Measuring Learning

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International This week’s InsideHigherEd.com article, CLA as ‘Catalyst for Change,’ talks about the seven-year project by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to use the CLA, or the Collegiate Learning Assessment, to measure learning in a test-bed of its member institutions. The purpose of the project is to help “propel” reform on campus through its … Continue reading Measuring Learning

NCAA.com?

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International Back in May I commented on the NCAA and what I see as exploitation of college students for the financial benefit of institutions (see my May 6, 2011 column). The recent discussion about Penn State and child abuse gives me another reason to revisit this issue and the role of the NCAA in the … Continue reading NCAA.com?

Doesn’t Anybody Get This?

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International This week I had the privilege of presenting with my colleagues Jay Goff of Saint Louis University and Kim Landis of EPI at the AACRAO SEM Conference in San Diego. In preparation for the 3.5-hour workshop, I updated my retention and student success slides. In particular, I spent considerable time re-upping my tuition and … Continue reading Doesn’t Anybody Get This?

The President and the Elephant (and college costs)

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International This week, President Obama unveiled new programs to alleviate the debt burden on college and university students. The first program allows students to consolidate all their college loans into one, US Department of Education Direct Loan. Although the Department is the only originator of student loans in the US since 2010, there are still … Continue reading The President and the Elephant (and college costs)

The Financial Woes of Higher Education

By Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International While I typically write about the affordability problems related to higher education, this week I am tackling the other side of the dilemma: the infrastructure and financial problems facing institutions and systems of higher education in the United States. Just yesterday, two articles appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education regarding financial issues. The … Continue reading The Financial Woes of Higher Education