INCREASING ACCESS AND RETENTION IN TIMES OF LIMITED GROWTH,
August 19-20, 2004
Hilton Minneapolis — Minneapolis, Minnesota
in partnership with
American Council on Education
State Higher Education Executive Officers, and the National Conference of State Legislatures
Supported in part by the Ford Foundation and by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education
PROGRAM AND PRESENTATIONS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Welcome and Meeting Overview
David Longanecker, Executive Director, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Larry Isaak, President, Midwestern Higher Education Compact
Cheryl Blanco, Senior Program Director, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Janet Holdsworth, Director of Policy Research, Midwestern Higher Education Compact
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
View from the States: Issues and Challenges Ahead
No one knows the issues and challenges facing individual states better than those working hard in the states to address them. This session will provide state teams with the opportunity to set the context for the meeting by sharing their unique circumstances, obstacles, and perspectives with individuals in other states with similar projections of stable or low growth.
Moderator:
Demarée Michelau, Project
Coordinator, Western Interstate Commission for Higher
Education
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Cheryl Blanco's presentation
Changing Demographics and the Impact on State Higher Education
The demographic characteristics of the U.S. population document a significant shift in the makeup of the American family and thus the composition of our schools. In terms of the numbers of children, their racial/ethnic backgrounds, and their socioeconomic levels, graduates from the nation’s high schools reflect a far more complex and varied group than we have seen in the past. This session will draw on new projections of high school graduates produced by WICHE in Knocking at the College Door to explore some of the major findings related to high school graduates generally and to their racial/ethnic and family income characteristics. A discussion of implications for public policy among low-growth states will help inform conversations during the forum.
Moderator:
Senator Lana Oleen, Commission Chair, Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and Senate Majority Leader, State of Kansas
Speaker:
Cheryl Blanco, Senior Program Director, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Dennis
Jones' presentation
Retention and the Educational Pipeline: Increasing a State’s Educational Capital with Fewer Students
According to a recent report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, effective state education policies can increase student success at four key transition points—high school graduation, entry into higher education, persistence in higher education, and completing higher education. The educational pipeline, or integrated system of high schools, colleges, and universities within a state, can increase a state’s educational capital, but there is a unique challenge facing states with low growth. This session will address how to increase educational capital when there are fewer students in the educational pipeline.
Moderator:
Jacqueline King, Director, Center for Policy Analysis, American Council on Education
Speaker:
Dennis Jones, President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
John Gardner's presentation
Participation
and Retention: Strategies That Work
Developing
effective institutional participation and retention
strategies will be critical for colleges and universities
situated in states that are projected to experience
a decline in high school graduates over the next decade.
Aligning various state-level postsecondary policies
that support these strategies will be essential to ensure
participation through completion during this period
of decline. This session includes a brief presentation
of what research shows about retention, a national overview
of state and institutional policies that can serve to
enhance participation and retention, and a discussion
of the federal role in promoting student persistence.
Moderator:
Paul Lingenfelter, Executive Director, State Higher
Education Executive Officers
Speakers:
John Gardner, Executive Director, Policy Center
on the First Year of College
Jacqueline King, Director, Center for Policy Analysis,
American Council on Education
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2004
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Jay Noren's presentation
How Financial Aid Policies Can Promote Participation, Articulation, and Retention
As states face limited growth, financial aid policies will increasingly serve as a key component of postsecondary participation strategies. While state and institutional sources of financial aid can significantly impact traditional student patterns of participation, persistence and completion, they also play a critical role in students’ ability to transfer among and between higher education systems and institutions. This session explores the latest trends in financial aid policies and their impact on articulation and transfer; particularly, for low-income students with high unmet need. It includes a presentation of Nebraska’s new tuition assistance program and how this program, which is designed to cover the costs of Pell grant recipients’ unmet need, may impact student transfer patterns in a time of limited growth.
Moderator:
Demarée Michelau, Project
Coordinator, Western Interstate Commission for Higher
Education
Jay Noren, Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Nebraska
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
David Longanecker's presentation
Increasing Participation Rates Through Regional Collaboration
A concern shared by states around the nation is capacity: some states have limited capacity to serve the increasing numbers of students seeking admission while others have capacity to spare. Helping states resolve their particular capacity problems while ensuring that needs of the students and the states are also met is an important part of the mission of regional organizations like MHEC and WICHE. Working closely with their members states, regional compacts have structured a variety of initiatives to increase participation rates. This session will include a conversation with the chief executives of MHEC and WICHE around existing opportunities and the potential for shaping new strategies for regional collaboration.
Moderator:
Sheila Stearns, Commissioner of Higher Education, Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education
Speakers:
David Longanecker, Executive Director, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Larry Isaak, President, Midwestern Higher Education Compact
11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Plans Of Action: Where to Go From Here (An Open Discussion)
After nearly two days of exploring the ways in which states facing limited growth can increase access and retention, this session provides participants with an opportunity to dialogue about next steps—given their state’s unique political, social, economic, and cultural context—in developing effective policies and strategies that address these salient issues.
Moderator:
Janet Holdsworth, Director of Policy Research, Midwestern Higher Education Compact
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Closing Comments
David Longanecker, Executive Director, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Larry Isaak, President, Midwestern Higher Education Compact
