experienced declines. EAB’s Will Lamb and Brian Schueler dig into the data to highlight the degree offerings, formats, and pricing models driving much of that growth. Will and Brian touch on the explosive enrollment growth among Black and minority graduate students, which helped to offset declining enrollment among foreign students during the pandemic. The two also offer tips for institutional leaders on how to launch new degree programs and get those offerings out to more students in more flexible formats.

EAB’s Hersh Steinberg welcomes two of the top recruiters in the nation who specialize in placing higher education leaders. Jay Lemons from Academic Search, Inc. and Kenneth Kring from Korn Ferry share their thoughts on ways to improve succession planning and on the pros and cons of bringing in a change agent from the outside. They also offer tips on ways to honor the shared governance model without sacrificing candidate confidentiality or overcomplicating the executive search process.

Black Male Student Success Audio Blog by EAB

EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a conversation with James Kvaal, President Biden’s Under Secretary of Education. The two discuss the need for greater federal support of HBCUs, proposals for convincing more high school graduates to pursue higher education, and the impact of free community college programs. Mr. Kvaal also touches on a range of administration proposals for reducing student debt and making college more affordable to help more students from all backgrounds earn a college degree.

Each spring, EAB shares with partner institutions the company’s latest research on the most urgent threats and opportunities across the higher education marketplace. EAB’s Larisa Hussak and Brian Schueler share key takeaways from that research. Topics include strategies for attracting and retaining talent amidst the great resignation, tips on how to compete in the growing (but hyper-competitive) graduate degree market, and how to handle one of higher ed’s greatest competitive threats: the growing legions of high school graduates who decide they don’t want or need to attend college.

David Croom from Ascend at the Aspen Institute joins EAB’s Meacie Fairfax to dispel myths around today’s student-parents who comprise more than 20% of total undergraduate enrollment. Student-parents tend to have higher GPAs than their childless peers despite having 50% less time on average, to devote to their academics. David shares compelling success stories and recommendations on creative ways for institutions to partner with local businesses and community leaders to offer more support and wraparound services to help student-parents succeed.

Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik highlights the news stories he believes will have an outsized impact on higher education in the months and years to come. Jaschik is joined on the podcast by Carla Hickman, whose take on these issues is informed by her role as head of EAB’s Research division. The two explore issues ranging from the massive challenges facing community colleges to the game-changing legal fight over affirmative action in admissions.

EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a conversation with outgoing UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski that traces his beginnings as an academic prodigy and participant in the 1963 “Children’s March” organized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to his transformational leadership at UMBC. The two discuss UMBC’s well-earned reputation for producing more African-American undergraduates who go on to earn PhDs in science and engineering than almost any other institution. Finally, they discuss the mindset it takes to be an academically successful student of color, as well as Dr. Hrabowski’s future plans.