Graduate Admissions

Why Summer Learning Programs Are Pushing More Fun Than AcademicsThe weather may be warming up, but this year more than ever, “school’s out for summer” won’t be true for thousands of students across the country. After more than a year of teaching under quarantine, school districts have big plans for summer learning. It’s a time to bring kids back together in person, try to address at least some academic stagnation due to COVID-19, and maybe most importantly, have fun. Thanks to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) and its $6.1 billion allocated specifically to address learning loss, district leaders are coming up with programs that far exceed the dull image of traditional summer schooling. We call it a summer of learning and joy. Joy is not a throw-away term. ...

Looking Ahead to 2021 and Beyond: What’s On Your Radar?   This Blog was originally posted on the IngenioUS website located here.  During season one of our podcast, IngenioUs, we ended each episode by asking our guests to tell us what is on their radar as they look to the future. I was inspired and encouraged by what I heard. I was also struck by the 5 common themes that emerged across all of our conversations. In this last blog post of 2020, I want to share these ‘Big 5’ insights with you as you consider what is on your radar in 2021 and beyond. Not surprisingly, the changing environment and its impact on our campuses is front and center. Many of our guests note that the rapid pace of change that we have experienced in recent years is accelerating and this is having a profound effect on ho...

The Virtual RenaissanceWith May 1st having come and gone, I find myself remembering with some amusement my thoughts on March 16, 2020 - the day that the Admission and Financial Aid teams at Babson College packed up and prepared to be virtual until we could “flatten the curve.”Of course, we were concerned about the health and safety of our friends and families, and we were sad that the students would miss the rest of the semester, but we believed that they’d be able to reunite at Commencement in May. While we had no idea what this short break could do to enrollment (how will students deposit without seeing our campus in all of its spring splendor?), we believed we’d make up for it with summer in-person tours and information sessions. And, of course, fall would be completely normal and we wo...

‘The Agile College’ and the Adaptive UniversityThe Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes by Nathan D. Grawe Published in January of 2021. Every conversation about the future of higher education in the United States either starts or ends with demographics. And since 2018, that conversation likely included mention of the economist Nathan Grawe. It was in January of that year when Grawe published Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. The careful data-driven analysis and non-polemical style of that book, written by someone from within higher education (Grawe is a prof at Carleton College), resulted in Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education being perhaps the most influential academic book of the past few years. Now Grawe is back with rap...

The Unintended Consequences of Universal PreschoolOne of the hallmarks of President Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan is its ambitious proposal to create something tantamount to universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. The plan calls for a national partnership with states that, when fully implemented, could put five million children into high-quality programs and save the average American family $13,000 per year. The proposal has a long way to go before becoming a reality. And with the Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, there is a chance the program may not materialize at all. But even the prospect of universal preschool, long embraced by other developed nations, is ginning up a great deal of attention and interest from the public, especially after a hard ...

Court moves beyond the past in favouring EnglishSOUTH AFRICA The South African Constitutional Court’s recent unanimous decision upholding Stellenbosch University’s policy favouring English is important in both substance and tone for its evolving narrative on language, race and historical wrongs.To fully understand what was at stake in the case, one has to go back to Stellenbosch’s beginnings. Achieving university status in 1918, the intent was to offer higher education to Afrikaans-speaking students. As time went on, Stellenbosch became an elite stronghold of Afrikaner tradition and a major force in preserving apartheid separatism.That history still haunts the institution even though, as of 2018, only 58.1% of the students were white and not all of them were Afrikaners.With the end of a...

The State of Online Competition for Higher Education   Years before the pandemic, online enrollment began its rise.  Using the most recent data from IPEDS through 2018 for on-campus fall enrollment, we discover a downward curve of three percent, year-over-year, since 2013.  In contrast, there is a three-percent growth in online enrollment.   Now, of course, we have a year of pandemic lessons learned behind us.  We begin to recognize the value of online programs in higher education, even while we continue to adjust to its turbulence.  If you're an on-campus institution, it's not an easy market.  Online institutions are gaining traction.  If we look at 2018 to 2019 enrollment below, we discover another problem.  Online-heavy institutions are successfully scaling up with student population...

Rising Seniors: Preparing for the Year AheadWhat Rising Seniors Can Do to Prepare for the Year Ahead Many current juniors who will be rising seniors this summer are well aware that their final year of high school is exceptionally important. Students must juggle completing their personal statements, applying to colleges, and preparing for graduation, in addition to keeping up with friends and extracurriculars. While 12th grade is certainly a busy year, there are several steps rising seniors can take during summer break to set themselves up for success. Keep reading for our top tips for making the most of your final year of high school. Keep Track of Your To-Do List There’s no denying that your senior year of high school is a busy time for all students. Instead of getting stressed out, take...

Think Canada – Think Carleton University [Learning And Student Life Experience Redefined]A world-renowned name in research and teaching; this globally ranked university is also one of the largest in Canada. Carleton, which is synonymous with creative learning and contemporary teaching approaches, boasts of offering one of the best student experiences across international universities. Founded in 1942, this world-renowned public university is today a global education hub, with one of the most vibrant and multicultural student communities. Carleton is recognised as a name committed to training for a future-ready workforce, cutting-edge research, preservation of biodiversity, and sustainability in every venture. Canada’s Capital University Also known as Canada’s Capital University, it offers...

The Oxford Royale Summer School Program- All You Need To KnowSummers! Early mornings, warm afternoons, and a breezy evening that always takes long to completely fall upon us. That’s basically the entire season in a nutshell.  Summers have always been the same. Well, now that we are starting to take notice. ? However, what has changed over the years is our utilization of the season. A while ago, it used to be summer camps, early morning and afternoon cricket matches, long trips to our favorite places. Eventually, a period of 50-60 days was divided into 2 phases. The first phase always had to be intact, because of popular opinion of course; the fun and merrymaking. The second phase was always reserved for learning something new.  Most students were absolute naturals when it came to the fir...

Will Community Colleges Rally After COVID-19? We took a look at our data to find out which programs offer the most promise. Following the 2008-9 recession, enrollment at public two-year colleges and for-profit institutions grew to 7.6 million, up from about 6.4 million in 2007.  Over the following ten years or so, the growth ebbed a bit, but when Covid-19 brought another economic recession, it was expected that community college enrollment would pick up again, especially in Certificate programs–displaced workers would seek short-term training for new jobs.  If you are reading this, you probably know that is not what happened. Trends in Community College Enrollment According to the National Student Clearinghouse, as of October 2020, enrollments at two-year public institutions declined 9.5%...

What To Do After Cancelled Board Exams? Begin With Summer InternshipsLet’s get back to the past for a moment. You were leisurely meandering around the house, taking frequent glances at the TV, waiting for the uncertainty of his 10th board exam to end when suddenly, the headline popped up on the screen – CBSE class 10th exams cancelled! Soon, other boards made the same announcement followed by the postponing of the 12th board exam as well.  While most of you are quite happy and relieved about it, there’s this slightly oxymoronic feeling that took over the rest. It is as if you’ve been running a marathon the entire year and right when you were about to sprint across the last 100 meters, everyone is halted.  As you already know, the assessment now will be based on your internal marks, and to ...

5 Productivity Practices That Helped Me Finish My DissertationThe last two years of my doctorate, I had a side hobby of researching and experimenting with productivity tools and teaching others to apply them to their own lives via my blog The Tending Year. I started The Tending Year to manifest personal accountability to accomplish big goals; as a result I learned how to focus my labor so I could accomplish my to-do list in less time and with more intention. I have chronic health issues that affect my energy and ability to focus, and I live with chronic pain that requires me to take breaks from sitting, so I was particularly interested in learning how to write my dissertation in short, focused work sessions. Plus, I genuinely loved my dissertation topic, and I wanted to make the process as...

Tech Apprenticeships Shift the Costs of Higher Ed From Students to Employers For decades, companies have offered more or less the same deal to Americans in search of office jobs: You pay for your own higher education and skills training, and then we’ll consider employing you. But with corporations unable to hire and hold on to enough workers to fill jobs in IT, cyber security and software development, a shift may be underway. More companies are assuming the costs and risks of preparing people for entry-level technology roles by offering apprenticeships. The model combines paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Although such apprenticeships have long been available in Europe for a variety of professions, in the U.S. they have mostly been reserved for the skilled trades. “Appre...