Building Innovative Programs

How colleges can better connect students to what they need to help them start their working lives.

Skills are increasingly billed as the new currency of the education-to-work pipeline. But what do they really mean?

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — including Trump — endorse the model, but a lack of funds is just one barrier.

Two decades ago, colleges became serious about student retention and graduation rates. Have they made any progress? We surveyed 874 administrators and faculty to find out.

What happens when you give students access to a network of peers and mentors already working in the tech industry? At Georgia State University, they’re unlocking new levels of self-confidence and career success.

Is it possible to prepare students for a career, while also ensuring humanities are taught? Four professionals from different universities think so. And, they think more campuses can, too. Hear from experts putting humanities front and center and about the role of data in measuring human-oriented education and its success.

An innovative partnership at the University of Georgia saved a community newspaper – and gave students a new way to prepare for the work force.

Although the number of humanities degrees awarded decreased by 24%, student enrollment and appreciation for the humanities have grown at some institutions. What steps did their faculty take to make humanities more appealing, and how can you modernize your course offerings to compete with the demand for STEM and vocational offerings?

Keith Curry, president of Compton College, describes how partnerships have improved student outcomes and helped revitalize his once-struggling institution.

Karen Curls and Lyle Gibson go to great lengths, literally, to teach the history of civil rights.

The Covid-19 pandemic permanently transformed the role of community colleges.

Rural colleges are often hundreds of miles from other higher-education institutions, so they must form partnerships outside the sector to achieve their goals.

Rural students face many obstacles to obtaining a college degree. But some colleges have found a way to meet them where they are.

The summer before students start college is increasingly being recognized as a crucial time to foster student success, especially for low-income and first-generation students. Many institutions have implemented bridge programs to help students prepare for their transition into higher ed.

Underserved students are finding a new path to college via college-and-high-school partnerships. Institutions like Purdue University are building their own pipeline to expand opportunities for high school students. Learn what it takes to build a mutually beneficial partnership and what it teaches us about student success.

Incarcerated and rural students face special challenges in accessing higher education’s promise of social mobility. For many colleges, demographic shifts mean that enrolling students from underrepresented populations has become not merely a moral imperative, but a financial one as well.

Rural colleges faced declining enrollment, financial instability, and demographic shifts long before the pandemic. How are they faring now? College leaders from some of rural America’s most innovative colleges share their stories of success and lessons learned.

The Chronicle hosted a virtual forum to examine how colleges can improve the transfer process to attract and retain these critical students. Get the highlights by downloading the Key Takeaways from the discussion and learn how colleges are rethinking their approach.

As rural colleges work to meet the needs of their communities, the Covid-19 crisis highlighted the challenges posed by their locations, but it also illuminated new opportunities. Download the insights report to hear from leaders at a diverse range of rural institutions about the ways they are adapting to meet the fiscal, cultural, and geographic challenges of today and the future.