Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice (CHEPP)

Our latest paper has something for everyone: #HigherEducation, #Workforce, and #Policymakers who care about where both of these sectors are headed. CHEPP evaluates the landscape of higher education workforce partnerships and provides guidance for practitioners and policymakers on building successful #WorkforcePartnerships. https://lnkd.in/eaa8Jm8J Our paper explores how these partnerships can drive learner success and economic opportunity for students like Pedro Borges who earned his BS in Business Administration at SNHU through Walmart’s tuition benefit program after immigrating to the United States from Cape Verde. Read more about our paper here: https://lnkd.in/e9q2-UwR

Allowing workers to access #HigherEducation through employers can make college more accessible, affordable, and career connected. Our latest issue brief examines the growing landscape of higher education workforce partnerships and makes the case that they can not only increase educational attainment for #TodaysLearners, but help employers recruit, retain, and train a skilled workforce. As the number of #WorkforcePartnerships continues to increase, practitioners and policymakers need guidance to understand how these programs work and what makes them successful. We share recommendations and best practices to guide the creation of learner-centered workforce partnerships. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eaa8Jm8J

We are excited to welcome Lisa Marsh Ryerson as SNHU’s new president. As we all work towards more inclusive learner-centered systems, we are confident President Ryerson will be a tireless champion for learners. #todaysstudents

Today, The Century Foundation released a deep dive into how different demographics of learners in states across the country are completing the FAFSA. Their findings are clear – students who need financial aid to enroll and complete college the most are the most likely to have not yet completed a FAFSA.   Lagging FAFSA completion will not only have a detrimental impact to overall college enrollment and persistence in the fall and through the next school year but exacerbate college access and attainment gaps among historically underserved students, including low-income learners and learners of color.   This summer, institutions and student support organizations are firing on all cylinders to get students what they need to complete their FAFSA and get the financial aid information they need to enroll. Going forward, the U.S. Department of Education must ensure that next year's FAFSA is available as scheduled on October 1 to not further compound the damage that has been done by this year's rollout.   #highered

According to Lumina Foundation - Gallup 2024 State of Higher Education Study, 87% of learners report one reason they stopped out of college is because of the cost of finishing their degree. The second reason learners say they stopped out was because of conflicts with their work schedule, quickly followed by 70% of learners pointing to a lack of remote, or other flexible program option. These findings make clear that learners increasingly enroll in higher education alongside many other obligations, and need affordable, flexible options to complete a degree. These reasons for stopping out – cost, work, and flexibility – are not independent of one another but intrinsically related to how learners experience and pay for higher education. Expanding access to high quality online and hybrid programs that meet learners where they are will keep more higher education learners enrolled and hold down costs to learners by allowing them to continue to work while completing their degree. Read more about how higher education can build more flexible systems in our paper, Online by Design: How Learner-Centered Higher Education Design And Delivery Accelerates Equitable Access And Outcomes. https://lnkd.in/dZp_wanT Higher education must also work to reengage learners who have stopped out. One way to do this is by streamlining the credit transfer process and expanding access to credit for prior learning. Our recent paper, The Costs of Today’s College Credit Transfer System for Learners and the Mindsets and Practices That Reduce Them, estimates that learners who transfer to a private institution may accrue more than $26,000 in additional costs and those transferring to a public institution more than $13,000. https://lnkd.in/e2BbhDzF #highered #todaysstudents

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the Olmstead decision that made clear disabled people have the right to live independently - at work, home, and school. Higher Education Institutions can live the values of Olmstead by embracing accessibility within learner-centered design and becoming places of equity and inclusion. To do this, higher education must work to ensure that students with disabilities have the supports they need to access their education and other activities alongside their peers, as well as cultivate belonging in systems that were not historically set up for them. At CHEPP, we believe higher education systems should be built to meet the needs of all learners, including learners with disabilities, and will continue to strive to live the values of Olmstead every day. #Olmstead25 #highered

This month, after 21 years of leadership, SNHU’s President Paul J. LeBlanc is stepping down. We couldn’t let this moment pass without recognizing President LeBlanc’s contribution to higher education. As president of SNHU, LeBlanc oversaw the growth of a small liberal arts college into the largest non-profit university in the country. Fueled by the need to meet learners where they are, he oversaw the creation and scaling of flexible, online degree programs that currently enroll more than 200,000 learners across the country and globe.    At a time when learners are increasing juggling work and family while pursuing their degrees, President LeBlanc has been an integral advocate for higher education systems to include all learners. We will continue to be impacted and informed by his work as we advocate for learner-centered higher education policy.   While we will miss you, we are excited to welcome Lisa Marsh Ryerson as SNHU’s new president. As we all work towards more inclusive learner-centered systems, we are confident soon-to-be President Ryerson will be a tireless champion for learners.   Thank you again, President LeBlanc – Southern New Hampshire University and all of higher education is stronger because of your work. #highered #todaysstudents

Instead of closing the Some College No Credential (SCNC) gap, its growing . With nearly 37 million working aged adults with SCNC, #highered must do more to meet these learners where they are to re-enroll and complete a credential.    Let's work to close this gap by:    - Providing basic needs support https://lnkd.in/e7vbytzP - Creating more seamless credit transfer pathways https://lnkd.in/e2BbhDzF - Offering flexible programs, including online and hybrid https://lnkd.in/dZp_wanT - Supporting personalized hands-on advising https://lnkd.in/etafW9AE - Connecting students to career opportunities https://lnkd.in/eSC43CjE

Last week, we published “The Costs of Today’s College Credit Transfer System for Learners and the Mindsets and Practices That Reduce Them”: a paper about the barriers that #TransferStudents face as they move between institutions, and how #HigherEd can build systems that better serve everyone. CHEPP’s Director of Research and Strategy, Meaghan R., broke down 5 key insights from the research. Read more:

#HigherEd data experts: We’ve long known that the college credit transfer system is a barrier for many of #TodaysLearners – and now we have the data to prove it. In our new paper shares the latest findings on the state of transfer credits, which paint a startling picture: Too many credits are lost as #TransferStudents move between institutions, forcing students off the track towards degree completion.