Podcasts about Community College Research Center

In this episode, Jeff and Michael dive into the complex world of dual enrollment, examining its rapid growth, potential benefits, and emerging challenges. They speak with John Fink, a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center, to understand the various dual enrollment arrangements, the students they serve, and the outcomes they achieve. The conversation also explores the financial incentives for districts and colleges, the concerns around course quality and rigor, and the implications for high school and college experiences. This episode is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ascendium Education Group.Key Moments(0:00) - Intro(4:02) - Dual enrollment programs and their benefits(12:48) - Dual enrollment sustainability and transferability of credits(16:51) - Dual enrollment programs and their effectiveness in higher education(21:44) - Improving dual enrollment programs for underrepresented students(27:34) - Dual enrollment courses and their impact on college readiness(33:21) - Dual enrollment courses' rigor and value(37:50) - Dual enrollment courses and their impact on higher education Season 8 Planning Surveyhttps://bit.ly/3Xtcfd0Connect with Michael Horn:Sign Up for the The Future of Education NewsletterWebsiteLinkedInX (Twitter)ThreadsConnect with Jeff Selingo:Sign Up for the Next NewsletterWebsiteX (Twitter)ThreadsLinkedInConnect with Future U:TwitterYouTubeThreadsInstagramFacebookLinkedInSubmit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag!Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

Community college students make up 40 percent of enrollment in U.S. higher education, and 80 percent of those students want to go on to earn a bachelor's degree. However, only around 16 percent of those students will be successful in transferring and completing a four-year degree within six years after transferring. Transfer students often lose credits when continuing to their bachelor's degree, slowing their progress toward graduation and increasing the costs associated with higher education. Transfer advocates recognize the need for state and institutional interventions (both at the two- and four-year level) to improve processes and promote degree attainment. In this episode, researchers from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, Aurely Garcia Tulloch and Tatiana Velasco Rodriguez, discuss CCRC's current projects to improve transfer across the country. Later, hear from Pamela Johnston, dean of career and academic planning at Tallahassee State College, about how the institution has revised its advising process to make registration, transfer planning and working with an adviser more seamless for students. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. Read a transcript of the podcast here.

Developmental education, also known as remedial education, refers to courses that some entering college students will have to take if they are deemed unprepared for college-level courses. However, studies have shown that developmental education can actually hinder students' progress in college. Additionally, students of color, adults, first-generation students, and those from low-income backgrounds are disproportionately placed in developmental education programs, so there's a lot of interest among policymakers, college practitioners, and researchers in reforming developmental education programs to address these challenges and support more equitable outcomes for students. As part of MDRC's 50th anniversary celebration, this episode of Evidence First features MDRC's longtime partner the Community College Research Center, or CCRC. In 2014, MDRC and CCRC launched the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness, or CAPR, to research the effectiveness of developmental education reforms and to understand their implications for equity. In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Nikki Edgecombe, a senior research scholar at CCRC who leads CAPR, and Michael Weiss, a senior fellow in postsecondary education at MDRC, about what has been learned about promoting equity in developmental education reform.

The “guided pathways” model as not just a student success initiative, but a way to redesign how a college operates. This week's episode of The Key podcast explores the “guided pathways” model, which hundreds of community colleges have embraced to give students a clearer path to reaching their educational goals. Davis Jenkins, a senior research scholar at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, and Hana Lahr, a senior research associate and director of applied learning there, join The Key to discuss their recent papers evaluating how guided pathways has spread, what iterations of the model work best, and what it takes to bring about this kind of sweeping, “whole college” change at institutions that can be both tradition-bound and financially strapped. The Key is hosted by Inside Higher Ed Co-founder and Editor Doug Lederman. This episode is sponsored by Coursedog.

We discussed a number of things including:1. Jonathan's and Michelle's education career journeys2. How the pandemic has disrupted education sector3. The role credentials play - past, present and future4. Credly: challenges and opportunities; vision5. Future trends and forecastsJonathan is founder and CEO of Credly, a leading digital credential service provider which enables organizations to recognize, reward and market skills, competencies and certifications.  Previously, as founder of LearningTimes, Jonathan helped mission-driven organizations produce and launch innovative online programs, products and platforms that impacted the lives of millions of learners. Previously, Jonathan was a co-founder and led product strategy at HorizonLive (acquired by Blackboard).  He is author of Learning in Real Time (Wiley), co-author of a report for the US Department of Education on the potential for digital badges, and a frequent speaker on digital credentials and the future of learning and workforce development. The son of New York City public school teachers, Jonathan graduated with honors from Harvard University.-----Michelle is the Director of the Education and Employment Research Center at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She has over 20 years of experience conducting research on education and the workforce focused on credentials, community colleges, and connections between higher education and the labor market.  She is currently leading studies on technician education and economic development, quality in community college noncredit education non-degree credentials, student decision making about programs and careers, higher education labor market alignment, and effective practices in workforce education.  Before joining EERC, Michelle conducted at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Mathematica Policy Research. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology and education from Columbia University, a M.S. in public policy from Rutgers, and a B.A. in psychology and Spanish from Rutgers. 

Community college enrollment has dropped nationally, leading many local institutions to rethink how they retain their students. Today, we talk to local leaders in Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. How are they working to attract and retain students? Dr. Duncan Harris joins us, he's Capital Community College, Chief Executive Officer. We find out how Capital Community College has changed their offerings to better serve the Hartford community. If you're attending a community college in our state, we want to hear from you! GUESTS: Lee Gardner - Senior Writer at Chronicle of Higher Education Dr. G. Duncan Harris - Chief Executive Officer at Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut Hana Lahr - Senior Research Associate and Program Lead at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College Columbia University Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We welcome YOU back to America's leading higher education podcast, The EdUp Experience! In this episode, President Series #104, YOUR guest is Dr. Thomas Bailey, President at Teachers College, Columbia University, YOUR host is Dr. Joe Sallustio, & YOUR sponsor is MDT Marketing! Joe spoke with Dr. Bailey at the end of August, as Teachers College (TC) prepared to welcome students back to campus for the first time since March 2020. As president of the nation's first and largest graduate school of education, Dr. Bailey shares valuable perspectives on a range of topics, including: the challenges and opportunities of leading during the pandemic; how his prior experience leading TC's Community College Research Center has informed his leadership of TC; creating pathways to academic and career success for all students; the teaching profession; the role of education technology in the future of learning, and more. A must-listen! Dr. Thomas R. Bailey is the 11th President of Teachers College, Columbia University and the George & Abby O'Neill Professor of Economics & Education. A 30-year faculty member, he is the founding director of the TC's Community College Research Center and Director of the Institute on Education and the Economy. Dr. Bailey also has directed three National Centers funded by the Institute of Education Sciences: The Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment and Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness. From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Bailey directed the IES-funded National Center for Postsecondary Research. Dr. Bailey received his undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in labor economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Another awesome episode with YOUR sponsor MDT Marketing! Get YOUR free marketing consultation today! mdtmarketing.com/edup Thank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp! Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - Elvin Freytes & Dr. Joe Sallustio ● If YOU want to get involved, leave us YOUR EdUp review on YOUR preferred listening platform or at The EdUp Experience! ● Join YOUR EdUp community at The EdUp Experience! ● YOU can follow us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube Thank YOU for listening! We make education YOUR business!

We’re one semester into the 2020-2021 academic year. This hour, how are faculty at our Connecticut colleges and universities holding up?  Coming up, we'll talk about faculty burnout, the impending end of tenure, and what universities will invest in, in the future.  And later, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is in the process of merging all 12 of our state community colleges. We learn about what this means for students and faculty. Are you teaching or attending college here in Connecticut? We want to hear from you! What do you miss about being in the classroom? GUESTS: Colleen Flaherty - Faculty Reporter at Inside Higher Ed Maureen Chalmers - President of the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, Northwestern Connecticut Community College  Patty O’Neill - President, Connecticut State University American Association of University Professors  Tom Brock - Director of Community College Research Center at Teachers College Columbia University Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re one semester into the 2020-2021 academic year. This hour, how are faculty at our Connecticut colleges and universities holding up?  Coming up, we'll talk about faculty burnout, the impending end of tenure, and what universities will invest in, in the future.  And later, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is in the process of merging all 12 of our state community colleges. We learn about what this means for students and faculty. Are you teaching or attending college here in Connecticut? We want to hear from you! What do you miss about being in the classroom? GUESTS: Colleen Flaherty - Faculty Reporter at Inside Higher Ed Maureen Chalmers - President of the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, Northwestern Connecticut Community College  Patty O’Neill - President, Connecticut State University American Association of University Professors  Tom Brock - Director of Community College Research Center at Teachers College Columbia University Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reported by EdSurge, prior to the pandemic, according to the Community College Research Center, nearly 2/3 of entering community college students lacked the math and language skills necessary for college-level placement. And prior developmental education interventions have proven less than effective, with only 28% of community college students who take a developmental education class earning their degree within eight years.

Too many community college students get stuck in multi-semester developmental math sequences and never progress to or complete college-level courses. To meet this challenge, the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin developed the Dana Center Math Pathways (DCMP), which diversifies the math course content that students take so it better aligns with their career interests. The curriculum also encourages student-centered learning in small group formats. Researchers from the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness — a partnership between MDRC and the Community College Research Center — recently published an evaluation of DCMP in Texas. After three semesters, the study found that the DCMP had a positive impact on students’ completion of the developmental math sequence, increasing their likelihood of taking and passing college-level math and the number of math credits earned. Researchers also saw a small impact on early cohorts’ attainment of a certificate.  To learn more about these encouraging results and what they mean for the field, Katie Beal spoke with Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow, a senior associate at MDRC and lead author of the study.

Dr. Vivian Liu, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Columbia University’s Community College Research Center joined the podcast to talk about whether institutions should see our students’ supplemental enrollment at 2-year colleges as a revenue threat or a retention boost?

Reported by Education Dive, a new study from Community College Research Center has found that students who take as many as 10 credits at a two-year institution while enrolled in a 4-year program increase their chances to graduate on time and earn higher wages post-graduation.

Students who are placed into developmental (remedial) courses often fail to complete them, and many colleges and states are therefore interested in reforming developmental education. But what if students are not accurately placed into developmental courses in the first place? What if some of the students placed into developmental courses could have succeeded in college-level courses? Research suggests that standardized tests — the traditional method for placing students — actually does misplace substantial numbers of them. An alternative strategy is to place students using multiple measures of college readiness, including grade point averages, instead of a single test score. Join Katie Beal as she talks to MDRC’s Dan Cullinan and the Community College Research Center’s Elisabeth Barnett about early findings from a Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness study of systems that use multiple measures for placement, and about lessons for colleges interested in implementing these systems.

Teachers College, the first and largest graduate school of education in the U.S., serves students in the interrelated fields of education, health, and psychology. It does so through a number of degree programs, centers, labs, and institutes spread out across a large, city-block campus in New York City. Its partnerships have national and global reach. MASCLab sat down with TC’s Tom Bailey just ahead of his inauguration as the school’s 11th President. We wanted to hear his thoughts on taking the helm of our longstanding institution at this time in our nation’s history. We spoke with President Bailey about—among other things—his vision for the college, the state of higher education, and his love of Chopin. More about MASCLab: https://masclab.org/ More about inauguration events: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/inauguration/ More about the Community College Research Center: https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/

Today, we're in San Antonio, at the Texas Pathways Institute, organized by the Texas Success Center. We've had a chance the past couple of days to visit with people at community colleges working on developing guided pathways at their institutions, and we sat down with Davis Jenkins, a senior researcher with the Community College Research Center, at Columbia University Teachers College. Resources mentioned on today’s episode: Austerity Blues: Fighting for the Soul of Public Higher Education, Fabricant, Brier On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, McNeil, McCain Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Google Play or the RSS Feed

Today’s episode focuses on a higher education issue that we have talked about before at USACollegeChat, though not recently--that is, the pros and cons of attending a community college, which is a marvelous institution in theory, but a somewhat more disappointing institution in reality. At least, that has been our position in the past. When I read a recent article about where community colleges find themselves these days, I thought we might look at them one more time. If you are the parent of a senior, we will offer some recent facts that might affect your decision to send your own teenager to a community college next fall. If you are the parent of a junior, these same facts might affect your wanting to use a community college as your teenager’s safety school option or as your teenager’s only option during the application process next year. 1. The Funding Picture The article I read was written by Jeffrey R. Young and disseminated online by EdSurge. EdSurge is an organization that, in its own words, “report[s] on [the] latest news and trends in the edtech industry to help . . . entrepreneurs who build new products and businesses; educators who use these tools; [and] investors and others who support companies and schools” (quoted from the EdSurge website). So, here is some background for our discussion, thanks to Mr. Young and EdSurge: Nationwide, enrollments in community colleges have been declining for several years, in part because the job market as a whole has been improving, so fewer people have felt the need to . . . [head] back to school. And even as some states and cities propose efforts to make two-year colleges free to students, the broader trend is that many state governments have scaled back public support for community colleges in recent years. In Arizona, for instance, the state funding for two major community college districts [Maricopa Community College District and Pima Community College District] is down to zero. “Like all public higher education support, the funding is going down,” says Sandy Baum, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. “It’s worse in some ways at community colleges,” she adds, because the total amount that community colleges spend per student has been decreasing, according to The College Board’s Trends in College Pricing. “They just don’t have the money to serve students the way they did,” she adds. “That’s a reason to be very concerned.” (quoted from the article) Yes, that is a reason to be concerned--for sure, if you live in the Phoenix-Tempe-Tucson area, where funding is “down to zero,” and presumably if you live in other community college districts in similar financial trouble. We have read plenty in the news over the past year about public four-year universities that are living in a world of declining state funding and, often, that are raising tuition to make up for that loss, much to the anger of the state residents. But, if you thought that public community colleges could be your fallback position, perhaps it is time for you to think again. Because what happens when state and local governments cut back on their funding of their community colleges? Clearly, the community colleges are going to have to raise their tuition--which, to be fair, is typically very low--or they are going to have to reduce educational and support services to their students. Unfortunately, there’s no free lunch, even at community colleges. For some students, whose only viable option is their local community college, either choice that a community college is forced to make will be a serious blow. 2. The Pros of Community Colleges: A Review Let’s review quickly some of the pros and cons about community colleges, also referred to as two-year colleges. Here’s a list of reasons to put two-year colleges on your teenager’s list of colleges to apply to (these reasons are conveniently taken from our first book, How To Find the Right College: A Workbook for Parents of High School Students): Two-year colleges offer associate’s degrees, which can be enough for some careers, including high-paying technical careers. Later, if the student wants to do so, the credits earned for an associate’s degree can be transferred to four-year colleges and applied toward credits needed for a four-year bachelor’s degree.   (In fact, some two-year colleges in some states are now authorized to offer bachelor’s degrees, especially in technical fields where workers in the labor force are in short supply. Students pursuing those bachelor’s degrees would need to stay at the two-year college longer, of course.) Two-year colleges offer students who have struggled in high school a chance to improve their academic record and gain the fundamental skills and study habits they will need to succeed in more advanced college study. After doing well at a two-year college, such students can get into a better four-year college than they could have gotten into right out of high school. Two-year colleges can be a good choice if a student is undecided about an academic field of study in college and/or about a future career. Trying out different academic majors and different programs leading to different career paths is cheaper and likely easier to do at a two-year college than at a four-year college. Two-year colleges offer their students core liberal arts courses (which can often be transferred to four-year colleges later) and/or technical training in many different fields at a very low price. Putting two-year colleges on your teenager’s list of college options is a reasonable decision if paying for college—either right away for a two-year degree or eventually for a four-year degree—is a critical concern for your family. Let’s underline that last point, which, I think, is the primary point for the kids who head to a community college right out of high school. The fact that it is so much cheaper than any four-year option is sometimes irresistible. We know that students can get financial aid of all kinds from four-year colleges, which could make their time there essentially free, but none of those deals is a sure thing. Paying the very low tuition at a community college, especially with whatever financial aid is available, is a sure thing. Let’s also acknowledge that we understand that there might be family reasons to keep a child close to home and within commuting distance and that a community college might fit those circumstances very nicely. Sometimes it is hard to argue against family reasons like that. 3. The Cons of Community Colleges: A Review So, what’s the downside of going to a community college? As we have said before at USACollegeChat, the choice of a community college for students coming right out of high school is quite different from that same choice being made by adults returning to college or starting college for the first time. But, we are focused here on students coming right out of high school, just like your own teenager. Here is what Mr. Young’s article says about one very important college statistic: … [T]he truth is that community colleges don’t always pay off for students. Completion rates are notoriously low--only about 38 percent of students who started at a community college in 2009 completed a two- or four-year degree within six years. And students who take out even small loans to attend can end up with crippling debt if they end up with no degree to show for their efforts. As [Sandy Baum, senior fellow at the Urban Institute] puts it: “You really can’t pay back anything if you’re working at the minimum wage.” (quoted from the article) That is a sobering statistic: Not even half of community college students complete any college degree in six years--not even a two-year associate’s degree. Admittedly, that statistic includes all kinds of students who attend community colleges--from bright kids right out of high school who need to save money to returning adults who have been out of school for a decade to kids who struggled in high school and couldn’t get into a more selective college. Nonetheless, we quoted evidence many episodes back that said that students are more likely to graduate if they go to a more selective college, for many reasons. You have to put that in the scale as you weigh college options for your teenager. In addition to that seriously low completion rate, the transfer rate of students from community colleges to four-year colleges to earn bachelor’s degrees is also shockingly low, as we reported back in Episode 64, based on an article in The Hechinger Report. Here is that statistic, which was taken from a report from Teachers College, Columbia University: . . . 80 percent of entering community college students say they intend to earn a bachelor’s degree, but only about a quarter actually make the transfer and 17 percent eventually get the degree. (quoted from the article) So, as parents, you need to think hard about whether your teenager is different from the typical community college student--smarter, harder working, more motivated, more goal oriented, or something. Because, otherwise, the statistics are telling you that he or she is likely not to graduate with even an associate’s degree and is likely not to transfer to that more expensive four-year college you say you are saving up your money for. We all think our own kids are different and, maybe, better. But how much are you willing to gamble on that? 4. What Is the Answer? Mr. Young’s article also noted that community colleges are trying out a few ideas in the hope of improving those statistics, and that’s a good thing. Let’s look at two of them. The first idea is something that community colleges are calling “guided pathways,” and the idea really couldn’t be simpler. Here it is: The metaphor for the traditional community college is a “cafeteria” of course offerings, says Melinda Karp, assistant director of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “We’ve since realized that too much choice is actually overwhelming,” she adds, “and too many students are unable to put together a program of study that gets them where they want to go.” John Hamman, a dean at Montgomery College, agrees. “What we need to do is help and talk to students about, what do you want to do?” Many community college students who struggle with subjects like mathematics, for instance, might prefer a different track that requires less math—but may not know the option exists. . . . And we don’t do a good enough job helping students [take] those smart pathways.” (quoted from the article) Well, this problem exists at all levels of schooling and can be solved, at least partly, by intelligent and experienced advisors. Certainly, we had to serve in that capacity at the high school we co-founded in NYC. It was clear that we had to be vigilant to make sure that students were taking what they needed to take in order to graduate--and, in our case, to graduate early in three years. But, it is also true that four-year college advisors need to pay attention to course selection and graduation counseling--especially, as we just said in our last episode (Episode 112), if students are trying to do four years of college in three years. In this case of community colleges, given their low graduation rate, they absolutely need “guided pathways” to make sure that students get onto a track as soon as possible and stay on track to finish the courses needed to earn a degree. If you are looking at a community college for your teenager, it would be wise to check out whether it has these pathways spelled out and this kind of academic advising available. The second idea aimed at improving community college statistics is making online coursework more available. Here is what the article said: Community colleges are . . . starting to do more to offer online courses, says Rufus Glasper, president of the League for Innovation in the Community College. But they are more likely to offer blended programs and require at least some in-person attendance, rather than set up all-online programs, he adds. “Community colleges need to do more with online so that we can have lower price-point options for our students as well,” he says. That can be especially tough for two-year colleges, though, since they often don’t have the resources to invest in new online infrastructure that it takes to start fully online programs. (quoted from the article) On the other hand, I am wondering whether the fact that community colleges often offer blended courses instead of fully online courses is actually a plus. Quite recently, in Episode 107, we discussed the pros and cons of online courses for various groups of students. We remained concerned at the end of that episode about the ability of most freshmen to take important introductory or foundational courses online (like Calculus I or Composition 101 or Introduction to Sociology or Spanish I or Biology 101) and get everything out of them that they would get if they were in a classroom with a professor two or three times a week. Offering courses fully online to save the student money may backfire if the student cannot complete the course with a satisfactory grade or with a satisfactory amount of knowledge. We are going to remain concerned that fully online courses might not, in the long run, improve a community college’s graduation rate or successful transfer rate. 5. Where Does That Leave Us? Toward the end of Mr. Young’s article, he again quotes Ms. Karp, of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College: “This is their moment because [community colleges] are the access and equity engines of higher education,” argues Karp. . . . “In this age when we’re talking about how do we open up access to higher education but also make sure our labor force is prepared for . . . jobs of the future, they’re in an ideal position.” (quoted from the article) Community colleges might indeed be in an ideal position in theory, but they are going to have to improve their results in practice. Those results are what continue to worry us as seniors choose their first step into higher education. Let me simply repeat what I said a few minutes ago: Unless you think your teenager is smarter, harder working, more motivated, and more goal oriented than the typical community college student, your teenager is likely to have some difficulty graduating from a community college and/or transferring to a four-year college. So, talk with your teenager and think hard about your choice. Ask your questions or share your feedback by... Leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode at http://usacollegechat.org/episode113 Calling us at (516) 900-6922 to record a question on our USACollegeChat voicemail if you want us to answer your question live on our podcast Connect with us through... Subscribing to our podcast on Google Play Music, iTunes, Stitcher, or TuneIn Liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter Reviewing parent materials we have available at www.policystudies.org Inquiring about our consulting services if you need individualized help Reading Regina's blog, Parent Chat with Regina  

You may have heard that if you want to apply for scholarships to help pay for college, the key is to start early. But if you procrastinated, you're in luck, because in this week's show we're going to share information about scholarships with February and March deadlines. For those who are investigating community college as an entry point to a four year institution, we'll be speaking with John Fink, research associate at the Columbia University's Community College Research Center.

You may have heard that if you want to apply for scholarships to help pay for college, the key is to start early. But if you procrastinated, you're in luck, because in this week's show we're going to share information about scholarships with February and March deadlines. For those who are investigating community college as an entry point to a four year institution, we'll be speaking with John Fink, research associate at the Columbia University's Community College Research Center.

Introducing the “Catalytic Conversations” podcast hosted by Mark Milliron. Listen to the first episode on the topic of pathways with guest Davis Jenkins from the Community College Research Center.

Rebecca S. Natow, Senior Research Associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, joins New Books Network to discuss her recently published book, entitled Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). In the book, she explores what happens after higher education legislation becomes law, specifically focusing on implementation of programs and rules in the sector. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from the US Department of Education, congressional staffers, representatives from higher educational institutions, both student and consumer representatives, mediation experts, state government officials, and representatives from the lending industry. Professor Natow previously joined New Books Network to discuss The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations. For any questions, comments, or recommendations for the New Books in Education podcast, you can connect with the host, Ryan M. Allen, at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca S. Natow, Senior Research Associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, joins New Books Network to discuss her recently published book, entitled Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). In the book, she explores what happens after higher education legislation becomes law, specifically focusing on implementation of programs and rules in the sector. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from the US Department of Education, congressional staffers, representatives from higher educational institutions, both student and consumer representatives, mediation experts, state government officials, and representatives from the lending industry. Professor Natow previously joined New Books Network to discuss The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations. For any questions, comments, or recommendations for the New Books in Education podcast, you can connect with the host, Ryan M. Allen, at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca S. Natow, Senior Research Associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, joins New Books Network to discuss her recently published book, entitled Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). In the book, she explores what happens after higher education legislation becomes law, specifically focusing on implementation of programs and rules in the sector. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from the US Department of Education, congressional staffers, representatives from higher educational institutions, both student and consumer representatives, mediation experts, state government officials, and representatives from the lending industry. Professor Natow previously joined New Books Network to discuss The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations. For any questions, comments, or recommendations for the New Books in Education podcast, you can connect with the host, Ryan M. Allen, at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca S. Natow, Senior Research Associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, joins New Books Network to discuss her recently published book, entitled Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). In the book, she explores what happens after higher education legislation becomes law, specifically focusing on implementation of programs and rules in the sector. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from the US Department of Education, congressional staffers, representatives from higher educational institutions, both student and consumer representatives, mediation experts, state government officials, and representatives from the lending industry. Professor Natow previously joined New Books Network to discuss The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations. For any questions, comments, or recommendations for the New Books in Education podcast, you can connect with the host, Ryan M. Allen, at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca S. Natow, Senior Research Associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, joins New Books Network to discuss her recently published book, entitled Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). In the book, she explores what happens after higher education legislation becomes law, specifically focusing on implementation of programs and rules in the sector. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from the US Department of Education, congressional staffers, representatives from higher educational institutions, both student and consumer representatives, mediation experts, state government officials, and representatives from the lending industry. Professor Natow previously joined New Books Network to discuss The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations. For any questions, comments, or recommendations for the New Books in Education podcast, you can connect with the host, Ryan M. Allen, at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca S. Natow, Senior Research Associate with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, joins New Books Network to discuss her recently published book, entitled Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). In the book, she explores what happens after higher education legislation becomes law, specifically focusing on implementation of programs and rules in the sector. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals from the US Department of Education, congressional staffers, representatives from higher educational institutions, both student and consumer representatives, mediation experts, state government officials, and representatives from the lending industry. Professor Natow previously joined New Books Network to discuss The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations. For any questions, comments, or recommendations for the New Books in Education podcast, you can connect with the host, Ryan M. Allen, at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much has been written lately about the amount of debt incurred by students pursuing bachelor's degrees at four year institutions. But what about community college? We'll welcome Jessica Braithwaite, a postdoctoral research associate at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, to the show to discuss whether or not this is a viable option for many students. We'll also take a closer look at the role Greek life, i.e., fraternities and sororities, can play on campus and discuss the things you need to consider when using funds from a 529 plan to pay for college.

Much has been written lately about the amount of debt incurred by students pursuing bachelor's degrees at four year institutions. But what about community college? We'll welcome Jessica Braithwaite, a postdoctoral research associate at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College, to the show to discuss whether or not this is a viable option for many students. We'll also take a closer look at the role Greek life, i.e., fraternities and sororities, can play on campus and discuss the things you need to consider when using funds from a 529 plan to pay for college.

Funding for higher education in the U.S. is an increasingly divisive issue. Some states have turned to policies that tie institutional performance to funding appropriations so to have great accountability on public expenditure. In exploring the origins and implementation for these kinds of policies, Kevin Dougherty and Rebecca Natow recently published a new in-depth book on this topic, entitled The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015). In the book, the authors have explored the origins of this policy, its effects on the landscape of American higher education, and its future. This publication weaves extensive policymaker, educator, and administer interviews to form a thorough picture of the nature and debates of these policies– from policy entrepreneurs to advocacy coalitions. They even explore comparisons to performance funding policies abroad. Dougherty, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University, and Natow, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Community College Research Center, both join New Books in Education for the interview. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can also find the host on Twitter at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Funding for higher education in the U.S. is an increasingly divisive issue. Some states have turned to policies that tie institutional performance to funding appropriations so to have great accountability on public expenditure. In exploring the origins and implementation for these kinds of policies, Kevin Dougherty and Rebecca Natow recently published a new in-depth book on this topic, entitled The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015). In the book, the authors have explored the origins of this policy, its effects on the landscape of American higher education, and its future. This publication weaves extensive policymaker, educator, and administer interviews to form a thorough picture of the nature and debates of these policies– from policy entrepreneurs to advocacy coalitions. They even explore comparisons to performance funding policies abroad. Dougherty, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University, and Natow, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Community College Research Center, both join New Books in Education for the interview. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can also find the host on Twitter at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Funding for higher education in the U.S. is an increasingly divisive issue. Some states have turned to policies that tie institutional performance to funding appropriations so to have great accountability on public expenditure. In exploring the origins and implementation for these kinds of policies, Kevin Dougherty and Rebecca Natow recently published a new in-depth book on this topic, entitled The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015). In the book, the authors have explored the origins of this policy, its effects on the landscape of American higher education, and its future. This publication weaves extensive policymaker, educator, and administer interviews to form a thorough picture of the nature and debates of these policies– from policy entrepreneurs to advocacy coalitions. They even explore comparisons to performance funding policies abroad. Dougherty, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University, and Natow, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Community College Research Center, both join New Books in Education for the interview. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can also find the host on Twitter at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Funding for higher education in the U.S. is an increasingly divisive issue. Some states have turned to policies that tie institutional performance to funding appropriations so to have great accountability on public expenditure. In exploring the origins and implementation for these kinds of policies, Kevin Dougherty and Rebecca Natow recently published a new in-depth book on this topic, entitled The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015). In the book, the authors have explored the origins of this policy, its effects on the landscape of American higher education, and its future. This publication weaves extensive policymaker, educator, and administer interviews to form a thorough picture of the nature and debates of these policies– from policy entrepreneurs to advocacy coalitions. They even explore comparisons to performance funding policies abroad. Dougherty, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University, and Natow, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Community College Research Center, both join New Books in Education for the interview. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can also find the host on Twitter at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Funding for higher education in the U.S. is an increasingly divisive issue. Some states have turned to policies that tie institutional performance to funding appropriations so to have great accountability on public expenditure. In exploring the origins and implementation for these kinds of policies, Kevin Dougherty and Rebecca Natow recently published a new in-depth book on this topic, entitled The Politics of Performance Funding for Higher Education: Origins, Discontinuations, and Transformations (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015). In the book, the authors have explored the origins of this policy, its effects on the landscape of American higher education, and its future. This publication weaves extensive policymaker, educator, and administer interviews to form a thorough picture of the nature and debates of these policies– from policy entrepreneurs to advocacy coalitions. They even explore comparisons to performance funding policies abroad. Dougherty, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University, and Natow, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Community College Research Center, both join New Books in Education for the interview. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can also find the host on Twitter at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SITE: http://www.courtneyanderson.com/swca-episode-137-myth-warriors-series-taking-college-courses-online-is-easy.html SHOW NOTES: In the MYTH WARRIORS™ series we are targeting ideas to begin to assess whether they are credible or not. The topic for this episode is, “Taking college courses online is easy!” This is a myth. If you already have completed one or more college degrees, it is a myth yet you have a higher probability of success with this modality of college classes (as college classes are not easy whether online or on campus). Is it “true” that many people are taking online college courses? Yes. “According to Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, for example, about seven million students — about a third of all those enrolled in college — are enrolled in what the center describes as traditional online courses.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/opinion/the-trouble-with-online-college.html?_r=0) If everyone is doing it (i.e., it is popular), it must be easy, right? Wrong. “Students preferred direct instruction if they expected a course to be difficult, singling out math and science [...]. They also preferred a face-to-face setting when studying subjects they considered interesting or important, especially if the class was in their major. Many of the students said they learned more when the instructor is present.” (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/25/local/la-me-ln-study-online-20130425) “[C]ourses delivered solely online may be fine for highly skilled, highly motivated people, but they are inappropriate for struggling students who make up a significant portion of college enrollment and who need close contact with instructors to succeed.[…]” (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/opinion/the-trouble-with-online-college.html?_r=0)  

Kevin Dougherty and Vikash Reddy are the authors of Performance Funding for Higher Education: What Are the Mechanisms What Are the Impacts (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Dr. Dougherty is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University and Mr. Reddy is a Senior Research Assistant at the Community College Research Center. In their book, the authors explore past research on performance funding in higher education, a practice where state governments tie university or college budget allocation to certain indictors–like graduation rates, remedial education, or drop out rates. This kind of funding has been around since the late 70s, but has not really taken off in the national discussion, even as around 25 states have some kind of performance funding for their higher education system. Dougherty and Reddy chronicle an expansive of past research on performance funding, dating back to 1979. The book provides a sprawling landscape, yet a concise explanation, of the discourse in the higher education sector for this type of budgetary reform policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Dougherty and Vikash Reddy are the authors of Performance Funding for Higher Education: What Are the Mechanisms What Are the Impacts (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Dr. Dougherty is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University and Mr. Reddy is a Senior Research Assistant at the Community College Research Center. In their book, the authors explore past research on performance funding in higher education, a practice where state governments tie university or college budget allocation to certain indictors–like graduation rates, remedial education, or drop out rates. This kind of funding has been around since the late 70s, but has not really taken off in the national discussion, even as around 25 states have some kind of performance funding for their higher education system. Dougherty and Reddy chronicle an expansive of past research on performance funding, dating back to 1979. The book provides a sprawling landscape, yet a concise explanation, of the discourse in the higher education sector for this type of budgetary reform policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Dougherty and Vikash Reddy are the authors of Performance Funding for Higher Education: What Are the Mechanisms What Are the Impacts (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Dr. Dougherty is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University and Mr. Reddy is a Senior Research Assistant at the Community College Research Center. In their book, the authors explore past research on performance funding in higher education, a practice where state governments tie university or college budget allocation to certain indictors–like graduation rates, remedial education, or drop out rates. This kind of funding has been around since the late 70s, but has not really taken off in the national discussion, even as around 25 states have some kind of performance funding for their higher education system. Dougherty and Reddy chronicle an expansive of past research on performance funding, dating back to 1979. The book provides a sprawling landscape, yet a concise explanation, of the discourse in the higher education sector for this type of budgetary reform policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Dougherty and Vikash Reddy are the authors of Performance Funding for Higher Education: What Are the Mechanisms What Are the Impacts (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Dr. Dougherty is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University and Mr. Reddy is a Senior Research Assistant at the Community College Research Center. In their book, the authors explore past research on performance funding in higher education, a practice where state governments tie university or college budget allocation to certain indictors–like graduation rates, remedial education, or drop out rates. This kind of funding has been around since the late 70s, but has not really taken off in the national discussion, even as around 25 states have some kind of performance funding for their higher education system. Dougherty and Reddy chronicle an expansive of past research on performance funding, dating back to 1979. The book provides a sprawling landscape, yet a concise explanation, of the discourse in the higher education sector for this type of budgetary reform policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Dougherty and Vikash Reddy are the authors of Performance Funding for Higher Education: What Are the Mechanisms What Are the Impacts (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Dr. Dougherty is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Education Policy at Teachers College-Columbia University and Mr. Reddy is a Senior Research Assistant at the Community College Research Center. In their book, the authors explore past research on performance funding in higher education, a practice where state governments tie university or college budget allocation to certain indictors–like graduation rates, remedial education, or drop out rates. This kind of funding has been around since the late 70s, but has not really taken off in the national discussion, even as around 25 states have some kind of performance funding for their higher education system. Dougherty and Reddy chronicle an expansive of past research on performance funding, dating back to 1979. The book provides a sprawling landscape, yet a concise explanation, of the discourse in the higher education sector for this type of budgetary reform policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Wessel is economics editor of The Wall Street Journal and writes the "Capital” column, a weekly look at the economy and forces shaping living standards around the world. He also appears frequently on National Public Radio and WETA’s Washington Week. His book, In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic, was selected by strategy+business magazine as one of the Best Business Books of 2009. This book was one of 6 finalists for the Financial Times Business Book of the year 2009, as well as selected as one of the "100 Notable Books of 2009" by the New York Times. David joined The Wall Street Journal in 1984 in Boston, and moved to Washington in 1987, where he was deputy bureau chief until assuming his current job in September 2007. In 1999 and 2000, he served as the newspaper’s Berlin bureau chief. He previously worked for the Boston Globe, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant and Middletown (Conn.) Press. A 1975 graduate of Haverford College, he was Knight Bagehot Fellow in Business & Economics Journalism at Columbia University in 1980- 81. David has shared two Pulitzer Prizes, one for Boston Globe stories in 1983 on the persistence of racism in Boston and the other for stories in The Wall Street Journal in 2002 on corporate wrong-doing. He is the co-author, with Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Davis, of Prosperity, a 1998 book on the American middle class. He and his wife, Naomi Karp, senior policy advisor at AARP’s Public Policy Institute, have two children, Julia and Ben. David is a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has served as on the board of trustees of Temple Sinai in Washington, the Committee for Economic Development’s Research Advisory Board and the advisory board of the Columbia University’s Community College Research Center.