Blog

We recently convened the first workshop for the NSF-funded Advancing AI Implementation at Emerging Research Institutions, a project collaboratively led by Ithaka S+R, Montclair State University, and Chapman University. The workshop brought together 31 participants from 13 academic and medical institutions, as well as from an electronic research administration system provider to ask: how can research administrators at ERIs leverage AI to build more sustainable and equitable research capacity?…

Beneath the headlines of white collar lay-offs as companies explore the potential of generative AI to do entry-level office work, another change to the workforce is happening that may be of more immediate concern to current students and higher education institutions. The college internship is changing along with the rest of the American employment landscape. Students and administrators alike should prepare for what is happening now and begin thinking about what may happen over the next several years.

Prior research on the value of a liberal arts and sciences education has traditionally relied on two proxies for whether students receive a liberal education: what they majored in or what type of institution they attended. We contend that this view is limited. Rather than assume that major and institutional type are adequate proxies, our 2020 research led us to develop a clearer, more comprehensive definition and measure of a liberal education.

Earlier today, we launched the 2025 US Researcher Survey. Adapted from the US Faculty Survey, this new survey is designed to provide actionable insights about how academic libraries, research offices, academic publishers, and other stakeholders can best support researchers and ensure the health and vitality of the research enterprise.

When people discuss the value of a liberal arts degree, one stereotype often emerges: the humanities graduate working at a coffee shop. This trope is widely used, but it does not reflect the evidence. In reality, graduates with liberal arts degrees, as we define them, are employed across nearly every sector of the economy, and in jobs at all levels of earnings.

With support from ECMC Foundation, Ithaka S+R is forming a network of rural-serving institutions supporting student success and economic mobility. The two-year grant will help rural-serving institutions support community college transfer students and adult learners, and align their program offerings with local workforce needs. Rural-serving institutions are engines of opportunity and vital to their communities. Yet, many face unique challenges: shifting demographics, declining enrollment, and limited resources. Boosting enrollment, improving student outcomes, and aligning degree offerings with local and…

Earlier this month, Empire State University announced that, with funding from ECMC Foundation and in collaboration with Ithaka S+R, Buffalo State University, and SUNY Fredonia, it is undertaking a new project to analyze, pilot, and evaluate affordable course material models. Ithaka S+R is excited to be part of this important work and continue our research on open educational resources. Beyond making college more affordable, low- and no-cost course materials can help address institutional goals beyond affordability, such as…

Adult learners are frequently overlooked, but are an increasingly important student population. According to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, there are 37.6 million adult learners under 65 with some college credit, but no credential in the US and this number is increasing. In response to this challenge, Ithaka S+R is working across the United States to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pathways for returning adult learners.

We are excited to announce the publication of a special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education, now available online and in print, featuring a series of original research articles that examine strategies for improving lower-income student success at high-graduation-rate institutions. You can read about the American Talent Initiative grant program that funded this research here, and find short summaries of the articles here. This special issue brings together a wide range of perspectives and methodologies, offering…

On August 15, 2025, the US Department of Education published a notice in the Federal Register announcing proposed revisions to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The proposed changes would expand data collection to include new items on college admissions and applicants, such as standardized test scores, family income, information on students who apply but are not admitted, and disaggregate the data in very complex ways. Stakeholders are invited to comment on these revisions as part of…

As the “normal” higher education experience continues to evolve, to better serve students colleges and universities must not only work closely together across systems and regions, but they must also collaborate with K-12, employer, and community partners. These essential collaborations, when effective, can result in an interconnected ecosystem of learning opportunities that seamlessly connect students to careers. At the August convening of the holistic credit mobility acceleration cohort, participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of cross-sector collaboration within…

On August 8, 2025, we convened 40 people representing a wide range of perspectives to discuss strategies for sustaining open source software (OSS) that is used for research. Sustainability is a major challenge for even the most successful open source software, which requires ongoing community engagement to improve and maintain code. Sustainability also includes identifying a viable financial model, establishing project governance, building the technology infrastructure, and navigating legal and licensing issues. OSS for research often faces further challenges,…

This summer I attended and presented at two library conferences, the annual American Library Association (ALA) and the annual American Association of Law Librarians meetings. I participated in four panel discussions that focused on how libraries can better serve people inside and outside of prison. If you weren’t able to attend, I have provided some of my insights in this blog. If you are interested in hearing more, please reach out to me at Tammy.Ortiz@ithaka.org. In recent years, ALA…

In September 2025, we are convening a new Integrating AI Literacy into the Curricula cohort to help colleges and universities move from ad hoc experimentation to sustainable, curriculum-integrated practice. Building on the momentum of our spring activities with 45 participating institutions, we will apply the same cross-campus approach that centers collaboration between libraries and educators, helping translate research into practical, shareable models. Our reflections from the spring cohort meetings captured a landscape of both progress and fragmentation. Some…

Higher education leaders have long struggled to answer two deceptively simple questions: “where do our graduates work?” and “what are they earning?” Response rates to surveys that historically collect this information are declining, individual state data systems typically do not track graduates across state lines, and commercial datasets with these data are opaque and costly. The US Census Bureau’s Postsecondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) program provides a compelling alternative by linking de-identified college and university graduate records with national employment and…

Working together, academic and public libraries have the potential to meet community needs in powerful and often overlooked ways—providing technology access, digital and information literacy programs, and connections to social services that address basic needs like food, housing, and transportation. These partnerships can also create targeted support for specific populations, including student parents looking for early childhood programming or low-income students navigating financial aid and social service systems. By collaborating, libraries can serve students and their communities more…

Federal data are an essential public good, enabling cutting-edge research and underpinning decision making by governments, businesses, and individuals. However, continued public access to these data is no longer assured. Librarians, archivists, and other information professionals dedicated to the preservation and accessibility of knowledge have responded by building an independent infrastructure to preserve at-risk federal data for continued public use.

In our new report, we explore the fractured data landscape that underpins higher education in prison. Drawing on interviews with nearly 50 stakeholders—including program leaders, institutional researchers, department of corrections staff, and technical assistance providers—we outline the key barriers and opportunities facing the field as it works to build a more comprehensive and sustainable data infrastructure.

A year ago, with funding from the Mellon Foundation, we began assessing the state of scholarly monograph publishing in the humanities and social sciences with a view to understanding how well the business models employed by publishers and vendors meet the needs of their consumer base, namely libraries and authors.  Today, we are delighted to announce the publication of our findings. The report considers the areas of alignment and disconnect between…

In June, the members of the Holistic Credit Mobility Acceleration Cohort met for the third time to share best practices and advance credit mobility through improvements in process, policy, and technology. Each learning session is dedicated to exploring one of the pillars of the Holistic Credit Mobility framework, and the June session focused on institutional strategies to strengthen non-credit to credit pathways and Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). June’s session featured presentations from the Education and Employment Research…