Tag: Saves

  • UW–Madison Saves Students $1M Annually With Top Hat

    UW–Madison Saves Students $1M Annually With Top Hat

    With cost barriers removed, UW–Madison sees rapid expansion of active learning across disciplines.

    TORONTO – January 7, 2026 – Through a strategic partnership with Top Hat, the leader in student engagement solutions for higher education, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has eliminated student costs for using the platform while accelerating adoption of evidence-based teaching practices like active learning and frequent low-stakes assessment across courses. Over the past year, the university’s enterprise license agreement with Top Hat has saved students more than $1 million while empowering educators to deepen student engagement and learning outcomes at scale.

    “Affordability and instructional excellence are top priorities for our institution,” said Kristy Bergeron, UW–Madison Learn@UW Associate Director in Academic Technology. “Top Hat is helping us directly support educators by giving them the tools they need to teach with confidence, creativity, and impact. As more faculty adopt the platform, students benefit through deeper engagement and meaningful cost savings.”

    Strong satisfaction among educators and students was a key driver in the decision to move to an enterprise model. In a recent survey1 94% of UW–Madison students said they would want their instructors to use Top Hat again, while 85% reported that Top Hat helped them feel more engaged in the learning process. Since implementing the license agreement in 2022, the number of educators and students using Top Hat has more than doubled, with a 30% increase in the number of courses using Top Hat over the past year alone. The rapid growth in adoption has been fueled by the removal of cost barriers and a close partnership between Top Hat and UW–Madison’s Instructional Technology Group, which provided coordinated outreach and hands-on support to help faculty succeed.

    “The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a champion for active learning as a pathway for stronger student success,” said Maggie Leen, CEO of Top Hat. “This partnership empowers educators with the support and tools they need to deepen engagement, boost persistence and elevate learning outcomes. We’re proud to be part of their journey.”

    Top Hat’s steady release of new features is making it easier for UW–Madison faculty to increase the impact of their instruction, while reducing time and effort. With Ace, Top Hat’s AI-powered teaching and learning assistant, educators can instantly generate interactive polls, quizzes, and reflection prompts to promote active learning and frequent assessment in online and in-person lectures. These tools save valuable preparation time, while helping create more engaging, active learning environments that support student success.

    About Top Hat

    Grounded in learning science and powered by AI, Top Hat is the leader in student engagement solutions for higher education. We enable educators to adopt evidence-based teaching practices through interactive content, tools, and activities across in-person, online, and hybrid classrooms. Top Hat also provides access to thousands of digital textbooks and OER resources, along with authoring tools that let instructors customize or create their own accessible, interactive course materials. More than 1,500 institutions and thousands of faculty use Top Hat to support the learning of over three million students each year. To learn more, please visit tophat.com.

    References

    1. Top Hat Student Survey, Fall 2024, n=513

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  • Investing in Prison Education Saves Taxpayer Dollars

    Investing in Prison Education Saves Taxpayer Dollars

    Title: Policymakers Role in Expanding Prison Education Access

    Authors: Jennifer Thomsen and Shytance Wren

    Source: Education Commission of the States

    A June 2025 report from the Education Commission of the States outlined ways in which state policy actors can expand access to prison education and therefore reduce likelihood for recidivism and incarceration costs.

    Policymakers’ Role in Expanding Prison Education Access summarized findings from an 18-month long community of practice which included stakeholders representing state education policy leaders, leaders from corrections departments, higher education prison program directors, policy leaders, and researchers. The community of practice highlighted key barriers faced by incarcerated learners and produced policy suggestions to remediate these barriers to education.

    Among the report’s key findings:

    • Prison education is a cost-saving measure. Every one dollar spent on prison education saves four to five dollars in incarceration costs.
    • Inefficient governance in prison education programs creates a lack of access for incarcerated learners and a lack of data for policymakers to improve programs. A key consideration in addressing this issue is to review what level of governance the best policies would come from (i.e.: from the governor by executive order).
    • Access to financial aid is often limited for incarcerated individuals. One way to mitigate this barrier is to review existing state financial aid programs that prohibit incarcerated individuals from receiving aid.
    • Inconsistency in access to student support prevents continued learning. A consideration for state leaders to address this inconsistency is to strengthen partnerships with community colleges and job training programs to ensure adequate reentry guidance for incarcerated learners.

    The report concludes that expanding access to prison education is most efficient when state policymakers address governance, financial aid access, and student supports for incarcerated learners.

    Read the full report here.

    —Harper Davis

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