Category: 2019

2019, admissions, College Access

An Admissions Crisis in Hollywood

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist, Educational Policy Institute   Everybody’s talking about those celebrities and rich people taking advantage of the system by fraudulently getting their kids into the best schools in the world. We’re talking Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest, and UT Austin. Leading the pack is Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives and Sports Night fame and Lori Loughlin from Full … Continue reading An Admissions Crisis in Hollywood

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2019, Politics, Research/Policy

You Can’t Handle the Truth! When High Profile TV-Types Get the Story Wrong on Education and the Workforce

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist, Educational Policy Institute Listen to today’s Swail Letter on iTunes and Soundcloud. I keep a TV on in the office on most days, switching channels depending on the discussion at hand, typically leaving it in mute and sometimes switching to the NHL Channel for a few minutes. Everyone has their vices. Mine are politics and hockey. Yesterday, I … Continue reading You Can’t Handle the Truth! When High Profile TV-Types Get the Story Wrong on Education and the Workforce

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2019, admissions, Advising, Retention, Student Success

The Lever Principle for Student Success

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Colleges and universities use many varied strategies to reduce turnover and retain students. There exist amply ways to do this across the many divisions and departments, including student and academic services, teaching and learning, financial aid, and others, to encourage student success. I find that most of the institutions that I work with are cognizant … Continue reading The Lever Principle for Student Success

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2019, Advising, College Access, Retention, Student Success

Defining Student Success

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute At the start of all our Retention 101 workshops, I ask participants how they define student success. I give them a few minutes and make them write it down. Then we share. Over the years, I have collected over a thousand definitions from people. Here are some verbatim (e.g., unedited) samples from recent participants: My … Continue reading Defining Student Success

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2019, Politics

The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute I initially posted this piece in 2007. I spent much of the weekend reviewing old posts and putting them into the archives section of The Swail Letter site for posterity. I think and hope you find this of particular interest today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. From January 12, 2007 It seems appropriate, as we … Continue reading The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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