NASH Newsletter – September 2018

NASH SYSTEM LEADERSHIP ACADEMY—2019

The NASH Leadership Academy is designed to support systems in the development of high-performing teams that facilitate large-scale change, enhance campus and system performance, and scale best practices across multiple campuses. In its third year, the academy will continue to focus on moving the student success agenda forward.

Leadership teams consist of three to five members from the system and selected campuses. We encourage a team composition based on the desired outcome of a particular student success project and a representative mix of campus and system leaders.

Here is what Rebecca Karoff, University of Texas System and leader of a team at the 2018 Academy reflected:

The NASH System Leadership Academy provided what student success leaders are critically lacking:  time to be together, away from the office, with dedicated time to share, problem-solve, and learn from others.  The learning takes place in and from all directions:  from the Academy facilitators, the other system teams, and the members of one’s own team.  While the contexts vary from state to state and system to system, the range of common challenges and opportunities is consistent. For our team, we were able to leverage a transitional moment as we move into a second phase of a systemwide student success initiative to identify shared priorities, and propose action steps to move them forward with the UT System’s other academic leaders, respectful of each institution’s strategic goals, culture and student populations.  Months later, that work is ongoing.

The 2019 Academy will begin with a two-day session in Washington, DC on January 16-17, 2019. This meeting will be conducted in a workshop format, combining keynote presentations, case studies and structured team time in three areas: leading for change, innovation and organizational culture, and using data to inform change. Each team will leave with an action plan for moving their project forward. A follow-up meeting will take place on April 23, 2019 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the TS3 Network Convening.  See [link] for more information, or contact Rebecca Martin.  Registration ends on November 1.

 

TAKING STUDENT TO SUCCESS TO SCALE (TS3) WEBINARS

NASH and the TS³ Network are hosting all new webinars this fall.  Please join us for our upcoming webinars.  All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 3:00 pm Eastern.  Registration for all webinars can be found on our website: http://ts3.nashonline.org/news/.

• September 20: Shared Leadership in a Time of Growing Complexity: Moving From “Me” to “We”

Presenters: Judith Ramaley, Portland State University and Susan Elrod, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Description:  Public systems of higher education are increasingly under pressure to reach improved student success outcomes (e.g., increase retention and graduation rates, close equity gaps, shorten time to graduation) more quickly and at lower cost to the state and to their students. Responding to these challenges to promote student success will require new ways of working together, knowledge sharing and collaboration. Solutions at the individual departmental level are no longer adequate; cross departmental and divisional collaborations will be necessary. While experienced leaders may have ideas of their own, they must learn to embrace concepts of shared leadership. In other words, they must move from “me” (my ideas) to “we” (our ideas). Leaders must learn how to cultivate teams of people who share an interest in the issue and who have complementary experiences to develop a collective agenda for action.  This approach builds ownership among the faculty and staff who are instrumental in implementing and sustaining the desired changes over time. Participants in this session will learn more about the benefits of shared leadership and how to develop the conditions required to build the capacity for shared leadership and success.

• October 25: Trajectory Analytics: Predicting Student Success

Presenters: Tristan Denley and Robert Todd, University System of Georgia

Description:  The University System of Georgia is testing a predictive model based upon Trajectory Analytics. This model seeks to analyze the current trajectory of students upon their education plans and predict likely changes in trajectory that can assist advisors in decision-making on early interventions. Attendees are likely familiar with analogous models to track intensity and trajectory of weather patterns, such as hurricanes. Please join us to explore the power of these models to predict student outcomes.

• November 7: Communicating HIPS Strategy and Impact to Faculty and Senior Leadership

Presenters: Debra Humphreys, Lumina Foundation

Description:  In this Webinar, participants will learn strategies for effectively communicating about efforts to scale and measure the impact of HIPs.  Session will cover such issues as “framing” research and how to use it effectively to “make the case” for the importance of HIPS to the success of today’s students.  Participants will also learn about research on impact of HIPS that can be deployed in effective ways to communicate their value to various constituents.

Please also save the date for these future webinars:

• December 3: Transfer Issues with Alternative Math Pathways
• January 30: The USG HIPs Taxonomy Process
• February 13: Math Pathways for Elementary Education

 

RESEARCH AND POLICY SYMPOSIUM ON CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT AND DUAL CREDIT

Registration is now open for the VERTEX Conference on concurrent enrollment and dual credit hosted by The University of Texas System and for which NASH is a cosponsor.  This symposium will take place on October 5-6, 2018, at the Grand Hyatt in Denver.  Deadline for early registration has been extended to September 20.

With a focus on research and policy at the system and state level, this convening recognizes that we are living in an era of widespread expansion of concurrent enrollment and dual credit programing, which is blurring the traditional boundaries between secondary school and college – normally seen as separate spheres. The space between the two is filled with opportunities and challenges for students and educational sectors.

Join us at Vertex 2018 as expert keynotes and speakers address a national audience – including researchers, policymakers, higher education leaders, SHEEOs, statewide K12 and workforce, and other stakeholders – and lead discussions on the impact of concurrent enrollment and dual credit expansion on key policy areas.

Please click here for more information and to register.

 

HIPS IN THE STATES – 2019

Earlier this year, the HIPs in the States National Conference featured many NASH systems and campuses in an informative and interactive convening around high impact practices.  This year’s event, hosted by Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, will build on our informal community of college and university educators working with the NASH and Taking Student Success to Scale (TS³) to improve the definitions, tracking, and assessments of high-impact educational practices at public institutions.  This is an important opportunity for your system and campus leaders to share successes and challenges while building connections with peers.  The conference will begin at 3:00 PM CST on Wednesday, February 20 and conclude at 3:00 PM CST on Friday, February 22, 2019.  WKU is located 60 miles north of Nashville, Tennessee and 120 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky on Interstate 65.  Bowling Green is home to the National Corvette Museum. The closest airport is Nashville International Airport (BNA).  To register and find more information, visit wku.edu/hips.

 

TS3 HIGH IMPACT PRACTICES UPDATE: FOCUS ON ASSESSMENT

Since launching in January 2018, NASH’s Taking Student Success: High Impact Practices project has been focused on scaling High Impact Practices with a focus on increasing access for underrepresented minority students. But increasing participation in a poorly designed or inequitable experience will not lead to the robust benefits that HIPs can offer students.  Thus, a necessary part of increasing equitable participation is a focus on identifying, defining and replicating high quality HIPs.

This summer, TS³ HIPs teams have been tackling part this challenge by drafting and revising their implementation plans to assess student learning.  We have been fortunate to be joined by Ashley Finley, senior advisor to the president at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and Natasha Jankowski, Director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) who have been working with us on a series of one-on-one campus consultations and system-wide workshops.

In a short time, campuses made significant progress on developing student learning outcomes, creating assessment plans, and developing measures.  The combination of one-on-one support and group work time was met with positive responses and will be continued through the academic year to provide teams with ongoing resources as they implement these plans.

Modeled on the success of the assessment workshops, we are planning a similar approach to assist teams in strengthening their equity goals.  In development are a fall webinar series and February workshop.  Our goal is for quality, assessment and equity to be interwoven to create a beneficial cycle.  At each step, campuses are being asked to think about the pedagogical and practical implications of these interrelated concepts.

We look forward to seeing the cycle continue and to sharing the findings. To begin to share this work with the field at large, we have begun submitting conference proposals.  Stay tuned for where and when we will be presenting in 2019.

Best wishes for a successful academic year!  As you begin your year you may find the following items of relevance to your work:

The Center for American Progress recently released a report on Learning Communities with part-time students: “a Promising Model to Boost Retention for Part-Time Students” by Marcella Bombardieri. The report can be found here: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-postsecondary/reports/2018/07/31/454239/promising-model-boost-retention-part-time-students/.

As you welcome incoming students, this piece by Julie Alexander and John Gardner, “Beyond Retention: a Comprehensive Approach to the First College Year” may be of interest: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1002/abc.285?journalCode=acaa.

Finally, the AERA Brown lecture, which focuses annually on role of research in advancing understanding of equality and equity, will be Thursday, October 25 in Washington DC.  A live webcast will also be available.  More information can be found here: http://www.aera.net/Events-Meetings/Annual-Brown-Lecture-in-Education-Research.

 

INSTITUTIONS’ USE OF DATA AND ANALYTICS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

AIR, NASPA and EDUCAUSE partnered to conduct a survey that examined the current landscape of higher education’s use of data and analytics for student success. Together they published a report, Institutions’ Use of Data and Analytics for Student Success, which describes a variety of challenges and opportunities regarding institutions’ readiness to expand data use across functions. The results include distinctions by size and sector of institution as well as by professional role.

This report builds on the survey findings with a discussion of major themes from the national survey, which explored four core areas: types of student success data projects, structures in place, level of coordination, and programs, interventions, and outcomes.

The landscape of institutions’ use of data and analytics for student success is nuanced in that challenges and opportunities vary by institution size and sector. This report addresses these distinctions to provide context for how IR, student affairs, and IT professionals work together to execute a cross-functional, institution-wide data strategy. The report concludes with a discussion of how institutions can improve their capacity to integrate data from IR, IT, and student affairs functions and maximize their use of student success studies.

Click here to read the full report.

UT SYSTEM STUDY DELVES INTO IMPACT OF DUAL CREDIT COURSES ON STUDENT SUCCESS IN COLLEGE

The University of Texas System released a study on dual credit that is among the most comprehensive in the nation. The study sheds light on how dual credit programs affect graduation rates and student debt as well as the pros and cons of dual credit from both student and faculty perspectives. The study also looks at the consequences of the exponential enrollment growth in dual credit programs, among other factors.

For its study, the UT System looked at the outcomes of approximately 135,000 students who entered a UT academic institution between 2010 and 2015 and tracked the students for six years. Findings of the study include:

• Dual credit students are two times more likely than students entering college with no dual credit to graduate in four years.
• Among students who graduate in four years, dual credit students, on average, graduate one semester earlier compared to students with no prior college credit.
• Students reported that dual credit provides early exposure to college that benefited them when taking college courses after graduating from high school.
• Dual credit does not significantly reduce student loan debt when taking into account students’ financial aid, unless students enter with at least 60 or more semester credit hours.

The full report includes additional findings, as well as a detailed explanation of the methodology.  Click here to read the full report.

 

THE CONVERGENCE OF K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION: POLICIES AND PROGRAMS IN A CHANGING ERA

A new policy brief from the Rockefeller Institute of Government examines the historical divergence of the K-12 and higher education sectors in the United States and outlines five steps for better aligning the two. The paper, “Convergence of K-12 and Higher Education: Policies and Programs in a Changing Era,” tracks the political, economic, demographic, and technological forces transforming the country’s education systems 50 years after the passage of ESEA and HEA. Drawing on their recently published essay collection of the same name, Patrick McGuinn and Christopher Loss propose five steps for aligning K-12 and higher education:

• Combine federal legislation, funding streams and governance structures for ESEA and HEA.
• Merge State K-12 and Higher Ed Policies and Agencies.
• Encourage K-16 Bridge Building
• Incorporate K-12 and Higher Ed Engagement in Accreditation Reviews.
• Reconceptualize Educational Scholarship

Click here to read the policy brief.

BUILDING A CULTURE OF HEALTH ON CAMPUS AND IN COMMUNITIES

In 2017, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) commissioned Sarena Seifer, M.D., to identify promising, win-win approaches that higher education institutions can undertake to build a Culture of Health, both on and off campus—while also benefitting institutions from both mission and business standpoints. The research pointed to four focus areas where colleges and universities can continue to foster a Culture of Health. Though they differ in scope, each area can have impact.

1. Creating a healthy campus: this includes efforts to build a culture within an academic institution where students learn to understand and improve their community’s many influences on health.
2. Fostering an engaged campus that integrates community engagement into the institution’s core missions of teaching, research and service.
3. Launching a grand challenge that motivates the institution to align its academic activities and business operations in a sustained effort to understand, address, and solve a major local or global issue.
4. Embracing the role as an anchor institution as a catalyst to attract and retain residents, create jobs, and support economic growth. Colleges and universities can leverage billions of dollars to benefit surrounding communities by focusing on strategic community wealth building and economic equity.

There is growing interest among colleges and universities in strategic, “whole campus” and collective impact approaches, recognizing that they are one of many actors in a community and are collaborating with community-based organizations, local government, and other anchor institutions to get things done.

The full report describes dozens of initiatives from higher education across the country that are proving to be successful in their approaches and can serve as models for others.

 

NASH WELCOMES A NEW SYSTEM

A new NASH system was recently formed when New Mexico State University (NMSU) decided to divide the system head and NMSU leadership responsibilities into two positions.  The Board of Regents described this division of responsibilities among two leadership positions as an opportunity to take the university to the next level and create a unique atmosphere for success.  On May 11, New Mexico State University’s Board of Regents selected Dr. Dan Arvizu as the system’s Chancellor. NMSU has 5 campuses and 12 research & science centers.

Dr. Arvizu’s priorities for the system include finding investments in the K-16 ecosystem, modernizing critical infrastructure, including energy, water, food and IT as well as creating healthy borders, addressing all aspects of socioeconomic and cultural issues as well as international trade and economic development, technology, investment and policy, especially at the US/Mexico border.

We are very excited to welcome New Mexico State University System to NASH.

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

New System Heads

Mr. John Arnold, Interim Managing Director, Arizona Board of Regents
Dr. Dan Arvizu, Chancellor, New Mexico State University System
Dr. Paul Beran, Executive Director, South Dakota Board of Regents
Dr. Kevin Dorsey, Interim President, Southern Illinois University
Dr. Daniel Greenstein, Chancellor, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Ms. Carolyn Long, Interim Chancellor, West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Dr. James Milliken, Chancellor, The University of Texas System
Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Interim Chancellor, Texas Tech University System
Dr. Vita Rabinowitz, Interim Chancellor, City University of New York
Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr., Commissioner of Higher Education, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning
Mr. Finis (Fess) St. John IV, Interim Chancellor, University of Alabama System

 

UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Type	Topic	Date	Location	Meeting
Student Success	Concurrent enrollment and dual credit	October 5-6	Denver, CO
System Heads	NASH Board and Annual System Heads Meeting	November 11	New Orleans	APLU
Leadership	NASH Leadership Academy – Part 1	January 16-17	Washington, DC	NASH
CAO	NASH CAO Network Meeting	February 7	Amelia Island, FL	AASCU
HIPs	High Impact Practices in States	Feb 20-22	WKU
Leadership	AGB Institute for Board Leaders and Chief Executives of Public Universities and Systems	April 12 – 14	Orlando	AGB
System Heads	NASH Board & System Heads Meeting	April 14	Orlando, FL	AGB
Leadership	NASH Leadership Academy – Part 2	April 23	Baltimore, MD	NASH
TS3	TS3 Network Meeting	April 23 – 24	Baltimore, MD	NASH

 

SYSTEM ROUNDUP

• New college access program begins in Montana
• General education quality assurance focus of AZ board strategic discussions
• NMSU Chancellor issues challenge for universities to find investments for K-16 ecosystem
• CSU and California Community Colleges Partner on a Tool to Find Transferable Online Courses
• University of California: Cracking the code on first-gen college student success
• University of Illinois makes massive free-tuition ‘commitment’
• Diversity and Inclusion at Louisiana Universities
• University of Maine System investing $3 million in early college scholarships, initiatives
• New Report Lauds USM’s Expansion of Cybersecurity Degree Programs; Calls for More Work-Based Learning Opportunities
• University of Wisconsin System Transformation
• WV Higher Ed Policy Commission’s Long wants to strengthen relationship with K-12
• DiPietro Vows UT Will Continue Self-Limiting Tuition Increases
• Tennessee Board Of Regents Creates Two Divisions Focused On Student Success
• New SD Board of Regents CEO: Efficiency is key to bringing back affordable tuition
• Pennsylvania to revolutionize preparation of STEM teachers for high-need communities across state
• STUDENT SUCCESS AT APPALACHIAN — EARLY INTERVENTION IS KEY
• Furthering the Open Education Initiative in New Hampshire
• Complete 2 Compete program graduates 108 in first year at MSU