The Edge: The Connections That Keep Students Going

Visible, accessible leaders can draw students out, and personal encouragement can lead them to stay at community colleges for bachelor’s degrees. ADVERTISEMENT [The Edge Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. I’m Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering innovation in and around higher ed. We’re doing some innovating of our own here at The Edge. Each week I will share my latest thinking on the people and ideas reshaping higher ed, alternating between my own reporting and my picks for thought-provoking and useful stories and resources from other organizations. I’ll also mix in some quick takes, noteworthy quotes, and stats that catch my eye, as well as occasional contributions from my colleagues. This week you’ve got: - an update on student-success prize money. - two takeaways from a brief on leader-student communication from my colleague Maura Mahoney. - a reading list featuring research on community-college baccalaureate programs, ideas for raising the representation of women in tech, and local advocacy for dual enrollment. - my weekly picks from The Chronicle. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Targeting a different point in the pipeline. Remember that [student-success prize that was never awarded]( the Robin Hood Foundation? Well, this week the foundation, which is devoted to fighting poverty in New York City, announced that it was reallocating some of the $5 million that was originally designated for an app (or apps) that would help increase completion rates among students at the City University of New York by at least 15 percentage points. The [funds will now be shared]( by 50 early-childhood-education nonprofits in the city. “Inspired by where we went wrong” last time (setting the bar for its college-success prize too high), said Courtney Ridgway, Robin Hood’s senior communications manager, the foundation has now given $25,000 no-strings-attached grants to the 50 organizations, 10 of which will get a second grant, of $250,000, next winter. Then up to three will receive $1 million in 2023 “to further scale their efforts and impact within their community.” I asked if the foundation had shifted its focus from postsecondary to early-childhood education, and Ridgway said not exactly. “We know if you can make these interventions early in life, they can be more impactful,” she explained. But Robin Hood is still supporting higher education, including with $11 million in grants to CUNY programs in 2021, notably [one at LaGuardia Community College]( to re-engage former students. Two ideas to help leaders communicate with students. The challenges of the last two years have, on the whole, “increased empathy, transparency, and candor” between college leaders and students, Alexander C. Kafka, a senior editor at The Chronicle, writes in a [new]( on their vital interaction. He spoke with 15 presidents to share their insights on effective communication, as part of our [yearlong series]( on student success supported by the Ascendium Education Group. Here are two takeaways (and you can read his [entire piece here](. Be visible and accessible. Michael V. Martin, president of Florida Gulf Coast University, grabs coffee in the student union every day from 7:30 to 8:15. Students know they can walk up and let him know what’s on their minds, whether parking complaints or more serious issues. James M. MacLaren, president of Lebanon Valley College, in Pennsylvania, learns a lot by just sitting down next to students in the dining hall and starting a conversation. Have some fun! Jonathan G.S. Koppell, president of Montclair State University, in New Jersey, has appeared in superhero costumes on TikTok, joined students picking up trash in a nearby park, and DJ’d for the college’s radio station. Presidents who are willing to not take themselves too seriously can come across as humans in what might seem like a distant, formal role. —Maura Mahoney Check these out. Here are some education-related items from other outlets that recently caught my eye. Did I miss a good one? [Let me know](mailto:goldie@chronicle.com). - Community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees is nothing new. But I haven’t seen much data yet on how effective the programs are. According to this recent [report from New America]( they are, in fact, quite effective, especially for adult students. New America looked at more than 10,000 students in Florida and Washington state and found “strong employment and wage outcomes.” For many students who are “deeply rooted in their communities,” the report says, earning a bachelor’s at a local institution — often with “personal encouragement from faculty and staff” — is the most comfortable way to keep pursuing higher education. - Women are underrepresented in technology. Women of color are particularly underrepresented. “A pervasive research finding is that women of color find their credibility and legitimacy persistently questioned, leading them to feel pressure to continually prove themselves,” says a recent [report]( from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It argues that universities could break down barriers and expand the pool of tech talent by widening recruitment to consider more transfer students from community colleges, and faculty members who studied at minority-serving institutions. - Since Brexit, universities in Britain have seen a 40-percent drop in enrollment of students from the European Union — but at the same time, almost a 50-percent rise in enrollment of those from the United States. That’s according to this [article in]( which cites as factors the relative cost of higher education in Britain versus the U.S. and cultural similarities between the two countries. Still, the number of Americans applying to institutions in Britain pales in comparison with the totals from the E.U., India, and China. - Facebook is shutting down a “return to its roots” product called Campus, a short-lived site within the site, just for college students, according to. The private section of Facebook served about 200 colleges, and the company apparently concluded that its Facebook Groups function was more useful to bring together people affiliated with particular institutions. - As overall college enrollment in the U.S. is falling, early college or dual-enrollment programs remain an important pathway to social mobility for low-income students, a mayor and a state legislator argue in an [op-ed in]( Atlanta Journal-Constitution](. With free community college off the federal agenda, they wrote, local officials should seize the moment: “Our colleagues across the country must act now to replicate the work of innovative state and local policy makers who have proven that we can give students a jump start on earning a year, or more, of college credit before they graduate high school.” Got a tip you’d like to share or a question you’d like me to answer? Let me know, at goldie@chronicle.com. If you have been forwarded this newsletter and would like to see past issues, [find them here](. To receive your own copy, free, register [here](. If you want to follow me on Twitter, [@GoldieStandard]( is my handle. Goldie’s Weekly Picks THE REVIEW | OPINION [War Is the Enemy of Education]( By Ani Kokobobo [STORY IMAGE]( Ukrainian universities close, and Putin cracks down on Russian scholars. SPONSOR CONTENT | Amazon Web Services (AWS) [The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated what IT departments can do.]( REMOVING THE COST BARRIER [Amazon’s Employees Can Go to College, Free. What’s in It for Higher Ed?]( By Abbi Ross [STORY IMAGE]( While the jury is still out on tuition benefits, they are increasingly popular offerings for major corporations, and many colleges too. THE REVIEW | ESSAY [Who Owns Your Academic Community?]( By Jeffrey Lawrence [STORY IMAGE]( Scholars are so busy criticizing academe they forgot to criticize Twitter. 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