Systems Thinking – Addressing Access, Costs and Quality Collectively

Posted in 2021 Panel Session  |  Tagged

Panels on the theme of Systems Thinking prompted participants to explore the questions (2.1) How can colleges leverage their institutional identity/mission to encourage the cultural shifts necessary to spread change? (2.2) How are – or are not – funding trends in philanthropy, public funding, tuition, or investments supporting systems-level efforts? and (2.3) What does it look like when effective institutional strategies address cost, access, and quality simultaneously? and examine how traditional siloing of responsibility for access, quality and costs pose significant barriers for transformative change. The three panels represent potential solutions to consider.

2.1 How can colleges leverage their institutional identity/mission to encourage the cultural shifts necessary to spread change?

It is widely known that COVID 19 has disrupted higher education’s traditional outreach and enrollment process. Evidence shows that this has most heavily impacted low-income and disadvantaged students; Courtney McAnuff (7:00) and Keyana Scales (12:50) discuss their efforts to fight this issue and elaborate on their experience working with the Rutgers Future Scholars program and Xavier’s C.A.R.E. program as possible models in this area.

Courtney McAnuff Introduction 1:32 | Keyana Scales Introduction 2:56 | Courtney McAnuff Forecasted Change in College-Age Population 7:00 | Keyana Scales, Contextualizing Forecasted Changes 12:50 | Courtney McAnuff Discussion on Institutional Pipelines 25:08 | Keyana Scales, Xavier C.A.R.E. program 35:33

Panelists

  • Courtney McAnuff
    Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management
    Rutgers University
  • Keyana Scales, M.Ed
    Vice President for Enrollment Management
    Xavier University
  • Nathaniel Holmes
    (panel chair)
    Assistant Provost for Student Success
    Xavier University

Presentation slides

  • McAnfff
  • Scales

2.2 How are – or are not – funding trends in philanthropy, public funding, tuition or investments supporting systems level efforts?

Archie Cubarrubia 1:31 | Harrison Keller 11:45

This panel digs deeper into the nuances of funding trends at colleges and universities. While there has been a noticeable decline in funding and enrollment due to the pandemic, this aggregate data masks some of the effects on individual institutions and departments. To give a better picture of how this plays out, Archie Cubarrubia and Harrison Keller look at several case studies.

Panelists

Resources

2.3 What does it look like when effective institutional strategies address cost, access, and quality simultaneously?

Becky Wai-Ling Packard 1:28 | Kelly Slay on Integrating inclusive peer support 13:54 | Equity Efforts as Boundary Work | Marco Molinaro Aligning Goals and Approaches 30:24

When designing for cost, access, and quality simultaneously, challenges emerge, requiring multiple changes in concert, as well as thinking differently about institutional “facts of life.” Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Kelly Slay, and Marco Molinaro look at different aspects of higher education, ranging from peer support, to norms in STEM education, to faculty approaches.

Panelists

Presentation slides

Resources