Tag: Improve

  • Five Ways Higher Ed Teams Can Improve AEO This Month

    Five Ways Higher Ed Teams Can Improve AEO This Month

    There’s a growing tension I’m hearing across higher education marketing and enrollment teams right now: AI is answering students’ questions before they ever reach our websites, and we’re not sure how, or if, we’re part of those answers.

    That concern is valid, but the good news is that Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) isn’t some futuristic discipline that requires entirely new teams, tools, or timelines. 

    In most cases, it’s about getting much more disciplined with the content, structure, and facts you already publish so that AI systems can confidently use your institution as a source of truth.

    And with some dedicated time and attention, there’s meaningful progress you can make starting today.

    Here are five actions higher ed teams can realistically take right now to improve how they appear in AI-powered search and answer environments.

    1. Run a Simple “Answer Audit” to Establish Your Baseline

    Before you can improve how you show up in AI-generated answers, you need to understand where you stand today, and that starts with asking the same questions your prospective students are asking.

    Identify Real Student Questions

    Select five to ten realistic, high-intent student questions, ideally pulled directly from admissions conversations, search query data, or inquiry emails. 

    Test Visibility Across Major Answer Engines

    Run those questions through a handful of major answer engines, such as:

    • Google AI Mode or AI Overviews
    • ChatGPT
    • Gemini
    • Perplexity
    • Bing Copilot or AI Overview search mode

    This isn’t a perfect science, as your geography and past search history does affect visibility, but it will give you a quick general idea.

    Document What Appears—and What Doesn’t

    For each query, document a few critical things:

    • Does your institution appear in the answer at all?
    • If it does, what information is being shared, and is it accurate?
    • How is your institution being described? Is the tone neutral, positive, or cautious, and does it align with how you want to be perceived?
    • Which sources are cited or clearly influencing the response (your site, rankings, Wikipedia, third-party directories)?

    Log this in a simple spreadsheet. What you’ve just created is your initial visibility benchmark, and it’s far more informative than traditional rankings or traffic reports in an AI-first discovery environment.

    Where We Can Help

    In Carnegie’s AEO Audit, we expand this approach across a much broader and more structured evaluation set. Over a 30-day period, Carnegie evaluates visibility, sentiment, and competitive positioning to show how often you appear, what AI engines are saying about your brand and programs, how you compare to peers, and where focused changes will have the greatest impact on AI search presence.

    >> Learn More About Carnegie’s AEO Solution. 

    2. Fix the Facts on Your Highest-Impact Pages

    If there’s one thing AI systems punish consistently, it’s conflicting or outdated information, and those issues most often surface on pages that drive key enrollment decisions.

    Identify Your Highest-Impact Pages and Core Facts

    Start by identifying ten to twenty priority pages based on enrollment volume, traffic, revenue contribution, or strategic importance. These typically include:

    • High-demand program pages
    • Admissions and application requirement pages
    • Tuition, cost, and financial aid pages
    • Visit, events, and deadline-driven pages

    These pages frequently influence AI-generated answers and early student impressions, and where inaccuracies can have an impact on trust and decision-making, particularly as search continues to evolve toward more experience-driven models.

    For each priority page, verify that the core facts are correct, complete, and clearly stated wherever they apply.

    Program Name and Credential Type

    Ensure the official program name and credential are clearly stated upon first mention. For example, fully spell out the name—Bachelor of Arts in English—in the first paragraph of the page and abbreviate to B.A. in English, Bachelor’s in English, and/or English major in future mentions.

    Delivery Format

    Clearly indicate whether the program or experience is offered on-campus, online, hybrid, or through multiple pathways.

    Time to Completion or Timeline Expectations

    Include full-time, part-time, and accelerated timelines, or key dates where applicable.

    Concentrations or Specializations

    List available concentrations or specializations clearly and consistently.

    Tuition and Fees

    Confirm how costs are expressed and whether additional fees apply.

    Admissions Requirements and Deadlines

    List requirements and deadlines explicitly, avoiding conditional or outdated language.

    Outcomes, Licensure, and Accreditation

    Document licensure alignment, accreditation status, and any verified outcomes data.

    Align Facts Across Every Source

    Once verified, align that information everywhere it appears, including:

    • Primary program, admissions, and visit pages
    • Catalog and registrar listings
    • PDFs, viewbooks, and other downloadable assets
    • Major program directories and rankings where edits are possible

    Signal Freshness with Clear Update Dates

    For content that is time-bound or interpretive—such as admissions pages, deadlines, visit information, policies, blog posts, and thought leadership—clearly signaling recency helps reduce confusion for both students and AI systems.

    In those cases, a visible “last updated” date can help establish confidence that information reflects current realities.

    The goal isn’t to add dates everywhere. It’s to be intentional about where freshness signals meaningfully support clarity, trust, and accuracy.

    3. Restructure a Small Set of Program Pages for AI Readability

    With your facts aligned, the next step is making sure your most important program pages are structured in a way that both humans and machines can easily understand.

    Use a Predictable Page Structure AI Can Parse

    Choose five to ten priority programs and apply a clear, predictable structure that answer engines can parse with confidence, such as:

    • Program overview
    • Who this program is designed for
    • What students will learn
    • Delivery format and scheduling
    • Time to completion
    • Cost and financial support options
    • Admissions requirements
    • Career pathways and outcomes
    • Frequently asked questions

    Add Information Gain to Differentiate Your Program

    Rely on descriptive headings and bullet points, and avoid unnecessarily complex language. Most importantly, include at least one element of information gain: a specific detail that differentiates the program, such as outcomes data, employer partnerships, or experiential learning opportunities.

    Answer Student Questions Explicitly with FAQs

    And if you want to influence AI-generated answers, you need to be explicit about the questions you’re answering—FAQ sections remain one of the most effective ways to do that.

    On each optimized program page, add four to six student-centered questions that directly address decision-making concerns. 

    Answers should be brief, factual, and supported by links to official institutional data wherever possible. 

    Use FAQ Schema Where Possible

    If your CMS and development resources allow, mark these sections up with FAQ schema so answer engines can more reliably identify and reuse them.

    If you don’t clearly answer these questions, AI will still respond, but it may not use your content to do so.

    4. Build a Net-New Content Strategy for AI Visibility

    Program pages matter, but institutions won’t win in AI search results by maintaining existing content alone.

    Why AI Systems Prefer Explanatory Content

    In practice, we’re seeing AI tools cite blog posts, explainers, and articles more often than traditional program pages, especially for the broader, earlier-stage questions students ask before they’re ready to search for a specific degree.

    That means AEO success requires more than restructuring what already exists. It requires a proactive content strategy that consistently publishes new points of expertise, experience, and trust around the topics students care about.

    The Types of Student Questions AI Is Answering

    For many institutions, that’s not just about program marketing. It’s about painting a credible picture of student life, outcomes, belonging, and the real-world value of higher education. The kinds of pieces AI systems surface tend to answer questions like:

    • What should I look for in an MBA program with an accounting concentration?
    • Is community college a good first step?
    • What kinds of jobs can I get in energy?
    • What does it mean to be an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution?

    In other words: content that helps students frame decisions before they compare institutions.

    Start with a Small, Intent-Driven Content Pipeline

    Start small. Choose five to ten priority student questions tied to your recruitment goals, informed by existing keyword research tools and site data from sources like Google Search Console.

    Use those insights to build a simple content pipeline that produces a handful of focused articles:

    • 3–5 new blog or explainer topics aligned to student intent
    • Outlines built around direct answers + structured headings
    • A short list of internal contributors or Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
    • Clear calls-to-action that connect early-funnel content to next steps

    This is one of the fastest ways to expand your presence in AI-generated answers, and to build brand awareness earlier in the funnel, when students are still defining what they want.

    Where We Can Help

    Our AEO solution for higher ed turns insights from the audit into sustained visibility gains. Our experts deliver ongoing content development, asset optimization, visibility tracking and technical guidance to build your authority and improve performance across AI-driven search experiences.

    >> Learn More About Carnegie’s AEO Solution. 

    5. Establish a Lightweight Governance and Maintenance Cadence

    One of the biggest threats to long-term AEO success in higher education isn’t technology, it’s organizational drift.

    You don’t need an enterprise-wide governance overhaul to make a difference. Start with something intentionally simple:

    • A defined list of high-impact pages (programs, tuition, admissions, financial aid)
    • A basic owner matrix outlining responsibility for updates
    • A short monthly review checklist
    • A quarterly content review cadence by college or school

    Even a modest governance framework can dramatically reduce conflicting information and ensure your most important pages remain current as programs evolve.

    Good enough beats perfect every time.

    The Bigger Picture

    AEO isn’t about chasing every AI update or trying to “game” emerging platforms. It’s about being consistently clear, accurate, and helpful in the moments when students are asking their most important questions.

    If you do these five things this month, you won’t just improve your institution’s visibility in AI-driven search, you’ll build trust at the exact point where enrollment decisions are being shaped.

    Ready to go deeper?

    Download The Definitive Guide to AI Search for Higher Ed for practical frameworks, examples, and checklists that will help your team move from experimentation to strategy without the overwhelm.

    Frequently Asked Questions About AEO in Higher Education

    What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?

    Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of improving how institutions appear in AI-driven search and answer environments like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Overviews, Gemini, and Perplexity. Instead of focusing only on rankings and clicks, AEO emphasizes clarity, accuracy, and structured content so AI systems can confidently cite and summarize your institution.

    How is AEO different from traditional SEO?

    SEO is designed to improve visibility in search engine results pages, while AEO focuses on how content is interpreted and reused by AI systems that generate direct answers. AEO prioritizes structured content, consistent facts, explicit question answering, and information gain over keyword density alone.

    Why does AEO matter for higher education institutions?

    Students increasingly ask AI platforms questions about programs, outcomes, cost, and fit before visiting institutional websites. AEO helps ensure your institution is accurately represented in those early discovery moments, when perceptions are formed and enrollment decisions begin taking shape.

    What types of content help improve AEO performance?

    AI systems tend to favor content that is clearly structured and informative, including program pages with consistent facts, FAQ sections, explainer articles, and blog posts that directly answer student questions. Content that demonstrates expertise, outcomes, and real-world context is more likely to be cited.

    Who can we help implement AEO for higher education?

    Institutions can begin improving AEO internally by auditing content, aligning program facts, and adding structured FAQs. For more advanced support, higher education–focused partners like Carnegie provide AEO audits, content optimization, technical guidance, and ongoing visibility tracking tailored to AI-driven search environments.

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  • College Aid Previews Aim to Improve Early Decision

    College Aid Previews Aim to Improve Early Decision

    With the imminent arrival of early-decision results comes a new round of hand-wringing about the admissions practice, which affords students a better chance of getting accepted to their top institution but requires them to commit if admitted.

    Critics argue that the practice disadvantages low- and middle-income students, who fear being locked into attending a college before they know if they can afford it—although many colleges with an early-decision option allow students to back out over financial constraints. It also prevents applicants from comparing financial aid offers across multiple institutions.

    “Because there is so much uncertainty, families with high incomes are more likely to choose early decision and therefore benefit from its more favorable odds. It’s the perfect tool for maximizing revenues at schools positioned as luxury products, with price tags to match,” wrote Daniel Currell, a former deputy under secretary and senior adviser at the Department of Education from 2018 to 2021, in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday that argued for the end of early decision. Indeed, Common App data about the fall 2021 freshman class showed that students from the wealthiest ZIP codes were twice as likely to apply early decision.

    But despite the criticisms, some institutions are aiming to make the practice more equitable. A handful of small liberal arts colleges have introduced initiatives in recent years to allow students to preview their financial aid offers before they decide whether or not to apply early, which admissions leaders say they hope will make lower-income students feel more comfortable taking the leap.

    Reed College, a selective liberal arts college in Oregon, began offering early-decision aid reviews this year, which allow early-decision applicants to request and view their full financial aid packages before they receive an actual decision from the university. Just like an official aid offer, the preview is calculated by financial aid staff using the College Scholarship Service profile.

    If they aren’t entirely comfortable with the amount of aid they’re set to receive—or they’d rather compare offers from other institutions—they can drop their application down into the early-action pool.

    “I just think that this anxiety that people have over not getting the best financial deal for their family has been a barrier for people saying, ‘This is my first-choice school and I want to do everything I can to increase my chances for admission,’” said Milyon Trulove, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Reed.

    Early financial aid offers are among the various steps institutions have taken in recent years to improve cost transparency and, in many cases, show students that their institutions are affordable. Others include improved cost estimators and campaigns offering free tuition for families under a particular income limit. Institutions hope that such innovations will help prevent students from writing off their institutions—particularly selective institutions that offer significant aid—due to their sticker prices.

    So far, Reed’s reviews appear to be doing a good job of enticing applicants who otherwise might not have applied early; the number of early-decision applicants this year increased 60 percent compared to last admissions cycle. Only one student has opted to switch to early action, which is nonbinding, after receiving their estimated offer.

    Similar programs at other institutions have also proven successful. Whitman College in Washington began offering early financial aid guarantees in 2020 to any prospective student who had filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The initiative wasn’t created specifically to promote early decision, said Adam Miller, vice president for admission and financial aid. But he said he hoped that making it clear to families that Whitman is affordable would also open doors for students interested in applying early decision but nervous about costs.

    Early-decision applications haven’t increased at Whitman like they did this year at Reed. But Miller noted that the college’s early-decision applicants are as socioeconomically diverse as the institution’s overall applicant pool, rather than skewing wealthier.

    “As we think about these nationwide conversations and the very valid criticism of early decision, we think that our approach allows us to have kind of a win-win,” he said. “We still get the benefit of students who are applying early, [so] that we can start to build our incoming class with some confidence,” while also eliminating financial uncertainty for families.

    Last year, the university’s four-person financial aid staff handled 546 requests for early aid guarantees. It’s an extra lift for the tiny office, but, Miller said, 410 of those students ended up applying—“so it’s not like we were doing a lot of extra work for students that we weren’t going to be doing it for anyway.”

    Macalester College also launched such a program in 2021. The institution, which typically admits between 35 and 40 percent of its incoming class from early decision, implemented aid previews in conjunction with a number of other steps aimed at improving access, including going test-optional and eliminating its application fee.

    “If we have an opportunity to do something that we think might be helpful to an individual student or family, I guess I feel as responsibility as an enrollment manager to try to initiate a new practice or new policy,” said Jeff Allen, vice president for admissions and financial aid at Macalester.

    Boosting Cost Transparency

    Financial aid experts said they see early financial aid calculations as a good option for institutions hoping to make the early-decision process—and college costs over all—more transparent.

    Students should be able to “apply early decision to a school where they know it’s the place for them and they don’t need to be saying, ‘But I need the financial aid so maybe this isn’t a good choice,’” said Jill Desjean, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. “That option should be available to anyone that finds the school where they really feel like they belong via early decision without having to factor in their finances, so any kind of early estimates, accurate early estimates—anything like that is a positive thing.”

    She noted that such programs might be too heavy of a lift for institutions receiving massive numbers of applications every year, but also that larger institutions have more resources and staffing to accommodate such requests.

    James Murphy, a senior fellow at Class Action, an advocacy organization focused on “reimagining elite higher education,” said that while he sees early aid previews as a positive step toward transparency, they don’t address some of his key concerns about early decision. At many expensive private high schools, he said, nearly every student applies early decision, whereas public high school students often aren’t even aware of the option.

    “There’s kind of a culture thing. If you go to Georgetown Prep … everybody’s applying early decision, or most students are applying early decision, unless they’re applying to Harvard or Stanford that don’t have it … When you look at public schools, that’s not nearly as common,” he said. “I think raising awareness of early decision as a viable option for more students is one step that higher education could take to make it a little bit more equitable.”

    He also noted that some institutions admit over half of their incoming classes from early-decision applicants, which dramatically lowers the chances for regular-admission applicants to be admitted.

    “The New York Times had that op-ed about banning it. That’s not going to happen. Colleges will fight so hard to make that not happen,” he said. But, he said, “what I would love to see is caps” on the percentage of students that can be admitted early decision.

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  • One State’s Collaborative Efforts to Improve Transfer

    One State’s Collaborative Efforts to Improve Transfer

    Recent “Beyond Transfer” articles have garnered a lot of attention and discussion among many in the transfer world, including those of us involved in transfer work in Virginia. The reactions to these articles demonstrate just how complex transfer is, and while we may not all agree, the importance of the work is undeniable. One state has taken steps to reduce the complexity and clarify transfer for students and colleges.

    The article “The Transfer Credit Myth: How Everything We Know About Excess Credits May Be Wrong,” while narrow in scope, highlighted several important aspects of transfer that should be reiterated: Early and consistent academic planning support is imperative. Additionally, we know program changes, prerequisites and financial aid exhaustion can have serious implications to progress whether a student transferred or not. Furthermore, as highlighted in a response article, we cannot forget about state- and system-level policies that may impact these efforts, for better or worse.

    In recognition of these complexities, Virginia passed legislation in 2018 to improve transfer, which addressed three elements: general education, transfer pathways and a state transfer tool. In response and through a collaborative effort between the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and two- and four-year institutions, the Transfer Virginia initiative was born. Its goal is to remove barriers while improving credit efficiency, reducing time to transfer and boosting degree-attainment rates.

    • General education: A two-year institutional general education package, known as the Uniform Certificate of General Studies (U.C.G.S.), was created to apply to lower-level general education at all Virginia public four-year institutions and many participating private four-year institutions.
    • Transfer pathways: Common curricula have been developed to provide the foundation for the transfer pathways—or student-facing transfer guides—which are created with the goal of mapping associate degree curricula, including the U.C.G.S., to baccalaureate degrees to strengthen credit efficiency and applicability. Each guide includes a curricular section showing the student exactly what to take at both the two-year institution and the remaining requirements at the four-year institution for a true 2+2. There is also a “Transfer Guidance” section that includes information about the college/university, major, admission—including guaranteed admission—as well as important dates, deadlines and links, serving as a one-stop shop for transfer information. There are currently over 500 transfer guides, representing over 30 pathways to four-year institutions, with approximately 150 to 200 guides submitted each year. These work very well when a student has identified a transfer plan. For those who would like to explore further, these and many other resources are available in the portal.
    • State transfer tool: The Transfer Virginia portal, officially launched in 2021, is designed to be a robust repository to assist students at any point in their higher education journey, including dual enrollment. The portal provides standardized information for more than 60 Virginia colleges—two-year and four-year, public and private—all in one place. Users can compare institutions, explore program listings, find colleges offering their major, see how their coursework transfers, create a portfolio and connect with transfer specialists directly.

    For states looking to effect change, a good place to start is identifying commonalities between general education curriculum at both two- and four-year institutions to craft a statewide pathway. However, the work cannot be done in silos. Collaboration and commitment from the two- and four-year institutions and state administrative agencies is vital. For Virginia, legislation ignited the initiative, but the teamwork between all stakeholders keeps the momentum going.

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  • 12 Ways to Improve College for Military Learners

    12 Ways to Improve College for Military Learners

    Colleges can support military-affiliated students through peer connections and community.

    SDI Productions/Getty Images

    Approximately 5 percent of all undergraduate learners are active-duty military, reservists, National Guard or veterans, but many systems within colleges aren’t set up to accommodate their needs.

    A November research brief from the Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice outlines some of the barriers to military students’ success while they’re enrolled and offers strategies to improve their college experiences. The report draws on interviews with students, recent graduates, higher education faculty and staff, policy experts, and past research.

    1. Clearly outline program costs and the support services available to military-connected learners. Colleges should also share data on military student enrollment, completion and job outcomes, such as on a dedicated military-student web page.
    1. Streamline credit transfer policies using the American Council on Education’s Military Guide as a starting point for military experience. Providing quality transfer advising can also ensure maximum allowable credits are awarded for prior service and can explain how a major program may increase or decrease transferred credits.
    2. Provide financial aid counseling for military-connected students so they know the benefits available for them at federal, state and institutional levels. The college should also allocate dollars in the case of benefit delays or work with appropriate offices to expedite funds.
    3. Create peer mentorship programs to connect incoming students with currently enrolled military learners who have similar lived experiences. Affinity groups on campus, such as the Student Veterans of America, can also instill a sense of belonging.
    1. Offer professional development training for faculty and staff to be culturally competent about military-specific needs. Green Zone Ally Training is one example that helps higher education professionals support veterans on campus.
    2. Offer flexible courses that accommodate active-duty service members and their families, who may be navigating deployments or relocations. These could include online classes or competency-based education.
    3. Establish policies for service-related disruptions including deadline extensions, rescheduling exams or alternative-format course materials to mitigate disruptions to students’ academic timelines.
    1. Provide accessibility across systems so veterans with disabilities gain equitable access to resources. In instances when accommodations are needed, creating a streamlined process to qualify for accommodations through the disability services office ensures veterans can access all resources.
    2. Create partnerships with external agencies who also support military-connected individuals, such as Veterans Service Organizations and the local Veterans Affairs office.
    3. Connect students with career coaches who can translate their military experience and training into the civilian workforce as well as liaise between veteran-friendly employers and students. Some military-connected students may need additional advice on how professional demeanor and formality expectations vary in the civilian workforce, the report noted.
    1. Expand access to co-op programs and internships that are tailored to military learners and career exploration opportunities. Military-focused career events can make the match between veteran-friendly organizations and future employees.
    2. Track career outcomes for military-affiliated students and align offerings with labor market opportunities.

    How does your college or university provide specialized resources to military-affiliated students? Tell us more here.

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  • Some social emotional lessons improve how kids do at school, Yale study finds

    Some social emotional lessons improve how kids do at school, Yale study finds

    Social emotional learning — lessons in soft skills like listening to people you disagree with or calming yourself down before a test — has become a flashpoint in the culture wars. 

    The conservative political group Moms for Liberty opposes SEL, as it is often abbreviated, telling parents that its “goal is to psychologically manipulate students to accept the progressive ideology that supports gender fluidity, sexual preference exploration, and systemic oppression.” Critics say that parents should discuss social and emotional matters at home and that schools should stick to academics. Meanwhile, some advocates on the left say standard SEL classes don’t go far enough and should include such topics as social justice and anti-racism training. 

    While the political battle rages on, academic researchers are marshalling evidence for what high-quality SEL programs actually deliver for students. The latest study, by researchers at Yale University, summarizes 12 years of evidence, from 2008 to 2020, and it finds that 30 different SEL programs, which put themselves through 40 rigorous evaluations involving almost 34,000 students, tended to produce “moderate” academic benefits.

    Related: Our free weekly newsletter alerts you to what research says about schools and classrooms.

    The meta-analysis, published online Oct. 8 in the peer-reviewed journal Review of Educational Research, calculated that the grades and test scores of students in SEL classes improved by about 4 percentile points, on average, compared with students who didn’t receive soft-skill instruction. That’s the equivalent of moving from the 50th percentile (in the middle) to the 54th percentile (slightly above average). Reading gains were larger (more than 6 percentile points) than math gains (fewer than 4 percentile points). Longer-duration SEL programs, extending more than four months, produced double the academic gains — more than 8 percentile points. 

    “Social emotional learning interventions are not designed, most of the time, to explicitly improve academic achievement,” said Christina Cipriano, one of the study’s four authors and an associate professor at Yale Medical School’s Child Study Center. “And yet we demonstrated, through our meta-analytic report, that explicit social emotional learning improved academic achievement and it improved both GPA and test scores.”

    Cipriano also directs the Education Collaboratory at Yale, whose mission is to “advance the science of learning and social and emotional development.”

    The academic boost from SEL in this 2025 paper is much smaller than the 11 percentile points documented in an earlier 2011 meta-analysis that summarized research through 2007, when SEL had not yet gained widespread popularity in schools. That has since changed. More than 80 percent of principals of K-12 schools said their schools used an SEL curriculum during the 2023-24 school year, according to a survey by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the RAND Corporation. 

    Related: A research update on social-emotional learning in schools

    The Yale researchers only studied a small subset of the SEL market, programs that subjected themselves to a rigorous evaluation and included academic outcomes. Three-quarters of the 40 studies were randomized-controlled trials, similar to pharmaceutical trials, where schools or teachers were randomly assigned to teach an SEL curriculum. The remaining studies, in which schools or teachers volunteered to participate, still had control groups of students so that researchers could compare the academic gains of students who did not receive SEL instruction. 

    The SEL programs in the Yale study taught a wide range of soft skills, from mindfulness and anger management to resolving conflicts and setting goals. It is unclear which soft skills are driving the academic gains. That’s an area for future research.

    “Developmentally, when we think about what we know about how kids learn, emotional regulation is really the driver,” said Cipriano. “No matter how good that curriculum or that math program or reading curriculum is, if a child is feeling unsafe or anxious or stressed out or frustrated or embarrassed, they’re not available to receive the instruction, however great that teacher might be.”

    Cipriano said that effective programs give students tools to cope with stressful situations. She offered the example of a pop quiz, from the perspective of a student. “You can recognize, I’m feeling nervous, my blood is rushing to my hands or my face, and I can use my strategies of counting to 10, thinking about what I know, and use positive self talk to be able to regulate, to be able to take my test,” she said.

    Related: A cheaper, quicker approach to social-emotional learning?

    The strongest evidence for SEL is in elementary school, where the majority of evaluations have been conducted (two-thirds of the 40 studies). For young students, SEL lessons tend to be short but frequent, for example, 10 minutes a day. There’s less evidence for middle and high school SEL programs because they haven’t been studied as much. Typically, preteens and teens have less frequent but longer sessions, a half hour or even 90 minutes, weekly or monthly. 

    Cipriano said that schools don’t need to spend “hours and hours” on social and emotional instruction in order to see academic benefits. A current trend is to incorporate or embed social and emotional learning within academic instruction, as part of math class, for example. But none of the underlying studies in this paper evaluated whether this was a more effective way to deliver SEL. All of the programs in this study were separate stand-alone SEL lessons. 

    Advice to schools

    Schools are inundated by sales pitches from SEL vendors. Estimates of the market size range wildly, but a half dozen market research firms put it above $2 billion annually. Not all SEL programs are necessarily effective or can be expected to produce the academic gains that the Yale team calculated. 

    Cipriano advises schools not to be taken in by slick marketing. Many of the effective programs have no marketing at all and some are free. Unfortunately, some of these programs have been discontinued or have transformed through ownership changes. But she says school leaders can ask questions about which specific skills the SEL program claims to foster, whether those skills will help the district achieve its goals, such as improving school climate, and whether the program has been externally evaluated. 

    “Districts invest in things all the time that are flashy and pretty, across content areas, not just SEL,” said Cipriano. “It may never have had an external evaluation, but has a really great social media presence and really great marketing.” 

    Cipriano has also built a new website, improvingstudentoutcomes.org, to track the latest research on SEL effectiveness and to help schools identify proven programs.

    Cipriano says parents should be asking questions too. “Parents should be partners in learning,” said Cipriano. “I have four kids, and I want to know what they’re learning about in school.”

    This meta-analysis probably won’t stop the SEL critics who say that these programs force educators to be therapists. Groups like Moms for Liberty, which holds its national summit this week, say teachers should stick to academics. This paper rejects that dichotomy because it suggests that emotions, social interaction and academics are all interlinked. 

    Before criticizing all SEL programs, educators and parents need to consider the evidence.

    Contact staff writer Jill Barshay at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or [email protected].

    This story about SEL benefits was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Proof Points and other Hechinger newsletters.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

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  • School facility governance standard aims to improve fairness, boost rental revenue

    School facility governance standard aims to improve fairness, boost rental revenue

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    Dive Brief:

    • Facilitron is rolling out what it says is the first U.S. governance standard for community use of public school facilities, the digital facilities rental platform said Sept. 10.
    • The California-based company will debut the framework in San Diego this November at Facilitron University, its annual conference for school district leaders and facility managers.
    • The standard aims to align school facility use with districts’ mission and strategy, reduce legal risk, improve consistency and transparency across district operations, and ensure equitable access for community members and groups, the company says.

    Dive Insight:

    Facilitron provides facility rental and management support for some of the largest school districts in the U.S., including Florida’s Broward County Public Schools, Nevada’s Clark County School District and California’s San Diego Unified School District.

    That broad reach helped the company design a governance framework that goes beyond school boards’ existing model policies to encompass administrative regulations, site manuals, renter terms and audit tools, the company says. It draws on data from more than 15,000 schools, many of which have outdated, inconsistent and unenforceable facility-use policies, “exposing where current systems fail,” according to the company. 

    “Every district on our platform has a data trail that tells a story,” Facilitron Chief Marketing Officer Trent Allen said in an email. “Even when data is missing — because poor policy and enforcement means a lot of facility use never gets documented — you can still see the problems, like a black hole bending light in its direction.”

    Allen said many of those problems have a financial dimension. For example, many districts offer automatic subsidies for registered nonprofits, regardless of the actual public benefit the organization provides — so a national nonprofit with high participation fees gets effectively the same treatment as a grassroots group with a much smaller budget, Allen said.

    Districts’ facility-use policies — and the state statutes enabling them — leave money on the table in other ways, like sweetheart deals for school employees, rates that remain static for years, and ambiguous language that discourages districts from tapping their facilities’ full value. 

    As an example, Allen said, some Tennessee districts interpret a vaguely worded state statute prohibiting “private profit” in school facility use to mean that only nonprofit organizations can rent them, creating a situation where “essentially every use becomes a subsidized use.” That leaves out the possibility that private companies could use the facilities for charitable or other purposes. 

    Additionally, many school boards give school administrators or facilities managers free rein to adjust or waive fees, or approve informal use outside the plain text of board policy, he said.

    The upshot of all this, Allen added, is that larger districts forgo millions in potential revenue annually from facility rentals while creating conditions ripe for favoritism and inequity.

    Once one group gets access under favorable terms, every similar group is usually given the same,” he said. “Suddenly the district is on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It quickly runs into the millions and it is never budgeted for.”

    Facilitron says its national governance standard pushes back on the status quo by laying out detailed model school board policies and administrative regulations; a “modular policy toolkit” and site-level operations manual; a national terms and conditions template; and a “facility use audit framework,” which the company describes as “a diagnostic tool that reveals cost, risk and underperformance.”

    The national governance standard also includes frequently asked questions, case studies and other resources for school boards.

    “We require annual reporting, including an estimate of total subsidization. We make cost recovery the governing philosophy [and] move away from ‘nonprofit’ as the trigger for discounts, because that’s the wrong proxy for public benefit. And we separate policy into layers — board-level rules, administrative regulations, and site-level guidance — so principals aren’t left to invent their own rules,” Allen said.

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  • Design Smarter, Teach Better: How Thoughtful Course Webpages Can Improve Online Learning – Faculty Focus

    Design Smarter, Teach Better: How Thoughtful Course Webpages Can Improve Online Learning – Faculty Focus

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  • These 6 guidelines can improve equity in literacy, report says

    These 6 guidelines can improve equity in literacy, report says

    Giving students equitable access to high-quality instruction and resources for becoming proficient readers will help inspire a love of reading and give them ownership in their own literacy development, according to a report from EdTrust. 

    States are making progress in promoting evidence-based reading, but more needs to be done for all students to become skilled and engaged readers, said Shayna Levitan, a P-12 policy analyst at EdTrust and author of the report. EdTrust is a nonprofit that promotes educational equity for students of color and students from low-income families.

    “Every student has the right to read and to learn to read using rigorous, diverse instructional materials and the most effective instruction,” said Levitan in a July 29 statement.

    Disappointing reading proficiency in recent years — as measured by exams like the National Assessment of Educational Progress — has led to many states adopting evidence-based reading policies such as science of reading frameworks. According to the Council of Chief State School Officers, most states had some type of law or policy addressing pre-K-12 literacy initiatives as of March 2024.

    U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said literacy education is her No. 1 priority. 

    The EdTrust report recommends these six principles for states to advance equity in literacy:

    • Ensure instruction and curricula are evidenced-based. State literacy policies and implementation efforts should support schools with the adoption, implementation and continuation of evidence-based and culturally affirming instructional practices.
    • Have materials that connect to students’ identities and interests. Students who don’t see themselves authentically portrayed in learning materials are less likely to feel engaged and motivated to read, which can hinder their development of complex reading skills. 
      EdTrust points out that efforts at the state and federal levels to restrict literature that reflects a variety of student cultures and experiences is “undercutting access to high-quality education, to the detriment of students’ literacy development.”
    • Tailor supports to students’ unique needs. Schools should provide early, targeted and differentiated interventions to students who require additional supports. Resources and interventions from qualified educators should be focused on multilingual learners, students with dyslexia and struggling older readers.
    • Begin literacy education at birth. States need to invest in high-quality and culturally responsive early education and family literacy programs. These supports can help young children gain pre-literacy skills.
    • Put resources toward supporting teachers. Teachers should have strong educator preparation supports, continuing professional development and on-the-job assistance so they are able to use evidence-based literacy instruction and interventions.
    • Don’t sideline families. Partnering with families can benefit students’ literacy skills development. This includes providing families accurate information about their child’s reading progress.

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  • Centralized IT governance helps improve learning outcomes

    Centralized IT governance helps improve learning outcomes

    Key points:

    As school districts continue to seek new ways to enhance learning outcomes, Madison County School District represents an outstanding case study of the next-level success that may be attained by centralizing IT governance and formalizing procedures.

    When Isaac Goyette joined MCSD approximately seven years ago, he saw an opportunity to use his role as Coordinator of Information Technology to make a positive impact on the most important mission of any district: student learning. The district, located in northern Florida and serving approximately 2,700 students, had made strides towards achieving a 1:1 device ratio, but there was a need for centralized IT governance to fully realize its vision.

    Goyette’s arrival is noted for marking the beginning of a new era, bringing innovation, uniformity, and central control to the district’s technology infrastructure.  His team aimed to ensure that every school was using the same systems and processes, thereby advancing the students’ access to technology.

    Every step of the way, Goyette counted on the support of district leadership, who recognized the need for optimizing IT governance. Major projects were funded through E-rate, grants, and COVID relief funds, enabling the district to replace outdated systems without burdening the general fund.  MCSD’s principals and staff have embraced the IT team’s efforts to standardize technology across the district, leading to a successful implementation. Auto rostering and single sign-on have made processes easier for everyone, and the benefits of a cohesive, cross-department approach are now widely recognized.

    To successfully support and enable centralization efforts, Goyette recognized the need to build a strong underlying infrastructure. One of the key milestones in MCSD’s technology journey was the complete overhaul of its network infrastructure. The existing network was unreliable and fragmented in design. Goyette and his team rebuilt the network from the ground up, addressing connectivity issues, upgrading equipment, and logically redoing district systems and processes, such as the district’s IP network addressing scheme. This transformation has had a positive impact on student learning and engagement. With reliable connectivity, students no longer face disruptions.

    The implementation of an enterprise-grade managed WAN solution has further transformed the educational experience for MCSD’s students and educators, serving as the backbone for all other technologies. Goyette’s innovative co-management approach, coupled with his deep understanding of network topology, has enabled him to optimize the resources of an experienced K-12 service provider while retaining control and visibility over the district’s network.

    New School Safety Resources

    Another significant milestone MCSD has achieved is the successful deployment of the district’s voice system. This reliable phone system is crucial for ensuring that MCSD’s schools, staff, and parents remain seamlessly connected, enhancing communication and safety across the district.

    Goyette’s innovative leadership extends to his strategies for integrating technology in the district. He and his team work closely with the district’s curriculum team to ensure that technology initiatives align with educational goals. By acting as facilitators for educational technology, his team prevents app sprawl and ensures that new tools are truly needed and effective.

    “Having ongoing conversations with our principals and curriculum team regarding digital learning tools has been critical for us, ensuring we all remain aligned and on the same page,” said Goyette. “There are so many new apps available, and many of them are great. However, we must ask ourselves: If we already have two apps that accomplish the same goal or objective, why do we need a third? Asking those questions and fostering that interdepartmental dialogue ensures everyone has a voice, while preventing the headaches and consequences of everyone doing their own thing.”   

    MCSD’s IT transformation has had a profound impact on student learning and engagement. With reliable connectivity and ample bandwidth, students no longer face disruptions, and processes like single sign-on and auto account provisioning have streamlined their access to educational resources. The district’s centralization efforts have not only improved the educational experience for students and educators but have also positioned Madison County School District as a model of success and innovation.

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  • We have to work together to improve school culture and make our public schools great places to teach, work and learn

    We have to work together to improve school culture and make our public schools great places to teach, work and learn

    A torrent of controversy has erupted over the Trump administration’s decision to shutter the federal Department of Education. Critics howl that it will destroy public education in America. Supporters insist it will somehow make things better.

    The only thing that’s clear is that our public education system is broken. It’s time for politicians to stop using education as a political football, with blue and red teams competing for control rather than sharing the responsibility to prepare our children for their futures.

    The resulting chaos and confusion and rigid policies choke the joy out of learning and of working in our schools. Insufficient attention by leaders to education culture can result in fear and distrust, turf wars and a tendency to blame and make excuses for a lack of progress.

    Such behaviors produce a toxicity that disables learning and disempowers leadership. Instead of increasing our nation’s economic prosperity, we’re deepening inequality, limiting opportunity and sadly wasting the potential of many children, on whose ability to thrive our country depends.

    Poor work conditions, insufficient support, inadequate pay and limited career opportunities are among some of the reasons teachers are leaving and schools are struggling to attract top talent. Reductions in funding from the Great Recession through the present render our facilities dangerous in some instances and unwelcoming in others. Would you buy a house with barbed wire fencing and unkempt grounds that make you wonder whether the aim is to keep something out or in?

    Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.

    What should we do to change what is going on inside our schools?

    We must first of all start working together to make our public schools great places to teach and learn.

    Great places to work and learn are places that are well led, fueled by purpose and guided by shared, positive behaviors that advance learning goals and serve as “rules of the road” for how employees and students are expected to behave.

    In great schools, employees, students and families are respected and valued. Leaders in great schools inspire their employees — all of them — to do more than they think they can. Employees align behind the purpose of enabling learning, which creates momentum and camaraderie for what they are working to attain together.

    In great schools, leaders inspire their communities to join them in cheering for and supporting kids’ future successes. Families, no matter their socioeconomic status, feel a sense of belonging.

    Problems are perceived as opportunities to get better, not sources of indiscriminate blame. Solutions are found by looking in the mirror first. External threats to learning, such as poverty or parents’ underemployment, are acknowledged and addressed. Schools don’t dodge their responsibility to educate all kids.

    In great schools, kids are known by caring employees; they feel seen and heard and are deeply engaged and invested in their learning.

    Every employee working in a great school district feels responsible for achieving the district’s mission, no matter whether they work inside or outside of the classroom.

    When kids return after being absent, employees welcome them back, tell them they were missed and focus on catching them up. They do not judge the constraints of their families’ lives or mete out punishment as though missing school is a crime.

    Related: Horticulture, horses and ‘Chill Rooms’: One district goes all-in on mental health support

    Great places to learn must also be great places to work. We must reframe our concept of schools as not just places where kids learn. Great places to work care about the needs of all the human beings in their care, including and especially their employees.

    “To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace,” Douglas R. Conant, former Campbell Soup Company CEO famously said. He knew what is becoming clearer within our public school systems — that unhappy, unfulfilled employees lead to high turnover, disengagement by students and staff and disaffected families turning to alternative educational offerings.

    It is no secret that attracting and retaining top talent to work in our schools is increasingly difficult as employees seek more stability. Attracting younger workers is even more difficult.

    Many of those who currently work in schools, especially teachers, are stressed, burned out and dissatisfied. Being stressed and burned out is not a normative experience; it’s a symptom of a weak culture, and an organizational problem to be solved. And employee turnover is no longer limited to teachers. There are increasing vacancies among principals, bus drivers and food service and facilities staff.

    The quality of the experiences of employees working in our schools must be higher. Every point along the employee experience continuum, from applying for a job to choosing to leave, is an opportunity to deepen employee engagement and commitment to being a high performer.

    We can fix what we have broken. Thinking differently about making our public schools great places to work and learn is a good place to start. No policy changes are required to demonstrate concern for the human beings the system employs and seeks to educate.

    Etienne R. LeGrand is a thought leader, writer and culture-shaping strategist and adviser at Vivify Performance.

    Contact the opinion editor at [email protected].

    This story about school culture was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

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