Student Union
- By Pete Musto
Low-Income Students See Low Graduation Rates
Colleges and universities continue to struggle with serving low-income and first generation students.
While 60 percent of the wealthiest students complete their studies and graduate, only about 16 percent of low-income college students graduate, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Michigan State University and 10 other public-research universities have committed to improving graduation rates for all students, calling it the biggest problem facing American higher education.
The University Innovation Alliance was formed to share information and help 68,000 more students at its member institutions to graduate by 2025. The alliance’s goal is for at least half of those students being low-income.
Participating schools include Oregon State University, University of California-Riverside, Arizona State University, University of Texas-Austin, University of Kansas, Iowa State University, Purdue University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Georgia State University and University of Central Florida.
After three years, the schools report the number of graduates has increased by more than 7,200. This includes a nearly 25 percent increase in the number of low-income graduates.
One of the key successes comes from a computer program that Georgia State University in Atlanta was using.
The program reviews how students progress, and notifies advisors when a student shows signs of making mistakes or facing difficulty in their study programs. Then, advisors can reach out to help students before these problems grow.
At MSU, the computer program made a huge difference, said Kristen Renn, a professor of higher education at MSU.
“If I’m an academic advisor in chemistry and if one of my students drops calculus in the middle of a semester ... advising it was very difficult,” she told VOA. “But currently, that student dropping a class would send an alert to the adviser, who then can contact the student and say, ‘Why did you drop the class? Did you know this is required? ... Can we talk about what’s going on?’”
MSU took it a step further and examined how it communicated with its students. The administration discovered that students often overlooked important email because it was buried among too many other messages. The school greatly reduced its emails to students.
The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas quickly began doing the same, says DeAngela Burns-Wallace, an administrator of undergraduate studies.
In return, KU shared information about its successful work-study programs with the alliance. KU paid undergraduates for research work to help support them financially and develop an early interest in research. Several other schools began to do the same.
Burns-Wallace says the sharing of information between institutions makes the alliance program so successful.
“I have colleagues that are in financial aid or ... student affairs or ... research who can pick up the phone and have a colleague at 11 other institutions give immediate feedback on a project or ... understand how the others have done it and maybe identify ... other opportunities,” she told VOA.
Bridget Burns, the executive director for the UIA, says change does not come quickly to many colleges and universities, especially large, public ones. But they need to change how they evaluate how much they help low-income students, she said.
“How well you do for low-income students has not historically been ... highlighted. ... We know that progress is possible, that we can do better. But we need to actually create ... rewards to highlight this kind of behavior.”
Burns said she hopes sharing the successes of the UIA schools will help other public and private institutions. She wants other schools to create partnerships, and devise more improvements for college students.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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STEM, business top subjects for international students
The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.
STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Safety and visa difficulties among misconceptions about US colleges
U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.
Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Work opportunities help draw international students to US schools
US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.
Read the full story here. (December 2024)
