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Institutions Using Required Reading to Forge Campus Connections
As colleges and universities gear up for the fall semester, many students are likely scrambling to finish one last task: summer reading. Many schools require incoming freshman, and sometimes the entire student body, to read one book in order to create academic and other connections across the campus community. Here’s what several of our member institutions are reading for this fall.
As We Remember Katrina and Recovery, Don’t Neglect Higher Education’s Role
As we reflect on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we will no doubt read and hear stories of rescue and rebuilding and the people who made a difference. When we do, we must also recall the way the higher education community pulled together to save and restore a critical element of the Gulf Coast’s infrastructure—its wide array of colleges and universities.
How to Navigate the Credentialing Maze
The stunning increase in the number and variety of credentials available in this country—college degrees, educational certificates, industry credentials, licensures, and most recently micro-credentials, such as digital badges—seems like a positive thing. However, the complex and fragmented nature of the credentialing marketplace is having the opposite effect—mass confusion.
Sinclair Community College Making Strides Toward Completion
Over the past 15 years, Sinclair Community College has committed to increasing completion rates and improving student success. Through a series of campus-wide initiatives, including making student orientation mandatory, workforce connections, K-12 partnerships, and streamlining student support services, Sinclair has increased its 5-year graduation by 75 percent since 1999.
Perennial Plants Take Root at Iowa State
Iowa State University is at the forefront of agricultural research, investing in innovative projects that will improve the future of sustainability, both in Iowa and across the globe. One such project is the study of giant perennial grasses like miscanthus, which can be used to create biomass, prevent soil erosion and protect water quality.
ISU President Steven Leath: Prioritize Agricultural Research
By 2050, the world population is projected to increase by roughly one third, creating one of the greatest conundrums in history: How to produce as much food in the next 35 years as we have produced in the previous several thousand. Iowa State President Steven Leath writes about his institution’s role in addressing this challenge, and the need to make agricultural research a national priority.
Drake University Unveils Congressional Files on ADA’s 25th Anniversary
Twenty-five years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, Drake University and its Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement released never-before-seen congressional files and materials on the legislation. The photos, memos, and other documents are from the collection of former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), author and chief sponsor of the landmark bill.