Latest news with #CarnegieClassification
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Degrees Of Opportunity: Rethinking Value In Higher Ed
Colleges and universities are doing a better job lately explaining the value of their degrees, and increasingly they're getting important help in making that case. The challenge has been that while on average, a bachelor's degree is worth more than $1.2 million in lifetime earnings, the value for any individual graduate depends on multiple factors, including majors, where a person lives, and the cost of those degrees. How can students and families find the best deals in higher education? College rankings of every type have been around for years, and for our money the best include those from Washington Monthly, created two decades ago. The Monthly avoids focusing just on elite schools, but instead prioritizes graduation rates, earnings after graduation compared with the price of degrees, and social mobility. And in a nod to today's chief concerns for families, the magazine includes a "Best Bang for the Buck" category. Opportunity By Design And as the value question becomes more urgent, we're interested in a new take—the idea of "Opportunity Colleges" as recently identified by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Opportunity Colleges were identified as part of a substantial update to the Carnegie Classification system begun in 1973, focusing on whether schools are creating opportunities for students and helping them earn competitive wages. According to ACE and Carnegie, the 479 Opportunity Colleges:'Better Together' at Ball State One example is Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, known for its Late Night alumnus David Letterman, but also for highly regarded programs in teaching, architecture, and journalism. It is the only public university in Indiana to receive the classification. When he arrived in 2017, Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns brought a 'better together' mantra to campus and began working with local stakeholders, making connections and forging partnerships. 'What's insightful from the Carnegie report and methodology is they're analyzing salary and post-graduate earnings by discipline,' Mearns said in a recent conversation with Lumina Foundation. 'It gives context to why a Ball State graduate's median salary is X and a Purdue graduate's median salary is Y. It's because we're graduating teachers and journalists, and Purdue is graduating engineers.' Career Connections at CMU Another of the schools is Central Michigan University, 60 miles north of the state capital at Lansing. It offers one of Michigan's lowest tuition rates, and nine out of 10 graduates are either employed, pursuing further education, or engaged in volunteer service within six months of graduating. The Opportunity College designation is a nod to its partnerships that over time have nurtured career readiness. 'Workforce is in our DNA,' says CMU President Neil MacKinnon. 'It's always been our mission to produce workforce our region needs.' The Michigan-based W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research found that 67 percent of CMU graduates remain in the state after completing their degree, compared with about 40 percent from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Just over 89 percent of students at CMU are Michigan residents. Hometown Value That idea of retaining talent after graduation is a theme for Opportunity Colleges. At Ball State, Indiana residents account for 85 percent of the student body, and 'student ambassadors' work to encourage students to work in the state after they graduate. The County Ambassador Program allows each of Indiana's 92 counties to designate a student to represent the area and promote its quality of life and job opportunities to others. Ball State is also innovating how to prepare students across Indiana for active citizenship after graduation. For example, through Third Way Civics: Indiana Advances, Ball State will engage with at least a dozen colleges across Indiana in implementing a flexible curriculum that combines historical inquiry, peer discussion, and interdisciplinary learning to promote civic understanding and engagement. Faculty members from any discipline can use Third Way Civics to help foster student learning in a new way—one that relies on students forming their own points of view and considering those of others, not just listening to lectures. These skills will be invaluable once students graduate and build their lives in communities across Indiana. In short, the Opportunity College model reframes what success in higher education should look like: access, affordability, mobility, and meaningful community connection. As more families seek degrees that open real doors without closing others through debt, schools like Ball State and CMU are charting a path forward—showing that the best return on investment isn't always measured in rankings, but in lives transformed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Marva Johnson is the right choice for Florida A&M University
Much has been written and said about Florida A&M University's new President-elect, Marva Johnson, and as a former board of trustee member appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, let us put everything in the proper perspective. First, every governor has exerted influence in the selection of university presidents, some more than others, and governors have an obligation to because higher education is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Second, Florida university presidents are not academicians anymore, with a few exceptions, but politicians, former politicians, and friends of politicians. To lament that is to ignore the fact that Florida has been the No. 1 university system in the country for some time now. Third, university presidents do not run the university; they have a provost for that, along with a COO and a CFO, and a host of other administrators. Fourth, the best Florida presidents know how to walk the halls of the legislature to secure new buildings, classrooms, residence halls, and use their insightful understanding of the appropriations and legislative process to bring home the millions needed to succeed. They also know that they must work with their board of trustees, the Board of Governors, and the governor. FAMU is special not only because it is the only public HBCU in Florida, but also because it has special programs that graduates more minorities than any other HBCU in the country, and most are first-time college students. The College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, is highly reputed, and its School of Business & Industry has been a trendsetter for decades, and corporate America recruits heavily from the SBI. FAMU again has been designated, for the sixth consecutive year, the No. 1 public HBCU in the nation, and the third best among both public and private HBCUs. FAMU also just achieved a very high honor when it earned dual recognition in the 2025 Carnegie Classification as both a Research 2 University and an Opportunity College and University, an outstanding accomplishment despite FAMU being historically disrespected and discriminated against, which has only made the university stronger and better. Fifth, no president of any university has ever 'dismantled' a university, and FAMU will not become the first one, as that is just overheated hyperbole and plain hogwash. Johnson, whom I have met on several occasions over the years, has all the tools to be a highly successful university president, and frankly, FAMU is quite lucky to have someone with her talents, connections, and lobbying experience, and the support of the legislature, Board of Governors, and the governor. Her appointment portends well that FAMU will receive the additional dollars necessary to continue to reach new heights. While some contend her selection is about ideology, you are wrong. A university's responsibility is not to promote any one ideology or philosophy, but rather to teach students to think outside the box, to listen and understand all points of view - whether you agree with them or not - and then to be able to articulate your position cogently. FAMUans have a glorious history of doing all these things very well. Barney Bishop III is a former executive director of the Florida Democratic Party and a CEO of Associated Industries of Florida. He is currently the CEO of Barney Bishop Consulting and can be reached at Barney@ letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@ Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Marva Johnson is the right choice for Florida A&M University | Opinion
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Carnegie Classification recognizes Behrend as a ‘Higher Earnings' college
ERIE — Penn State Behrend has received a new Carnegie Classification as a 'Higher Earnings' institution — a reflection of the return on investment for Behrend graduates. Just 10 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities received the 2025 designation, which measures graduates' earnings eight years after they enroll at a college. The designation, part of a new Student Access and Earnings Classification, is awarded by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; it also assessed student access at the institutions that were evaluated. 'This new designation reinforces what we consistently hear from our graduates, who find success and competitive compensation in their chosen careers,' Chancellor Ralph Ford said. 'That measure is important not only to our graduates, but to prospective students who are just beginning their college experience and want to be strategic with that investment.' In February, Penn State Behrend and Penn State Harrisburg received the Carnegie Classification for 'Research Colleges and Universities,' a new designation for high-achieving research institutions that do not award Ph.D. degrees. To qualify, a college must produce at least $2.5 million in annual research and development spending. At Behrend, the research enterprise now generates nearly $10 million in sponsored research every year. Highlights from the last year include: • $6.5 million from the commonwealth's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to begin construction of the Center for Manufacturing Competitiveness, an industry-facing research facility that will feature specialized plastics, metal-casting and manufacturing labs. • $4.4 million from the Department of Defense and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation to develop metals-based manufacturing programs. • $2.5 million in federal funding for a battery-testing rig that will be used to study thermal runaway — a chain-reaction that can occur when lithium-ion batteries overheat. 'Research opportunities are a pillar of Penn State Behrend's 'Open Lab' approach to learning,' Ford said. 'For students — especially undergraduates — a research experience can be a differentiator. In the lab or in the field, students more fully understand the nature of their work, and they see firsthand how they can make a difference.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utah Valley University's high return on investment for students of all backgrounds earning national salutes
Michelle Jackson already possessed several of the qualities needed for college success: Ambition. Strong work ethic. Tenacity. And, finally, a vision for her personal and professional future. But what Jackson needed were those educational opportunities that can be challenging to find for so-called 'First Gens.' Jackson is a first generation immigrant and a first generation college student. She's also a young mother and a new homeowner — busy tackling the day-to-day tasks of caring for a couple of small children and helping to support a household. Utah Valley University, said Jackson, is her ongoing source for those essential educational and mentoring opportunities. 'Anyone who wants to go to UVU has the same opportunities available to them. They make it really accessible for everyone,' she told the Deseret News. The institutional opportunities being offered to Jackson and many of her classmates have earned UVU — the state's largest university by enrollment — an 'Opportunity College and University' designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The designation highlights UVU as 'a model for studying how campuses can create and support student success by providing more access to more people in their communities and fostering high earnings post-graduation,' according to a university release. The UVU designation is part of a newly introduced Student Access and Earnings Classification, published this month by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education. The new classification assesses how well institutions create opportunities for student success by measuring whether they enroll students who reflect the communities they serve and by comparing the graduates' earnings to their peers in the same areas. Only 16% of the nation's colleges and universities received a similar 'Opportunity College and University' designation. 'As an open-access institution, UVU encourages students to 'Come as you are' and provides a high-quality education with seamless pathways to a degree, whether through vocational/community college offerings or four-year and master's programs,' said UVU Acting President Jim Mortensen in the release. 'This innovative model has resulted in strong job placement and competitive wages for our graduates, who consistently earn above the national median." 'This Carnegie Classification affirms that our student programs truly make a difference in fostering career success.' UVU reports almost 75% of its graduates securing 'high-wage, high-demand' jobs with 4- or 5-star ratings by the Utah Department of Workforce Services in a variety of fields — including nursing, elementary education, engineering, computer science, finance and marriage and family therapy. UVU leaders also point to the school's comprehensive approach to student support services as key to fostering an opportunity-rich campus. The school's Student Success Center, for example, offers students of all backgrounds academic advising, tutoring, mentorship and wellness programs. Meanwhile, the First-Generation Student Success Center and UVU's GEAR UP resource assistance program offer admissions-to-graduation guidance for students such as Jackson. A Mexico City native, Jackson and her family moved to Provo when she was a little girl. After graduating from Provo High School, she discovered a path to higher education via UVU's GEAR UP program. She began attending school, married and expected to follow a linear student path to Graduation Day. But life intervened. Family challenges and pregnancy prompted Jackson to step away from school. But when she and her husband later found out they were expecting their second child, 'I decided I needed to be a good influence for my children and teach them the importance of education — so I re-enrolled at UVU.' Excited to be back in class and pursuing educational goals, Jackson said she's been 'all in' during her second stint at the Orem school. She participated in the school's 'Presidential 100' program — enjoying the mentorship of UVU President Astrid Tuminez and others on campus. Jackson remembers Tuminez encouraging her to chase and capture dreams. 'President Tuminez said, 'Go write down your dreams and start working on them. You really can accomplish these things.'' That sort of campus leadership and support has proven pivotal for Jackson and her family in purchasing their first home — and she's a year away from graduating with an accounting degree. She has her post-graduation eye on entrepreneurship. Jackson added she has never felt unseen at UVU, despite the school's massive student body of almost 50,000. 'They do a wonderful job of connecting with everyone, individually,' she said. Inside Higher Ed recently highlighted UVU's classification as an 'Opportunity University,' noting the school's commitment to first generation students and non-traditional students. Kyle Reyes, vice president for institutional advancement at Utah Valley, said he attributes the university's high 'Return on Investment' for students to the institution's long-term investment in student success initiatives — and an unwillingness to deviate from its original mission as a broad-access institution. Some of those efforts, Inside Higher Ed noted, have included partnerships with K-12 schools; helping students fill out federal financial aid applications; offering scholarships; academic advising; a food pantry; low-cost, on-campus childcare; student research opportunities; paid internships; and completion grants for returning students. Recognition as an affordable pathway to economic stability through the new classification system is both 'validating' for Utah Valley and a 'game-changer' for all of higher education, Reyes told Inside Higher Ed. 'For so long, the incentives were for exclusion, prestige, lower admission rates and higher test scores — even though on the ground we knew the masses weren't being served by that model,' he said.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama A&M University receives new Carnegie classification
NORMAL, Ala. (WHNT) – Alabama A&M University has received a new recognition as a Research College and University, an achievement that reflects the school's commitment to research through the work of its faculty and students. The newly redesigned Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education were debuted in February. They were established as the framework for categorizing accredited, degree-granting institutions within the United States. The American Council on Education redesigned the Carnegie Classifications to display the depth and diversity of research across higher education. Madison man shows unique talent brick by brick with Lego collection The framework for 2025 includes three key research designs, according to the new Carnegie Classifications: Research 1 (R1) – Very High Spending and Doctorate Production, defined by a clear threshold of $50 million in total research spending and 70 research doctorates awarded annually. Research 2 (R2) – High Spending and Doctorate Production, which continues the previous requirement of $5 million in research spending and 20 research doctorates awarded annually. Research College and University (RCU) – Identifies research happening at colleges and universities that historically have not been recognized for their research activity, including institutions that do not offer many or any doctoral degrees. The announcement made by ACE and the Carnegie Foundation said that 216 institutions were awarded RCU status in 2025. 'The 2025 Carnegie Classification's Research and University aims to highlight research activity at institutions that have historically been overlooked due to lower numbers of doctoral graduates,' said Dr. Majed Dweik, Vice President of Research & Economic Development. 'By setting a research expenditure threshold of at least $2.5 million annually, this classification ensures that universities like Alabama A&M receive well-deserved recognition for their contributions to research and development.' The university said that they are hopeful that the accreditation will attract students and researchers while also enhancing AAMU's global research reputation. AAMU said they are actively working toward an R2 designation. 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. 'This new distinction spotlights our University's emphasis on impact and discovery through diverse research activity. Thanks to the ongoing work of our faculty and staff to expand research across the institution, we are well-positioned in our efforts to reach R2 classification in the near future,' said President Daniel K. Wims. AAMU has several notable programs, such as their Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Engineering and Computer Science, Education and Healthcare and Business and Public Afairs programs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
