Outcomes from Retention 2007
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Two weeks ago hundreds of us converged on San Antonio for Retention 2007, our second annual international conference on student retention. This year’s event doubled the attendance from 2006, and we’re anticipating a much larger crowd next May in San Diego. Beyond the collective sigh of relief from our staff that we can put “R7,” … Continue reading Outcomes from Retention 2007
How do You Define Student Success?
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute It sounds like a Rolaids commercial, I know. But I’m always interested in how people view the issue of student success, since that’s become the vernacular over the past few years. And I’m the guilty party as much as anyone. We’ve been flinging “student success” around quite liberally, just as we’ve done for “college access” … Continue reading How do You Define Student Success?
A Slippery Slope
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute The last few weeks haven’t been terribly good weeks for the student loan industry. In fact, the last year hasn’t been one to remember if you work at one of the loan agencies or associated institutions. Let’s take a brief review… In May of 2006, Sallie Mae was skewered on 60 minutes for its business … Continue reading A Slippery Slope
Answering the “Hard Questions”
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Further travels with me this week involve a visit to the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. I’m here with 15,000 of my closest friends. I think I’ve shaken hands with half of them. AERA is one of those conferences that forces one into a strategic mode just to navigate: sessions at … Continue reading Answering the “Hard Questions”
Remembering the Alamo
By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute In this week’s news, we feature a new study by the DC-based Alliance for Excellent Education, which finds that over $1.4 billion is spent at US two-year institutions for developmental (remedial) education. The issue of remediation continues to become an increasing challenge for educational institutions in the US and Canada. Critics of remedial programming suggest … Continue reading Remembering the Alamo
The Swail Letter on Higher Education 