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Fresh From the UIA (Student Success)

Low Tech Change

When we talk about how to make higher education more student centric, we talk a lot about innovation. Innovation, however, isn’t synonymous with technology. In fact, a lot of the improvements we test and adopt across the UIA are simple, low tech changes aimed at simplifying the systems students navigate every day.

Putting College on the Map

Earlier this year, several students at University of California, Riverside (UCR) found themselves stuck in a difficult situation. They had failed to register for a full-time course load, so they hadn't received their financial aid, but a hold on their accounts prevented them from enrolling in a full-time course load. It was what you might call “a financial aid loop”.

While just a few semesters ago, these students would have likely fallen through the cracks, UCR now tracks students proactively through a project called Monitoring Advising Analytics to Promote Success (MAAPS).

Low Income Graduates

Portland, Ore. – September 25, 2017 – College completion data released today by the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) shows that the number of low-income graduates has increased by 24.7 percent among participating universities over the past three years, marking significant progress toward the Alliance’s goal of graduating an additional 68,000 undergraduates by 2025.

UIA Institutions Tops Retention

When it comes to the classroom, we don’t want just one winner, which is why in the past we've used the Final Four as an analogy for the kind of thinking higher education should avoid.

We argued that while rounds of elimination may be exciting when it comes to sports, it’s misplaced in higher education where an unrealistic “beat the odds” mentality has traditionally held too much sway and is particularly out of place with respect to low income and first generation students.

Beyond the Final Four

When Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the men’s NCAA basketball championship last month, the nation erupted in cheers. America loves an underdog, and Villanova — a small private school competing against perennial powerhouse North Carolina — wasn’t expected to win. The championship was their first in 31 years and just their second in history.

Underdog stories are inspiring in college athletics because we love to see ordinary people achieve extraordinary success through hard work and determination. And in sports, there can only be one champion.

Research Universities

PORTLAND, Ore. – March 3, 2016 – The University Innovation Alliance (UIA) today announced an additional $3.85 million in new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and USA Funds to support its work to improve college completion rates.

“This additional support highlights the philanthropic community’s enthusiasm for effective collaboration among colleges and universities to share and scale student success innovation,” said UIA Vice Chair and Georgia State University President Mark Becker.

The University Innovation Alliance launched one year ago this month, and the progress in our first year has surpassed our expectations. We’ve sparked a national conversation challenging the existing values system in higher education. We’ve advanced new ways to incentivize collaboration and reward institutions for innovation that demonstrably improves outcomes for all students. And we’ve educated the higher education community, policymakers, and the broader public about the hard work needed to uncover new solutions that advance student opportunity.

Kim A. Wilcox is Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside. Edward J. Ray is President of Oregon State University.

On college and university campuses across the United States, we're surrounded by a resource that leads to discovery, innovation, and growth—yet we don't embrace it at the leadership level. That resource? Failure.

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