Here is the first in a series of conversations on “Creating Environments for Flourishing” based on the report released last week by the Mary Christie Foundation and Georgetown University. Our guests were the keynote speakers at one of the “Higher Education Leadership Convenings on College Student Behavioral Health,” held at Georgetown, from which the report was derived. Hearing them describe the Science of Happiness course they teach at NYU would make anyone want to sign up.
Our next episode is a conversation with Dr. Corey Keyes, who many consider “the godfather of happiness” who will explain his theory on flourishing, the basis for his popular class on happiness at Emory University.
Harvard University Health Services will combine several undergraduate peer education groups into a centralized program this year: Consent Advocates and Relationship Educators Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors; Health Peer Advisors and Liaisons; and Sexual Health Awareness and Relationship Communication. HUHS Senior Director of Nursing and Health Promotion Maria Francesconi said the program will train members to “promote a multitude of important public health topics, including substance abuse, emotional and physical wellbeing, spirituality and more.” Iman G. Lavery ’22, director of operations for CARE said the formulation of the new program would rely on student input. Lavery said they “want to make sure that it’s open for people who are excited about it, for people who do want to make sure that their passion for the work that CARE does gets translated to this new group.”
Diverse Education reports that black students protested at Kent State University, criticizing the school’s response to repeated racist messages painted on campus, one of which read, “Blacks have no home here.” A group called Black United Students issued a set of demands that called on university officials to address systemic racism.
Inside Higher Ed reports on “test blind” admissions, where colleges do not consider SAT and ACT scores, even if a student submits them. Kevin Myers, a spokesman for Reed College, which used to require the tests, said going test blind seemed to be “the most equitable decision. If we really wanted to level the playing field, it seemed like the way to go.” Dickinson College, which has gone test blind for one year during the pandemic, collected data that show that minority and international students are more likely to apply without test scores. Last year, 76 percent of applicants who identified as white submitted SAT or ACT scores. Only 69 percent of nonwhite students did so.
In an op-ed in the Hechinger Report, Autumn Green, who leads the Higher Education Access for Student Parents Research Initiative at the Wellesley Centers for Women, writes that colleges must consider how new procedures and policies affect student parents, who make up more than one in five of today’s college students. She writes that these students have been stretched thin during the coronavirus crisis- child care arrangements have been disrupted, and part time jobs rarely offer telecommuting - and that colleges should be thinking about how to address their particular challenges.
Education Dive reports that Republican lawmakers recently championed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ new rule governing how colleges must investigate and potentially punish sexual violence. During a subcommittee hearing, GOP House members lauded the Title IX regulation, saying it restored fairness to colleges’ processes. The rule has faced significant criticism by advocates of sexual assault survivors.
In an op-ed in the Hechinger Report, Biddy Martin, President of Amherst College called for continued investment in public colleges and universities, which offer a ladder to social mobility. Martin, who attended a public university herself, writes, “These institutions benefit not merely those who attend or are employed by them; whether directly or indirectly, they benefit the society as a whole.” She concludes, “I owe the great gifts of my life to forms of education that were unimaginable to me growing up. I know and see every day the difference that education can make for the least, as well as the most privileged, among us - and for everyone in between. And I know that many fewer young people will get what they deserve if we fail to support public higher education in the United States.”
The U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings are out, with some new changes to how the publication assesses institutions. U.S. News increased the weight of student outcome measures including graduation rates and social mobility from 35% to 40%. It also started ranking schools that do not consider SAT or ACT scores for admission.
The “guided pathway” approach aims to help community college students create a roadmap to program completion, further education and employment. Common guided pathways practices include advising incoming students on their educational goals and monitoring that they’re taking the classes needed to graduate on time. According to studies from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE), community colleges across the nation are making progress adopting guided pathways practices. On average, two-thirds of students at surveyed colleges said they were required to meet with an advisor before registering for classes. A similar share said they had to follow an academic plan specifying which courses they needed to take.
Survey results from the 2019 Monitoring the Future show that vaping marijuana and vaping nicotine rose sharply in the past three years among college-age (19-22 years old) adults. The percentage of college students who said they vaped marijuana in the past 30 days rose from 5.2% in 2017 to 14% in 2019.