/r/highereducation

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit for news and discussion about higher education in an increasingly difficult time. Ideal for people working in and around higher ed— or those interested in joining!


NOTE

We have set the sub to "Restricted" to combat brigading from anti-higher education forces. We will only read requests from those who explain what their connection to higher education is. All others will be ignored.


Please be thoughtful, be engaged, and don't be afraid to share! The updated /r/HigherEducation Content Policies are available here.

Unless otherwise noted, all users speak for themselves rather than their respective employers.


Subreddit Rules

For More Details, Please Read Here

  1. Exercise Respectful Civility and Reddiquette

  2. Keep Posts on Topic

  3. No Self-Promotion

  4. Do Not Facilitate Harassment

  5. Avoid Third-Party Link Shorteners

  6. Do Not Directly Promote Plagiarism Services

  7. No Individual Admissions or Advising Questions

  8. Contribute to the Field, Not Just the Comment Count

  9. Surveys: We realize many of you are hoping to reach our subreddit audience for use in your surveys. However, we want to keep surveys relevant to our users. As such, anyone submitting a survey must receive prior approval. All surveys not receiving prior approval will be removed with no opportunity to resubmit. We hope to be back to anyone requesting permission within 24 hours.


/r/AskAcademia handles questions about academic life with aplomb and insight.

/r/Professors is a community for faculty members to "collaborate, commiserate, vent, whatever."

/r/StudentAffairs is dedicated to college & university programs that encourage student development outside the classroom.

/r/CommunityColleges is for anyone interested in news, trends, and policies related to two-year institutions.

/r/College hosts more general discussion about life as an undergraduate.

/r/GradSchool does the same from graduate school.

/r/FindAPath handles questions and concerns related to career exploration and selecting a major or degree program.


The Reddit Education Network:

  • /r/Education: A place to discuss the news and politics of education.

  • /r/AdultEducation: A place for adult educators to discuss tips and tricks to engaging an adult audience.

  • /r/ArtEd: A place for art educators to discuss the importance of art education and to share and collaborate on resources.

  • /r/CSEducation: A place for computer science educators and education researchers.

  • /r/ECEProfessionals: A place for early childhood educators to learn, grow, and contribute as professionals.

  • /r/EdTech: A place to share news and sites related to educational technology

  • /r/ELATeachers: A place for English teachers to share ideas and lessons and to brainstorm and collaborate on new curriculum.

  • /r/HigherEducation: A place to discuss and share articles related to higher education.

  • /r/HistoryTeachers: A place to discuss and share resources for history educators.

  • /r/ScienceTeachers: A place for science educators to collaborate on and contribute tips, ideas, labs, and curricula.

  • /r/SpecialEd: Where special education teachers can discuss and share resources related to the education of students with special needs.

  • /r/Teachers: A place to discuss the practice of teaching, receive support from fellow teachers, and gain insight into the teaching profession.

  • /r/TeachingResources: A great place to share and discover teaching resources, such as demos, blogs, simulations, and visual aids.


/r/highereducation

59,212 Subscribers

3

Breaking into Advising

I would love some insight about breaking into advising. I don't have the perfect educational experience since this wasn't initially an avenue I thought I wanted to pursue (i.e. I don't have a masters in education or counseling), however I do have a Masters in Applied Linguistics. I do have two years of experience working for a TRIO program during my undergrad. The program's aim was to provide academic resources to first gen/low income/disabled students. My role involved working with students one on one, mostly in a tutor type way where I'd help them with their written work. But I was also able to work with larger groups of students and give workshops on academic topics like critical thinking, skills for academic success, etc. I really loved working with students during my time there. During my undergrad I also had an internship shadowing an ESL professor at a community college when I thought I wanted follow the ESL instructor route as a career. All of this to say, I have a little bit of experience working with students at the college level and in student services in general, but I fear it might not be enough to break into the advising field. I still took a chance and applied for an advising position that is in the Letters department of a UC for students who are studying communication, linguistics, and political science. I've also applied for other advising/student services assistant roles, so we'll see how that goes. I'd love to get some insight and any advice on how to get my foot in the door. I know advising is tough and you're often underpaid for the high amount of labor and high case loads, but I still really resonate with the idea of supporting students in crafting a successful academic/professional pathway.

2 Comments
2024/04/24
03:38 UTC

0

What the most Conservative College/University in the Country where the President rules with an iron fist and will not hesitate to expel anyone with divergent views?

You know, the situation at Columbia University had me thinking.  Their President could easily end this, but would be accused of not supporting freedom of speech and the principles of democracy.  So that led me to think……

What the most Conservative University in the Country where the President rules with an iron fist and will not hesitate to expel anyone with divergent views that is not in lock step with the institution’s ideology?

Note: This post is not about Israel and Gaza, so please refrain from political commentary regarding that situation.

Thanks

9 Comments
2024/04/23
21:27 UTC

5

Transitioning from AMFT into Academic Advising

I have been a licensed AMFT for a couple of years now. Although it is interesting and fulfilling in some aspects, I have always wanted to pursue a career in higher education. Academic Advising in particular.

I was a peer advisor for my undergrad's Student Success Center, and I loved it. I applied for a full-time position after I graduated, but unfortunately, COVID hit soon after. Fast forward a year, and I really wanted to go back to school and ultimately landed on counseling psychology with an emphasis in MFT. I really enjoyed my masters program and have worked or interned in psych hospitals, community mental health, private practice, etc. However, I just never felt that spark I felt when I was working as a peer advisor.

I have been trying for about 4 months to make the transition, but I am finding it to be VERY difficult. I have applied for primarily part-time, entry-level, or trainee positions but am not getting through the review portion. I know it's because of my lack of experience. I'm curious to find out other people's processes. If you've transitioned from something else or went to graduate school specifically to work in higher education, what were your experiences? What were your first roles? And is this difficulty getting past the review boards a me thing or maybe a universal thing? I would appreciate any and all feedback!

14 Comments
2024/04/18
23:59 UTC

6

Research Study for Faculty re: Interaction and Exposure to Students’ Traumas (Mod Approved)

(This post has been approved by the moderators)

Hello!

My name is Isabelle Hernández, and I am a research assistant for Dr. Tricia Shalka (associate professor of Higher Education, University of Rochester). I would like to request your participation in a mixed methods study Dr. Shalka is conducting to better understand the contexts in which faculty may be exposed to students’ experiences of trauma and how these exposures may impact faculty roles.

To participate in the survey portion of this study, you must identify as a faculty member (including adjunct or teaching assistant) who is currently employed either full-time or part-time.

If you meet the above criteria and are interested in participating in the survey (which takes less than 15 minutes to complete), please go to the following link

https://universityrochester.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_56fsJJ1U1YvVjpk

If you know other faculty who may be interested in participating, please also share the link with them.

Thank you for considering this opportunity! We are grateful for your time!

0 Comments
2024/04/17
14:08 UTC

0

My dream died, and now I'm here (Science educator on youtube explains her path)

2 Comments
2024/04/05
16:12 UTC

3

The proportion of racialized people with a bachelor’s degree or higher reached an all-time high in 2021 / La proportion de personnes racisées titulaires d’un baccalauréat ou d’un grade supérieur a atteint un sommet inégalé en 2021

Racialized groups in Canada generally have higher levels of education than the total population. These results are from a new series of 10 updated data tables that are part of the Social Inclusion Framework for Canada’s Ethnocultural Groups. This release presents selected results on education and skill development, in particular for the highest certificate, diploma or degree completed:

  • The proportion of racialized people with a bachelor’s degree or higher rose from 34.9% in 2006 to 47.5% in 2021.
  • Among racialized groups, South Asian, Chinese and West Asian populations had the largest percentage point increases from 2006 to 2021.
  • For the first time, in 2021, the proportion of racialized women with a bachelor’s degree or higher (48.4%) was higher than the proportion of their male counterparts (46.5%).

We are Canada’s national statistical agency. We are here to engage with Canadians and provide them with high-quality statistical information that matters! Publishing in a subreddit does not imply we endorse the content posted by other redditors.

***

Les groupes racisés ont des niveaux de scolarité généralement plus élevés que l’ensemble de la population canadienne. Ces résultats proviennent d’une nouvelle série de tableaux de données actualisées qui font partie du Cadre de l’inclusion sociale relatif aux groupes ethnoculturels du Canada. Le communiqué fait état de quelques résultats sur la scolarité et le perfectionnement des compétences, plus particulièrement sur l’indicateur du plus haut certificat, diplôme ou grade obtenu.

  • La proportion de personnes racisées titulaires d’un baccalauréat ou d’un grade supérieur a augmenté passant de 23,0 % en 2006 à 32,9 % en 2021.
  • Parmi les groupes racisés, les populations sud-asiatiques, chinoises et asiatiques occidentales ont affiché les hausses en points de pourcentage les plus importantes de 2006 à 2021.
  • Pour la première fois, en 2021, la proportion de femmes racisées titulaires d’un baccalauréat ou d’un grade supérieur (48,4 %) dépasse celle de leurs homologues de genre masculin (46,5 %).

Nous sommes l’organisme national de statistique du Canada. Nous sommes ici pour discuter avec les Canadiens et les Canadiennes et leur fournir des renseignements statistiques de grande qualité qui comptent! Le fait de publier dans un sous-reddit ne signifie pas que nous approuvons le contenu affiché par d’autres utilisateurs de Reddit.

0 Comments
2024/03/28
19:39 UTC

9

Newer to leadership and struggling with always feeling behind

For a bit of context, I'm in my first leadership position and oversee a smaller office within a Student Affairs division. I'm the only full-time staff in the office, but do have a few student workers. Our office works with students, staff, and faculty due to the nature of my role, and we are often balancing endeavors in both student programming and faculty/staff initiatives.

Lately, I've been struggling with feeling constantly behind and trying to not burn out. I try hard to practice a healthy work-life balance, but in doing so feel I get behind at times, which in turn triggers my anxiety that I've upset someone or have come off unprofessional. I also struggle with ADHD and am a bit socially awkward due to my neurodivergence, so often find myself working late to try to overcompensate for my feelings of inadequacy.

I've been in my role a little over a year now and just want to do my best. Any advice for trying to not feel constantly behind, or that I've constantly forgotten something / haven't responded to an email fast enough? I'm often off-location at events as well, so sometimes it takes me a little bit to respond since I don't have a team that can take over the professional logistics of programming.

7 Comments
2024/03/27
23:47 UTC

7

U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

FYI for those who have not yet used the USDE College Scorecard database an excellent, government produced resource on the health and viability of institutions of higher ed.

A search in this database should be the first move for anyone thinking of attending, working, or sending their kids to a particular university.

For example: here is the entry on a particularly miserable school, clearly documented in numbers: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?209603-Pacific-Northwest-College-of-Art

1 Comment
2024/03/16
22:57 UTC

5

Questions on switching between community college and 4-year university

Hi all,

I am about to start my career in higher education. I am currently negotiating a teaching faculty position at a large R1, 4-year university. I am also in the 2nd round of interviews for a community college tenure track position. I am optimistic about getting an offer but there is nothing set in stone just yet.

My preference at the moment is the community college both for higher pay and location. The one thing that I'm concerned about is if down the line I would like to switch to a 4-year university to teach upper level material more in line with my background/interests, would teaching at a community college work against me?

Additionally, does anyone have experience with working in both settings? If so, why did you switch from one to the other?

Thank you for your time!

11 Comments
2024/03/14
21:07 UTC

3

New to Disability and Access Specialist Position

I started a Disability and Access Specialist Position at a university, a few weeks ago. Previously, I worked in the K-12 setting. I feel like I have had very little training and am feeling overwhelmed. Has anybody had a similar experience and can provide tips and advice on navigating the disability and access field jn HE?

5 Comments
2024/03/14
03:27 UTC

3

Job Hunt / Interview Advice?

Hey guys! I just graduated in Dec with a degree in Educational Studies. In college, I worked in the Academic Success Department and Residence Life and Housing. I was also pretty involved on campus and in my sorority. I've put in close to 20 applications for various higher ed roles in the 4 colleges around me that are entry-level / align with my experiences. I had one interview back in January for an admissions role that went well but the committee still has not made a final decision. I've followed up with personal emails for all of the positions I've applied for.

I was just wondering, what interview or job search advice do people who have previously worked in higher ed have? How long can it take to get hired? Thank you guys!

9 Comments
2024/03/12
00:05 UTC

9

Brown reinstates SAT/ACT for class of 2029, keeps legacy admissions

I guess everything old is new again. What’s interesting is that Brown was not only mulling cutting legacies but they also grouped children of faculty and staff in with the legacy group in that discussion. For as little as higher Ed pays, that’s a slap in the face that they would even think about taking away that benefit. But also if you want to talk about preferential treatment and how it’s bad, if they’re able to get into Brown just because their parent works there, that’s not fair either.

Press release: https://www.brown.edu/news/2024-03-05/admissions

11 Comments
2024/03/08
13:54 UTC

3

About to begin teaching a course and my kid is constantly bringing home germs from daycare, how to handle this?

I'm about to begin teaching an 8-week, in-person course. I have a 5 month old baby who started daycare 3 weeks ago and in that time I have already been sick twice, back to back. I'm trying to figure out the best way to minimize how much I expose students to germs (since I will inevitably get sick, probably multiple times over 8 weeks) without compromising the quality of the course. Would really appreciate hearing what other people have done or what they think the best approach would be.

Moves I'm considering:

- Let students know I have a kid who is newly in daycare and bringing home a lot of germs. Pros: aware of risks, can take whatever measures they think are appropriate. Cons: anxiety, avoiding in-person lectures/office hours

- Wear a mask all the time. Pros: reduce risk to students. Cons: mild impediment to communication (or major impediment to students who rely on lip reading). I also had an experience in a previous class where I was wearing a mask and a student misread the tone of a remark as impatience rather than excitement, I think in part because they couldn't see my expression.

- Move lectures to Zoom when I'm sick. Pros: avoid exposing students when I'm most infectious. Cons: disruptive, especially if announced last minute; decent chance this would happen for more than 20% of lectures; student engagement and learning suffer somewhat (especially if classes are not designed for Zoom)

- Give students the option to attend any/all lectures via Zoom. Pros: still able to hold classes in-person, students can avoid exposure. Cons: many students likely to attend remotely for other reasons; hybrid classes are probably the worst in terms of engagement and learning

I'm open to other suggestions as well. Note, moving the course entirely online is not an option per my university. International students have in-person credit requirements to maintain their visas so with a few exceptions courses are required to be in-person.

5 Comments
2024/03/07
18:17 UTC

0

Reddit IPO Implications for Higher Ed Leaders [Public Trust]

I've been ruminating on the Reddit IPO since the prospectus was released a couple weeks ago. My job is to apply social intelligence to higher education, and I've been talking with presidents and senior administrators about Reddit in particular for the last year or so.

I sent the following short essay to newsletter subscribers yesterday, and received excellent initial feedback. Because of the relevant topics (AI, public trust in higher ed), I'd like to engage members of this sub in further discussion—you're likely to have a better understanding of how Reddit works than the average higher ed administrator, since you're already here. In keeping with the rules, I've removed any links to my website. Links to other data and industry sources with editorial oversight remain. Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback, sub.

What the Reddit IPO Suggests for Higher Ed Leaders Seeking to Rebuild Public Trust

Reddit filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange last month. Its prospectus highlights the impact the anonymous forum site has on public trust—and how higher education leaders can leverage the insight within its 17 billion posts and comments to rebuild trust and inform a proactive, audience-centric market strategy.Founded in 2005, Reddit is the last of the 2000s era social media companies to go public. It’s unique amongst this peer group (Meta, Snap, Twitter, etc) because of how it works. The prospectus states, “Reddit’s community ecosystem is organically built upon shared interests, passions, and trust rather than friends, celebrities, and their followers.” This ecosystem is 18 years old. For your youngest students, Reddit has always been a place to learn and seek advice. Adults under 30 are four times more likely to use Reddit than those ages 50–64. This demographic—which extends beyond traditional-aged college students—is more likely to use Reddit than LinkedIn.

Reddit’s prospectus explains that users come to the site and its communities because it is:

  • An open, growing archive of human knowledge
  • Centered on interests, with unmatched breadth and depth of human knowledge
  • People-powered curation for authentic interactions and trusted content
  • A place for authentic and trusted recommendations
  • A flexible canvas for self- and community-expression
  • Using layered moderation, community management, and safety to support trust

These attributes are strikingly similar to the environment colleges and universities strive to create. The authentic, often anonymous conversations happening on Reddit can inform how you build an environment that attracts students and engenders their trust. The proof of the value this insight brings to organizations is in the emerging pillar of Reddit’s business model: licensing user conversation data.

While at the moment Reddit follows the typical social media pattern of generating revenue through advertising, its emerging revenue source is data licensing. The offering prospectus touts “the value of Reddit’s data in sentiment analysis and trend identification” in connection with an estimated $1 trillion artificial intelligence market that uses robust user conversation to train large language models and generative AI. “We are also in the early stages of monetizing our emerging opportunity in data licensing by allowing third parties to access, search, and analyze data on our platform.” Reddit entered into $203 million in data-licensing agreements in January 2024 and expects this revenue stream to grow rapidly.

The AI tools prospective students will use to get information about college will be trained on Reddit data. Colleges and universities that don’t use this data for their own strategic intelligence now are missing an opportunity to keep up with the market as it evolves.

People already trust Reddit. It influences their perception of higher education, where they apply and attend, and what they’re willing to pay. The same week Inside Higher Ed published its survey of college presidents reporting they believed the top factor in public skepticism about the value of higher education is affordability, a 19-year-old posted to Reddit worried about “selling their soul to Drexel” after facing the prospect of a $300,000 degree. This was posted to the Personal Finance subreddit with 19 million members.

Once Reddit content is powering LLMs developed by big tech firms, the opinions and experiences within the site will have an exponentially greater reach and impact. For years, colleges have had the ability to use Reddit’s data to understand markets and audiences, build student community, identify reputation threats, and regain public trust. If higher education doesn’t make use of this data to inform its own operations and strategy and disrupt itself, tech companies will use it to force further consumer-driven market disruption.

3 Comments
2024/03/07
13:11 UTC

5

Difference between Education Specialist and a Doctorate?

Hello all,

I'm still deciding on if I want to pursue a PhD after completing my master's next year. I've seen online that PhD's are mostly for professors or those who want to do research. Is this true, and if I wanted to be a dean of students when my career is all said and done which would be the better option? I would love to hear the experiences of those with either degree :)

5 Comments
2024/03/05
18:57 UTC

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