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How to Advertise to College Students: Top Strategies
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Reaching today’s college and university students, most of whom belong to Generation Z, requires more than a digital presence. It requires cultural fluency, authenticity, and a deep understanding of how this generation engages with the world.

Gen Zs, typically identified as those born between 1997 and 2012, are the first true digital natives. They’ve grown up with smartphones, social media, and streaming content, not as novelties, but as fixtures of daily life. According to Pew Research, nearly 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and more than half report being online almost constantly. These habits carry into their post-secondary years, where connectivity is an expectation, not a luxury.

But modern college and university-age students aren’t always just online. They’re also highly discerning. They value transparency, social impact, and personalization. They’re quick to recognize inauthentic messaging and even quicker to disengage from it. For colleges and universities, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity: traditional, one-dimensional advertising methods, such as flyers or general announcements, may not cut it anymore, but the right strategy can foster a lasting connection and institutional trust.

This blog post offers a comprehensive guide to understanding and effectively advertising to college students against this backdrop. From leveraging digital platforms to embracing values-driven storytelling, we’ll explore the strategies that resonate with Gen Z and how institutions can adapt to meet them with relevance and respect.

Let’s begin by exploring why this age group deserves special attention.

Why Marketing to College Students (18–24) Matters

Let’s start with a simple truth: the 18–24-year-old demographic is one of the most important audiences for higher education marketers today.

Why? Because this isn’t just the age when students choose a school. It’s when they start forming lasting opinions about the institutions they trust. The connections you build now can influence enrollment, but they also shape alumni engagement, word-of-mouth referrals, and long-term brand loyalty.

Here’s the part that matters: Gen Z is different.

They’re not just digitally connected, they’re digitally fluent. According to a study, young adults between 18 and 24 now spend an average of four hours per day online, much of it on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

That means your message is competing with algorithmically curated, visually captivating, and instantly engaging content. If your campaign doesn’t speak their language, it likely won’t even register.

And here’s where it gets even more interesting: Gen Z is highly influenced by their peers. One study found that 44% of Gen Zers make purchasing or participation decisions based on influencer recommendations, not traditional ads.

What does that mean for your institution? If students don’t see your message reflected in the voices and platforms they already trust, you’re missing out. Not just on visibility, but on credibility.

We’ve already seen this in action. Consider how Lancaster University in the UK leveraged TikTok to promote its online open days. By collaborating with student ambassadors to create a series of in-feed ads, the campaign achieved over 10 million impressions and more than 90,000 clicks, significantly boosting engagement and interest in their programs.

Advertising to college students is not just about being seen. It’s about being relevant, responsive, and real. When you create campaigns that feel native to their world, not imposed on it, you don’t just attract attention. You build trust.

Where and How to Reach Students in 2025

Reaching college students today is as much about being present as it is about being present in the right places. To effectively connect with this digitally native audience, a multi-channel approach that blends online platforms with on-campus touchpoints is essential.

Where can I advertise to college students? Effective channels include social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat), on-campus signage, email and SMS campaigns, and peer networks such as student clubs and organizations. Let’s explore the most impactful channels:

1. Social Media Platforms

Social media is the heartbeat of student communication. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube are where students spend a significant portion of their time. TikTok has become a vital recruiting tool, with two-thirds of teenagers using the platform, making it essential for colleges to have a presence there. Paid advertising and organic content (stories, reels, challenges) on these platforms can yield high engagement.

Example: Oxford University (UK) shared a series of TikTok videos featuring current students offering advice to incoming first-year “freshers,” creating authentic, peer-to-peer content that resonated strongly with its student audience.

Source: TikTok

2. Search and Video Advertising

When students are researching colleges or looking up information, they often turn to search engines and video platforms. Running targeted search ads ensures your college’s offerings appear when students are actively seeking information. On YouTube, short, engaging pre-roll ads can capture attention. Just remember to keep them concise and relevant.

Example: Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) launched an aggressive Google Search ad campaign targeting families seeking strong academics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort paid off, R-MA saw tremendous results, enrolling 115 new students from May to August 2020 (boosting overall enrollment) and even doubling their summer school enrollment despite the disruption.

Source: HEM

3. On-Campus Media

Don’t underestimate the power of physical presence when advertising at colleges. Traditional channels like campus bulletin boards, posters in dorms or the student union, campus newspaper ads, and flyers still have value, especially for promoting campus events.

Modern twists on these include digital signage (screens around campus displaying announcements) and QR codes on posters that students can scan for more info or to RSVP. Being visible where students live and study helps keep your message top-of-mind.

4. Email and Text Alerts: Direct and Personal Communication

Email remains a staple for official communication, and when crafted well, it can be an effective tool for reaching students. Concise, visually appealing newsletters about upcoming opportunities can capture attention.

Additionally, SMS/text message alerts are highly effective for timely announcements, as most students will see a text immediately. Always ensure you have permission to text students and use this channel sparingly to avoid overcommunication.

Example: The University of Texas at Austin runs a program called HealthyhornsTXT through its wellness center, sending students 2–3 text messages per week with health tips, stress-management advice, notices of campus wellness events, and motivational reminders. The messages are written in a friendly, encouraging tone by health educators (e.g., nudging students to take a stretch break or stay hydrated in the Texas heat) and often include interactive elements like a monthly giveaway to sustain engagement.

Source: University of Texas at Austin

5. Student Organizations and Influencers: Leveraging Peer Networks

Peer influence is powerful. Partnering with student organizations, clubs, or Greek life groups can amplify your message. Engaging student ambassadors or micro-influencers, students with a following in specific niches, can promote your message authentically among their peers.

Example: John Cabot University (JCU) in Rome, Italy has a robust student ambassador program: current students are heavily involved in orientation, campus tours, event planning, and peer mentoring, serving as friendly points of contact for prospects. JCU’s website even features profiles and contact info for each ambassador, portraying an approachable, relatable face to prospective students.

Source: John Cabot University

By integrating these channels, your advertising efforts can effectively surround students in multiple contexts: online, in class, around campus, and on their phones. The key is to maintain cohesive messaging across platforms, ensuring that whether a student sees a flyer in the cafeteria or a story on Instagram, the campaign feels unified and relevant.

Current Trends in Digital and Social Media Marketing

To reach today’s college students effectively, your digital marketing must evolve as quickly as their online habits. Trends shift fast; what worked last semester might be outdated today. Here are the top strategies driving real engagement right now:

1. Short-Form Video & Challenges

TikTok and Instagram Reels continue to dominate student attention. Quick, relatable videos, like day-in-the-life clips or student-led challenges, are easy to share and resonate with Gen Z’s short attention span. Schools that lean into this format are seeing higher reach and better engagement.

2. Authentic Influencer Content

Students trust peers over polished promotions. That’s why institutions are turning to student ambassadors for social takeovers, Q&As, or vlog-style content. These collaborations feel more like honest advice than advertising, and they build credibility.

3. Interactive & User-Generated Campaigns

Interactive content invites students to participate rather than just consume. Polls, quizzes, and contests on social media are very effective. For example, using Instagram Stories to let students vote on a homecoming theme engages them in decision-making.

User-generated content campaigns are also trending. A classic approach is to encourage students to post with a specific hashtag (perhaps showcasing school spirit or their favourite study spot) and then reshare those posts. These social media campaign examples for students turn your audience into content creators, which increases engagement and provides authentic material to repost on official channels.

4. Personalized, Geotargeted Ads

Digital tools now allow you to tailor messages by interest, location, or academic background. For example, promoting a coding event to computer science majors or a concert to students living on campus ensures your outreach hits the right audience at the right time.

5. Ephemeral & Live Content

Instagram Stories, Snapchat updates, and livestreams offer real-time, behind-the-scenes access to campus life. Their temporary nature creates urgency, while the live format allows two-way interaction that deepens student connection.

Example: Randolph-Macon Academy (RMA) hosts live virtual campus tour webinars to reach prospective families who cannot visit in person. RMA’s admissions team leads a live-streamed 360° campus tour followed by an in-depth Q&A presentation. This event is promoted through the school’s website and communications, allowing attendees worldwide to experience the campus in real time and ask questions, effectively extending the open-house experience beyond geographic limits.

Source: R-MA

6. Values-Driven Messaging

Gen Z students care about social impact. Campaigns that highlight sustainability efforts, diversity, or local community involvement often outperform generic promotions, so long as the message is genuine. Authenticity matters.

Example: Loughborough University (UK) provides a strong example with its “War on Waste” campaign – a bespoke sustainability initiative aimed at reducing waste and increasing recycling across campus buildings. Branded messaging around “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle” and visual prompts appeared throughout Loughborough’s facilities, encouraging students to adopt greener habits as part of campus life.

Source: Loughborough University

Staying on top of these trends ensures your message feels relevant, not recycled. Institutions that tap into these behaviours, without straying from their core identity, tend to gain more trust, attention, and traction from the student audience.

On-Campus Advertising Strategies That Still Work

While digital platforms dominate student attention, on-campus advertising still holds power, especially when promoting local events or building community awareness. The key is in making it modern, visible, and relevant. Here are five effective ways to do it:

1. Posters & Digital Billboards

Traditional posters still work, but now they come with upgrades. Many campuses feature rotating digital billboards in high-traffic spots like cafeterias or libraries. These can display videos, animations, and even repurposed TikToks. For printed posters, bold visuals and a QR code make it easy for students to scan and act instantly.

Example: San Diego State University (SDSU) employs a range of on-campus media to reach students: from digital signage screens in student centers to pole banners along walkways, and even a large marquee visible from a nearby freeway, all broadcasting campus events and messages

By strategically placing dynamic content in high-traffic areas, SDSU ensures students are constantly aware of upcoming activities and campus news.

Source: SDSU

2. Tabling & Giveaways

Setting up a table in the student center or quad is a direct way to interact with students. Staff it with friendly student volunteers or staff, and have a clear call-to-action: whether it’s to promote a new program, a survey, or an event. Freebies (swag like T-shirts, stickers, snacks) are a timeless tactic; students love free stuff, and a branded item keeps your college or event in mind later. This face-to-face engagement can complement your online ads for colleges by giving a personal touch.

3. Campus Media Channels

Student-run newspapers, newsletters, and radio stations offer trusted, student-authored spaces to advertise. Sponsoring a segment or placing a well-designed ad in a campus magazine ensures your message lands where students are already tuned in.

4. Residence & Academic Buildings

Bring advertising into the spaces students frequent daily. Many residence halls allow posting on community boards or digital displays in lobbies. Similarly, academic buildings often have screens or boards for department-related notices; work with different departments to promote relevant opportunities (like a speaker event hosted by the business school should be advertised in the business building). Tailoring your message to the location can increase its relevance

5. Guerrilla Campaigns

Some of the most memorable campaign examples for students have been unconventional. Think flash mobs, chalk art on sidewalks, or pop-up experiences. A college could organize a quick flash mob dance in the dining hall to draw attention to an upcoming cultural festival, for example. Or use sidewalk chalk to create a path of clues leading to a secret prize location as part of a scavenger hunt campaign.

These fun stunts naturally get students talking (and posting on social media) because they break the monotony of campus life. Just be sure to get any necessary permissions from campus authorities beforehand.

When done right, on-campus efforts amplify your digital campaigns. If, for instance, a student sees a poster in the dorm, gets a text reminder, and then spots a student-led story on Instagram, it all clicks. That kind of message reinforcement is what turns curiosity into action.

How to Advertise Events to College Students

Promoting student events, whether it’s a club meeting or a major campus concert, requires clear, timely outreach across multiple channels. The goal isn’t just awareness; it’s attendance.

A pertinent question for education administrators then is: How can I market to 18 – 24-year-olds effectively? Utilize mobile-first, interactive, and values-aligned content. Focus on authenticity, relevance, and peer-driven engagement. Short-form video and tailored messaging yield the highest response.

Here’s how to get students to show up and spread the word.

1. Use a Multi-Channel Strategy

Start with a Facebook or event page, then promote it on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and email. Post countdown teasers, behind-the-scenes clips, and physical flyers across campus at least 1–2 weeks in advance. Repetition across platforms helps the message stick.

2. Lead with a Strong Hook

What makes the event worth attending? Free food? A headline performer? Networking opportunities? Whatever it is, make that the focal point on posters, email subject lines, and social captions. Students need a clear reason to care.

3. Tap Into Peer Networks

Encourage club members and student leaders to promote the event on their socials. Authentic, peer-shared content builds trust. Add a campaign hashtag and invite early adopters to post excitement-building previews like setup photos or teaser videos.

4. Leverage Campus Infrastructure

Ask professors to announce the event in relevant classes. Use the school’s app, email newsletter, events calendar, and even push notifications if available. A well-placed promo video from a student government leader can go a long way.

5. Simplify Signups

Use one-click links, QR codes on posters, and RSVP buttons that send reminders. Don’t make students dig for info; friction lowers turnout. Keep access to details and registration as effortless as possible.

On the day of the event, keep the buzz going. Add a selfie booth or branded hashtag display to encourage attendees to share their experience. When others see the fun they missed, they’ll be more inclined to show up next time. The right event marketing doesn’t just boost attendance, it builds momentum.

Creative Campaign Ideas to Spark Student Engagement in 2025

The best campaigns tap into real student life, encourage participation, and reflect your campus culture. Here are five proven and adaptable campaign ideas to consider:

1. ‘Day in the Life’ Video Series

Feature different students taking over your social channels, athletes, international students, first-years, to show authentic campus life. Promote each one in advance, save them to highlights, and repurpose the content for YouTube or digital signage. It’s both engaging and a valuable tool for prospective students.

2. Hashtag Challenge

Launch a branded hashtag (e.g., #MyCampusStory or #[Mascot]Pride) and invite students to post around a fun theme like favourite study spots or campus traditions. Offer prizes, reshare standout entries, and build a content library that feels both organic and community-driven.

3. Scavenger Hunt Campaign

Blend physical and digital by hiding QR codes or clues across campus during orientation or homecoming. Ask students to share their progress on social media using your hashtag. Offer swag for completion and a grand prize for added excitement, great for both visibility and participation.

4. Student Spotlight Series

Celebrate students with weekly features, short videos, or graphics showcasing their achievements, hobbies, or contributions to campus life. Share these across platforms to boost morale internally and show prospective students the real impact of your community.

In a nutshell, what’s the best way to promote events to college students? Use a multi-channel approach, emphasize the event’s value, and simplify registration. Build excitement through social proof, timely reminders, and on-site digital engagement strategies.

Example: The Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS) in Toronto leverages student voices on social media by regularly sharing student and alumni success stories. This allows prospective students to envision themselves achieving similar goals, essentially seeing “people like me” thriving at the school.

Source: AAPS YouTube

5. Themed Pop-Up + Livestream

Host timely, student-friendly events like a “Puppy Zone” during finals or a “Throwback Thursday” music party in the quad. Pair each with a livestream and pre-event polls or trivia to boost anticipation and extend reach to virtual audiences.

Keep it student-led, authentic, and relevant. Bring students into the planning process, they know what’s trending and what will spark interest. These ideas promote as well as create memorable experiences that students want to share.

Best Practices for Student Advertising

To ensure your marketing is both effective and respectful, consider these key principles:
- Prioritize authenticity: Use real student voices and visuals. Avoid overpromising or overly polished messaging.
- Optimize for mobile: Assume your content will be viewed on smartphones. Use vertical video, fast-loading pages, and concise layouts.
- Maintain consistency: Align visual identity and messaging across platforms to reinforce recognition.
- Respect timing: Be mindful of academic calendars and daily student rhythms. Avoid campaign launches during exam periods.
- Gather feedback: Use polls or post-event surveys to measure effectiveness and refine future campaigns.
- Adhere to campus policies: Ensure you comply with posting rules, privacy regulations, and student consent protocols.
Do you want to master the nuances of marketing to college students?

Contact Higher Education Marketing for more information.

Twitter: Reaching college students today requires more than visibility; it demands relevance. Learn how modern higher ed marketing leverages short-form video, student influencers, and personalized campaigns to make a lasting impact.

Facebook: Higher education advertising is evolving. Discover how to engage Gen Z through integrated campaigns that reflect their values, prioritize authenticity, and foster connection, both online and on campus.

LinkedIn: From social media to digital signage, today’s institutions are reimagining how to connect with students. Explore the most effective strategies for student-centred marketing in 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Where can I advertise to college students?

Answer: Effective channels include social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat), on-campus signage, email and SMS campaigns, and peer networks such as student clubs and organizations.

Question: How can I market to 18 – 24-year-olds effectively?

Answer: Utilize mobile-first, interactive, and values-aligned content. Focus on authenticity, relevance, and peer-driven engagement. Short-form video and tailored messaging yield the highest response.

Question: What’s the best way to promote events to college students?

Answer: Use a multi-channel approach, emphasize the event’s value, and simplify registration. Build excitement through social proof, timely reminders, and on-site digital engagement strategies.
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May 21, 2025
As colleges close, small religious campuses in rural states are among the most imperiled

DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Catholic prayer for the faithful echoed off the limestone walls and marble floor of the high-ceilinged chapel.

It implored God to comfort the poor and the hungry. The sick and the suffering. The anxious and the afraid.

Then it took an unexpected turn.

“Lord, hear our prayer for St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy University,” the young voice said, “that the grace of the Holy Spirit may help us to follow God’s plan for our new partnership.”

The speaker was talking about ongoing efforts to unite St. Ambrose University, where this weeknight Mass was being held, with fellow Catholic university Mount Mercy. Small religious schools in rural states are shutting down at an accelerating rate, a fate these two are attempting to avoid.

Credit: Mike Rundle for The Hechinger Report

“Lord, hear our prayer,” responded the congregation of students in St. Ambrose-branded T-shirts and hoodies.

The heads of both St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy, which is in Cedar Rapids, said they’ve watched as nearby religiously affiliated colleges, athletic rivals and institutions that employed their friends and former colleagues closed.

With falling numbers of applicants to college — especially in the Midwest — “we just don’t have the demographics anymore,” said St. Ambrose President Amy Novak. Now, as fewer graduates emerge from high schools, combining forces is a way to forestall “the reality that we might all see in five or seven years,” Novak said.

For many other small religiously affiliated institutions, time has already run out.

See a list of religiously affiliated colleges that have closed, been merged, or announced that they are closing or merging.

More than half of the 77 nonprofit colleges and universities that have closed or merged since 2020, or announced that they will close or merge, were religiously affiliated, according to a Hechinger Report analysis of news coverage and federal data. More than 30 that are still in business are on a U.S. Department of Education list of institutions considered “not financially responsible” because of comparatively low cash reserves and net income and high levels of debt.

Related: Interested in innovations in higher education? Subscribe to our free biweekly higher education newsletter.

Some small, religiously affiliated institutions that are not on these lists are also showing signs of strain. Saint Augustine’s University in North Carolina, which is Episcopal, has 200 students, down from 1,100 two years ago, and has lost its accreditation. The 166-year-old St. Francis College in New York, which is Catholic, has sacked a quarter of its staff. Catholic Saint Louis University in Missouri laid off 20 employees, eliminated 130 unfilled faculty and staff positions and sold off its medical practice after running a deficit.

Bluffton University in Ohio, which is Mennonite, is looking for a new partner after a planned merger fell through in February and the president resigned. Catholic St. Norbert College in Wisconsin is eliminating 11 majors and minors and 21 faculty positions. And Georgetown College in Kentucky averted closing only after an alumnus gave it $16 million, which, along with another $12 million in donations, was enough to pay off crippling debt that was costing the small Baptist institution $3 million a year just in interest.

Other religiously affiliated schools are also taking steps to buttress themselves against demographic and financial challenges. Ursuline College in Ohio, for instance, which has fewer than 1,000 students, has agreed to merge with larger Gannon University, 95 miles away. Both are Catholic. Spring Hill College in Alabama and Rockhurst University in Missouri, both also Catholic, are teaming up so they can jointly offer more academic programs, though they will remain independent.

More than a fifth of colleges and universities in the United States, or 849 out of 3,893, are religiously affiliated, according to the most recent figures from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The threats to them are getting new attention. Presidents of 20 Catholic universities and colleges met in November in Chicago at a conference sponsored by DePaul University and held at the offices of the Deloitte consulting firm, which collected data to help them figure out solutions to the challenges they face.

“The intent was to think about a blueprint for the future of Catholic higher education,” including more partnerships, shared services and other kinds of alliances, said Donna Carroll, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. “Survival of the fittest is not the strategy that will advance the common good of Catholic higher education. We have to work together.”

The American Council on Education last year launched a Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities, with leaders of what has since grown to 17 institutions including Pepperdine, Brigham Young and Yeshiva universities and the University of Notre Dame.

The idea of the commission, which is scheduled to meet in Washington in June, is “to increase visibility for the important contributions of religious and faith-based colleges and universities and to foster collaboration” among them.

Some religious colleges and universities are doing fine, and even posting enrollment gains — at least in part because of growing political divisions, campus protests and ideological attacks on secular institutions, said David Hoag, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Credit: Mike Rundle for The Hechinger Report

Parents are “wanting to put their son or daughter at a safe place that’s going to have a biblical worldview or a way to look at challenges that’s not polarized,” Hoag said. “At our institutions, you’re not going to be seeing protests or things that are happening at many of these [other] universities and colleges. You’re going to see them rallying together, whether it’s for a sporting event or for a revival or baptisms.”

Other trends also offer some hope to religiously affiliated colleges and universities. A long decline in the proportion of adults who consider themselves affiliated with a religion appears to have leveled off, the Pew Research Center finds. And while enrollment at parochial schools that feed graduates to Catholic universities fell more than 10 percent from 2017 to 2021, the most recent year for which the figure is available, the number of students at other kinds of religious primary and secondary schools is up.

Even religiously affiliated institutions confronting the realities of falling enrollment and financial woes fill a critically important role, their advocates say. They often serve low-income students who are the first in their families to go to college and are reluctant to enroll at large public universities.

Related: The number of 18-year-olds is about to drop sharply, packing a wallop for colleges — and the economy

Many are in rural areas where access to higher education is more limited than in urban and suburban places and is becoming less available still as public universities in rural states have merged or closed or cut dozens of majors.

Attending a small rural, religiously affiliated institution “is, I think — especially for rural students — a great opportunity,” said Todd Olson, president of Mount Mercy, above the sound of trains crossing Cedar Rapids outside his window. “I know kids from very small towns around Iowa,” like the one where he grew up, Olson said. “This campus is a much more comfortable place for them.”

Credit: Mike Rundle for The Hechinger Report

When Jacob Lange arrived at St. Ambrose from East Dubuque, Illinois, and attended a Mass on campus, “all of a sudden all these new people I had never met were kind of chatting with me and it was really kind of nice. It felt like I was kind of included and I didn’t really think I would be originally,” he said. “You figure, ‘I’m probably going to sit in the back and probably not talk to anyone all night,’ and then I showed up, and I walked out here and all of a sudden they’re, like, ‘Here, come join our group.’ ”

His parents also liked that he decided to go to a Catholic university, Lange said. “You know, you go to one of these big schools with 25,000 kids, and you’re kind of worried about your kid — like, what kind of dumb things is he going to get up to?”

Catholic universities in particular have a slightly higher four-year graduation rate than the national average, according to the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University in Texas. Graduates have a stronger sense of community purpose, the center found in a survey. Alumni are 9 percentage points more likely to say they participate in civic activities.

Related: See Hechinger’s list of all college closures since 2008

More students at religiously affiliated than at secular institutions receive financial aid, the American Council on Education says. Three out of five get scholarships from the colleges themselves, compared to fewer than one in four at other kinds of schools. At both Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose, which have about 1,450 and 2,700 students, respectively, 100 percent get financial aid.

But these benefits for students can be vulnerabilities for budgets, said Novak, at St. Ambrose.

“We serve the poor. We educate the poor,” she said. “That is a risky financial proposition at the moment for small, regional institutions that are largely tuition-driven.”

The threats to smaller religiously affiliated institutions in rural areas stem largely from the downturn in the already short supply of high school graduates choosing to enroll. The proportion of such students going straight to college has fallen even more sharply in many largely rural states.

While they’re generous with their financial aid, religiously affiliated colleges are also generally more expensive than many other higher education institutions, at a time when many families are questioning the return on their investments in tuition. Median tuition and fees average $25,416 a year, according to the American Council on Education.

Related: ‘Easy to just write us off’: Rural students’ choices shrink as colleges slash majors

St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy, about 90 minutes away, are teaming up from positions of relative strength. Publicly available financial documents suggest that neither faces the immediate enrollment or financial crises that threaten many similar institutions. But their leaders say that they’re trying to fend off problems that could arise later. By joining forces, each can increase its number of programs while lowering administrative costs.

Reaction among students and alumni has been mixed.

Combining with St. Ambrose “was kind of nerve-racking at the beginning because it’s, like, ‘Oh, this is a lot of change,’ ” said Alaina Bina, a junior nursing major at Mount Mercy.

She picked the university in the first place because she liked the small, hilly campus.

“I came from a small town, so I didn’t really want to go bigger,” she said. “Even when I came here on a tour, people would say ‘Hi’ to each other. You just know everyone, and that’s kind of how it is in a small town, too.”

Students were worried about what name would appear on their degrees (the degrees will still say “Mount Mercy”) and whether sports teams that once competed against each other would be merged. Novak and Olson promised to keep their athletics programs separate and even add a sport at Mount Mercy: football, beginning in 2026.

Combining sports teams “would not be wise at all from a business perspective,” Olson said the two agreed, because they are “a powerful enrollment driver” for both schools.

Credit: Mike Rundle for The Hechinger Report

“Honestly, this was probably the biggest student concern,” said Nasharia Patterson, student government president at Mount Mercy, who was wearing a brace on her wrist from an awkward back tuck basket catch during cheer practice. Keeping the athletics teams “gives us a piece of Mount Mercy specifically to just hold on to.”

Among alumni, meanwhile, “there’s mixed feelings” about what’s happening to their alma mater, said Sarah Watson, a leadership development consultant who graduated from Mount Mercy in 2008.

Still, she said, “I know the great challenges that higher ed is facing right now. It’s not just Mount Mercy. It’s not just St. Ambrose. It’s the bigger schools, too. Enrollment numbers have dropped. The desire to go to a traditional four-year college is just not quite what it used to be.”

For Mount Mercy, which was founded by an order of nuns in 1928, Watson said, “If we don’t do this, what’s the alternative? We want to be around for another hundred years.”

After all, said Novak, the St. Ambrose president, “to watch universities close across the heartland because we can’t make it work will leave our communities fallow.”

Carroll, of the Catholic colleges and university association, said that many other religiously affiliated institutions are closely watching what’s happening at St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy.

“It’s a leap of faith,” she said. “And who better to take a leap of faith than a Catholic institution?”

Religiously affiliated colleges that have closed or merged, or announced that they will merge, since 2020

Alderson Broaddus University, West Virginia, Baptist

Alliance University, New York, Christian

Ancilla College, Indiana, Catholic

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, Texas, Baptist

Birmingham-Southern College, Alabama, Methodist

Bloomfield College, New Jersey, Presbyterian

Cabrini University, Pennsylvania, Catholic

Cardinal Stritch University, Wisconsin, Catholic

Chatfield College, Ohio, Catholic

Clarks Summit University, Pennsylvania, Baptist

College of Saint Rose, New York, Catholic

Compass College of Film & Media, Michigan, Christian

Concordia College New York, Lutheran

Concordia University, Oregon, Lutheran

Eastern Nazarene College, Massachusetts, Christian

Finlandia University, Michigan, Lutheran

Fontbonne University, Missouri, Catholic

Holy Family College, Wisconsin, Catholic

Holy Names University, California, Catholic

Iowa Wesleyan University, Iowa, Methodist

Judson College, Alabama, Baptist

Limestone University, South Carolina, Christian

Lincoln Christian University, Illinois, Christian

MacMurray College, Illinois, Methodist

Magdalen College, New Hampshire, Catholic

Martin Methodist College, Tennessee, Methodist

Marymount California University, California, Catholic

Mount Mercy University, Iowa, Catholic

Multnomah University, Oregon, Christian

Nebraska Christian College, Nebraska, Christian

Notre Dame College of Ohio, Catholic

Ohio Valley University, West Virginia, Christian

Presentation College, South Dakota, Catholic

Rosemont College, Pennsylvania, Catholic

St. Louis Christian College, Missouri, Christian

St. Augustine College, Illinois, Episcopal

St. John’s University Staten Island campus, New York, Catholic

University of Saint Katherine, California, Orthodox Christian

Ursuline College, Ohio, Catholic

Wave Leadership College, Virginia, Christian

Wesley College, Delaware, Methodist

SOURCE: Hechinger Report analysis of news coverage and federal data.

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Contact writer Jon Marcus at 212-678-7556 or jmarcus@hechingerreport.org.

This story about religious colleges and universities was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for our higher education newsletter. Listen to our higher education podcast.

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.

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May 18, 2025
If it’s top down it won’t work

Higher education institutions are complex ecosystems where policies shape the experiences of students, academics, and administrative staff.

However, the process of policy creation and implementation often lacks inclusivity, flexibility, and responsiveness to the rapidly evolving educational landscape.

If institutions are to thrive in an era of digital transformation, shifting student expectations, and increasing socio-economic challenges, they must rethink how policies are designed and enacted.

A more participatory, adaptive, and evidence-based approach is essential to creating institutional policies that truly serve the needs of all stakeholders.

Top down without engagement

Institutional policies often emerge from a centralised, top-down approach, where senior leadership teams develop policies without adequate engagement with those directly affected (students, faculty, and professional service staff).

This results in policies that may be well-intended but are disconnected from on-the-ground realities. For instance, policies surrounding Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) frequently fail because they do not account for academic workload constraints, staff and students’ digital literacy levels, or disparities in institutional infrastructure.

The gap between policy intentions and practical implementation then leads to confusion, resistance, and limited adoption.

Policies should not be dictated from the top – but rather co-created with those who will implement and be impacted by them. This requires institutions to foster genuine dialogue with diverse stakeholders, ensuring that different perspectives and experiences shape decision-making.

Adopting participatory approaches such as Change Laboratories, a method that engages stakeholders in problem-solving workshops, can provide a structured way for institutions to address contradictions and inefficiencies in their current policy frameworks.

A recent Change Laboratory intervention at a UK research-intensive university demonstrated the benefits of participatory policy development. The initiative brought together academics, administrators, and digital learning specialists to collaboratively identify barriers to effective blended learning adoption.

Through iterative discussions and problem-solving exercises, the group developed a Culturally Advanced Activity System (CAAS), aligning institutional policies with pedagogical realities. The process not only resulted in a more practical and effective policy framework but also increased staff engagement and willingness to adopt blended learning practices.

The success of participatory policy-making in blended learning highlights its potential application across other areas of policy. Institutions could apply similar methodologies to enhance policies related to assessment frameworks, student support services, diversity and inclusion, and faculty development. By institutionalising collaborative problem-solving approaches, HE governance structures can become more responsive to evolving educational needs.

Rigid policies that fail to account for evolving challenges and opportunities quickly become obsolete. HE institutions must adopt a more dynamic approach, treating policies as living documents that are regularly reviewed and updated based on data-driven insights.

For example, instead of prescribing a one-size-fits-all approaches, institutions should allow for staff-led experimentation, followed by structured evaluations to refine policies based on what works best in different disciplines.

An evidence-based policy culture?

Stakeholder-led policy development is crucial to ensuring that policies are not only relevant but also widely accepted and effectively implemented. By actively involving students, faculty, and administrative staff in the policy-making process, HE institutions can create frameworks that reflect the lived experiences of their communities.

This participatory approach fosters greater trust, encourages meaningful engagement, and enhances the practicality of policies. When stakeholders have ownership over policy development, they are more likely to support its implementation, leading to smoother transitions and sustainable institutional improvements.

Additionally, fostering a culture of continuous professional development ensures that policy decisions align with the latest pedagogical and technological advancements.

For HE institutions to remain relevant and responsive in the 21st century, they must overhaul how they create and implement policies. Moving away from rigid, top-down structures and embracing participatory, flexible, and evidence-driven approaches will ensure that policies are both effective and widely supported.

Institutional leaders must prioritise stakeholder engagement, foster a culture of continuous learning, and create policies that genuinely enhance teaching, learning, and student success.

Without these changes, HE risks stagnation in an era that demands adaptability and innovation. By embedding participatory mechanisms and evidence-based strategies in governance, HE institutions can pave the way for a more inclusive and forward-thinking educational environment.

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May 6, 2025
In some states, colleges face a double dose of DOGE

Oklahoma wants some of its less-expensive universities to cut travel and operational costs, consolidate departments and reduce energy use — all in the name of saving money.

Already, earning a degree at one of these regional institutions is relatively inexpensive for students, costing in total as much as $15,000 less per year than bigger state universities in Oklahoma. And the schools, including Southeastern Oklahoma State University and the University of Central Oklahoma, graduate more teachers and nurses than those research institutions. Those graduates can fill critically needed roles for the state.

Still, state policymakers think there are more efficiencies to be found.

Higher education is one of the specific areas targeted by a new state-run agency with a familiar name, with the goal of “protecting our Oklahoma way of life,” Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said in the first DOGE-OK report this spring. The Oklahoma Division of Government Efficiency, created around the same time as the federal entity with a similar title, counts among its accomplishments so far shifting to automated lawn mowers to cut grass at the state capital, changing to energy-efficient LED lighting and cutting down on state government cell phone bills. The Oklahoma governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment about this effort.

Oklahoma is one of about a dozen states that has considered an approach similar to the federal DOGE, though some state attempts were launched before the Trump administration’s. The federal Department of Government Efficiency, established the day Trump took office on Jan. 20, has commanded deep cuts to federal spending and the federal workforce, with limited justification.

As academia becomes a piñata for President Donald Trump and his supporters, Republican state lawmakers and governors are assembling in line: They want to get their whacks in too.

Related: Interested in more news about colleges and universities? Subscribe to our free biweekly higher education newsletter.

Beyond Oklahoma, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched FL DOGE in February, with a promise to review state university and college operations and spending. Republicans in the Ohio statehouse formed an Ohio DOGE caucus. One of the Iowa DOGE Task Force’s three main goals is “further refining workforce and job training programs,” some of which are run through community colleges, and its members include at least two people who work at state universities.

The current political environment represents “an unprecedented attack on higher education,” said Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and general counsel for the American Association of University Professors.

The state-level scrutiny comes atop those federal job cuts, which include layoffs of workers who interact with colleges, interdepartmental spending cuts that affect higher education and the shrinking of contracts that support research and special programs at colleges and universities. Other research grants have been canceled outright. The White House is pursuing these spending cuts at the same time as it is using colleges’ diversity efforts, their handling of antisemitism and their policies about transgender athletes to force a host of changes that go beyond cost-cutting — such as rules about how students protest and whether individual university departments require more supervision.

Florida Atlantic University students Zayla Robinson, Aadyn Hoots and Meadow Swantic (from left to right) sit together at the Boca Raton campus. Swantic objects to Florida’s efforts to dictate what subjects universities can or can’t teach: “You can’t erase history.” Credit: Michael Vasquez for The Hechinger Report

Higher education, which relies heavily on both state dollars and federal funding in the form of student loans and Pell grants, research grants and workforce training programs, faces the prospect of continued, and painful, budget cuts.

“Institutions are doing things under the threat of extinction,” Dubal said. “They’re not making measured decisions about what’s best for the institution, or best for the public good.”

For instance, the Trump administration extracted a number of pledges from Columbia University as part of its antisemitism charge, suspending $400 million in federal grants and contracts as leverage. This led campus faculty and labor unions to sue, citing an assault on academic freedom. (The Hechinger Report is in an independent unit of Teachers College.) Now Harvard faces a review of $9 billion in federal funding, also over antisemitism allegations, and the list of universities under similar scrutiny is only growing.

Related: The Hechinger Report’s Tuition Tracker helps reveal the real cost of college

Budget cuts are nothing new for higher education — when a recession hits, it is one of the first places state lawmakers look to cut, in blue states or red. One reason: Public universities can sometimes make up the difference with tuition increases.

What DOGE brings, in Washington and statehouses, is something new. The DOGE approach is engaging in aggressive cost-cutting that specifically targets certain programs that some politicians don’t like, said Jeff Selingo, a special adviser to the president at Arizona State University.

“It’s definitely more political than it is fiscal or policy-oriented,” said Selingo, who is also the author of several books on higher education.

“Universities haven’t done what certain politicians wanted them to do,” he added. “This is a way to control them, in a way.”

The current pressure on Florida colleges extends far beyond budget matters. DeSantis has criticized college campuses as “intellectually repressive environments.” In 2021, Florida state lawmakers passed a law, signed by the governor, to fight this perceived ideological bent by requiring a survey of public university professors and students to assess whether there is enough intellectual diversity on campus.

A diversity-themed bus transports students at the University of Central Florida’s Orlando campus. Credit: Michael Vasquez for The Hechinger Report

At New College in Sarasota, DeSantis led an aggressive cultural overhaul to transform the college’s atmosphere and identity into something more politically conservative. The governor has cited Hillsdale College, a conservative private Christian institution in Michigan, as a role model.

Faculty and students at New College sued. Their complaints included allegations of academic censorship and a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students, many of whom transferred elsewhere. One lawsuit was ultimately dropped. Since the takeover, the college added athletics programs and said it has attracted a record number of new and transfer students.

Related: A case study of what’s ahead with Trump DEI crackdowns

Across America, Republicans control both the legislature and the governor’s mansion in 23 states, compared with 15 states fully controlled by Democrats. In those GOP-run states, creating a mini-DOGE carries the potential for increased political might, with little oversight.

In Florida, “state DOGE serves as an intimidation device,” one high-ranking public university administrator told The Hechinger Report. The administrator, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said “there’s also just this atmosphere of fear.”

In late March, university presidents received a letter signed by the “DOGE Team” at the governor’s office. The letter promised a thorough review by FL DOGE officials, with site visits and the expectation that each college appoint a designated liaison to handle FL DOGE’s ongoing requests.

The letter highlighted some of the items FL DOGE might request going forward, including course codes, descriptions and syllabi; full detail of all centers established on campus; and “the closure and dissolution of DEI programs and activities, as required by law.”

The student union at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, launched FL DOGE in February, promising to review state university and college operations and spending. Credit: Michael Vasquez for The Hechinger Report

The state did not respond to a question about whether FL DOGE is designed to attack higher education in the state. Molly Best, the deputy press secretary, noted that FL DOGE is now up and running, and cities and counties are also receiving letters requesting certain information and that the public will be updated in the future.

DOGE in Florida also follows other intervention in higher education in the state: Florida’s appointed Board of Governors, most of whom are chosen by the governor, removed dozens of courses from state universities’ core curriculum to comply with the Stop WOKE Act, a state law that took effect in 2022. The law, which DeSantis heavily promoted, discourages the teaching of concepts such as systemic racism or sexism. The courses removed from Florida’s 12 state universities were primarily sociology, anthropology and history courses.

“You can’t erase history,” said Meadow Swantic, a criminal justice major at Florida Atlantic University, a public institution, in an interview at its Boca Raton campus. “There’s certain things that are built on white supremacy, and it’s a problem.”

Fellow Florida Atlantic student Kayla Collins, however, said she has noticed some professors’ liberal bias during class discussions.

“I myself have witnessed it in my history class,” said Collins, who identifies as Republican. “It was a great history class, but I would say there were a lot of political things brought up, when it wasn’t a government class or a political science class.”

At the University of Central Florida in Orlando, political science major Liliana Hogan said she had a different experience of her professors’ political leanings.

“You hear ‘people go to university to get woke’ or whatever, but actually, as a poli-sci student, a lot of my professors are more right-wing than you would believe,” Hogan said. “I get more right-leaning perspectives from my teachers than I would have expected.” Hogan said.

Another UCF student, Johanna Abrams, objected to university budget cuts being ordered by the state government. Abrams said she understands that tax dollars are limited, but she believes college leaders should be trusted with making the budget decisions that best serve the student body.

“The government’s job should be providing the funding for education, but not determining what is worthy of being taught,” Abrams said.

Related: Inside Florida’s ‘underground lab’ for far-right education policies

Whatever their missions and attempts at mimicry, state-level DOGE entities are not necessarily identical to the federal version.

For instance, in Kansas, the Committee on Government Efficiency, while inspired by DOGE, is in search of ideas from state residents about ways to make the state bureaucracy run better rather than imposing its own changes. A Missouri Senate portal inspired by the federal DOGE works in a similar way. Yet the federal namesake isn’t taking suggestions from the masses to inform its work.

And at the federal level, then-DOGE chief Elon Musk in February emailed workers, asking them to respond “to understand what they got done last week,” he posted on X. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” Employees were asked to reply with a list of five accomplishments.

The Ohio DOGE Caucus noted explicitly it won’t be doing anything like that.

“We’re not going to be emailing any state employees asking them to give us five things they worked on throughout the week,” Ohio state Rep. Tex Fischer, a Republican, told a local radio station. “We’re really just trying to get like-minded people into a room to talk about making sure that government is spending our money wisely and focusing on its core functions that we all agree with.”

Contact editor Nirvi Shah at 212-678-3445, securely on Signal at NirviShah.14 or via email at shah@hechingerreport.org.

This story about DOGE cuts was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger 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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~~May 1, 2025~~
AI in Higher Education 2025: Top Opportunities for Universities

Artificial intelligence will change higher education till 2025, presenting opportunities and challenges. Polls show 84% of higher education workers use AI daily.

ChatGPT lecturers use AI, and 92% of UK students embrace it.

Universities must negotiate AI’s complexities as it enhances teaching and overcomes natural limitations.

For AI to reach its potential, institutions must understand and overcome its major benefits and quick adoption challenges. Let’s discover all this in this post.

Opportunities: How AI is Transforming Higher Education in 2025

1. Automating Assessments & Grading

The Problem with Manual Grading & Feedback

Often labor-intensive and erratic, traditional grading systems are For a good chunk of their workweek, professors grade and offer comments. Teachers grade and provide comments for a median of five hours a week, according to a poll by Education Week.

In contexts of online learning, the time commitment could be much more important. According to a research written for the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, teachers dedicate roughly 12.69 hours a week to each online course—about 40% of which are used for grading and comments.

This large time commitment in grading can take away from other important duties such lesson planning and direct student involvement.

AI Tools for Grading and Student Feedback

AI-powered intelligent grading systems have become clear answers to improve consistency and efficiency in tests. By processing tests and assignments faster than hand grading, these AI systems help to lighten faculty workload and release their time for more critical chores.

Automating typical grading chores lets professors to concentrate more on educational tactics and individualized student interactions.

How to Automate Grading with AI in Higher Education

Using AI-driven tests calls for multiple steps of implementation, including:

Review current assessment techniques: Find how artificial intelligence could streamline processes.

Choosing AI Tools: AI grading systems should complement technology and educational objectives of the institution.

Launch of the pilot program: Try and get comments via a small-scale rollout.

Teach staff members and professors: Give thorough instruction to enable simple use of AI tools.

Watch and get better: Examine the system’s performance and modify it to produce the greatest outcomes.

Designed by the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, “All Day TA,” an artificial intelligence assistant, answered 12,000 student queries annually. This suggests that real-world uses of artificial intelligence in education abound.

Benefits of AI-Based Feedback Systems for Teachers

AI-powered feedback systems give students individualized, real-time information that makes learning more fun. These tools can look at how students answered, figure out what they did well and what they could do better, and give them feedback that helps them get better.

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes grading easier, which gives teachers more time for teaching and helping students, which leads to better educational results.

2. Customized learning and student success

AI is a key part of personalized education because it lets faculty make learning paths that fit the needs of each student. AI-powered adaptive learning platforms can look at student performance data to change how material is delivered. This way, each student gets instruction that fits their learning style and speed through it.

AI-driven insights can also help find students who are at risk early on, so that they can get help when they need it to help them succeed and stay until they graduate.

3. Operations and administration on campus powered by AI

AI is simplifying college administrative tasks and research. Using AI to streamline admissions, course scheduling, and staff responsibilities saves time and money.

Universities can use their resources more efficiently and focus on long-term learning programs by automating mundane administrative tasks.

Challenges: Major Challenges Universities Face with AI in 2025

Universities must address data security, faculty adoption, and the delicate balance between automation and human control to employ AI ethically and effectively.

1. Data Privacy & Ethical Concerns

Personalization and grading are automated by AI-powered systems that process massive student data.

Universities should ensure compliance with data privacy laws (e.g., GDPR) to protect student data.

Monitor automated grading and recommendation systems to prevent bias.

Maintain transparency in AI-driven decisions to build trust with faculty and students.

2. Resistance from faculty and a lack of training

In spite of its benefits, AI is not easily utilized in higher education for the following reasons: The idea of limiting students’ freedom is still scary to many faculty . They don’t know how AI can be used to grade and leave notes.

Faculty may not be able to use AI tools well if they haven’t been taught properly. In order for AI to work well with other systems, organizations need to spend money on skill-building programs for people.

How to put it into action: Universities should start with test programs, offer ongoing training, and make sure that the rollout happens slowly so that teachers can get used to it before they start using it for real.

3. Balancing AI with Human Oversight

Though it speeds grading, artificial intelligence shouldn’t replace human judgment—especially for challenging tasks like essays and creative projects! Universities must have measures in place to prevent AI comments from being accepted at face value and maintain equity. The best way is: a clever combination of human supervision with artificial intelligence efficiency to maintain accurate, balanced, and correctness.

Conclusion

Offering game-changing efficiencies and new challenges, artificial intelligence is revolutionizing higher education. The secret for colleges is to strike the proper balance—using artificial intelligence for automation without sacrificing the human element in learning. Early adopters of artificial intelligence will not only improve student performance but also keep ahead in a landscape getting more competitive.

All set to use artificial intelligence for better, more effective administration of education? Get in touch with Creatrix Campus and investigate AI-driven solutions catered for universities.

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April 29, 2025
Top Hat Is Now ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certified!

TORONTO – April 28, 2025 – Whether it be student grades, assessment responses, engagement data, or contact information, the safety of your data is our priority at Top Hat. As the leading engagement platform used by more than 750 higher education institutions, we’ve implemented several technical and operational measures to keep our promise. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that Top Hat has received a certificate of compliance for ISO/IEC 27001:2022!

Read on to learn what this means for our business and users.

A new milestone in Top Hat’s privacy and security journey

The ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification is the international gold standard for information security management. This achievement highlights our dedication to safeguarding user data through a complete set of information security controls, which are routinely audited by an independent third party. CPSI Certifications Inc., a certification body with more than 30 years of experience, performed the audit and awarded the certification. Our certification reflects our continuous commitment to upholding the highest level of security standards to protect user data. This credential applies to both the Top Hat and Aktiv SaaS platforms.

“Achieving ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification is a significant milestone for us. It reflects the strong security foundation we’ve built to protect our users’ data and demonstrates our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of information security,” says Que Sengmany, Director of Information Security at Top Hat. “For our users and partners, this certification provides assurance that we’re following globally-recognized best practices to manage risks and safeguard information.”

Our security philosophy

At Top Hat, we’ve used the following pillars to guide our security philosophy.

Confidentiality: Ensuring that information is accessible only to authorized individuals

Integrity: Maintaining the accuracy and completeness of information and processing methods

Availability: Guaranteeing that only authorized users have access to information when needed

These principles continue to be our North Star as we continue to safeguard sensitive company and user data. Curious to know more about our technical security measures? Visit our Security page today.

About Top Hat

As the leader in student engagement solutions for higher education, Top Hat enables educators to employ proven student-centered teaching practices through interactive content and tools enhanced by AI, and activities in in-person, online and hybrid classroom environments. To accelerate student impact and return on investment, the company provides a range of change management services, including faculty training and instructional design support, integration and data management services, and digital content customization. Thousands of faculty at 750 leading North American colleges and universities use Top Hat to create meaningful, engaging and accessible learning experiences for students before, during, and after class.

Contact press@tophat.com for media inquiries.

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April 28, 2025
Top Hat Is Now ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certified!

TORONTO – April 28, 2025 – Whether it be student grades, assessment responses, engagement data, or contact information, the safety of your data is our priority at Top Hat. As the leading engagement platform used by more than 750 higher education institutions, we’ve implemented several technical and operational measures to keep our promise. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that Top Hat has received a certificate of compliance for ISO/IEC 27001:2022!

Read on to learn what this means for our business and users.

A new milestone in Top Hat’s privacy and security journey

The ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification is the international gold standard for information security management. This achievement highlights our dedication to safeguarding user data through a complete set of information security controls, which are routinely audited by an independent third party. CPSI Certifications Inc., a certification body with more than 30 years of experience, performed the audit and awarded the certification. Our certification reflects our continuous commitment to upholding the highest level of security standards to protect user data. This credential applies to both the Top Hat and Aktiv SaaS platforms.

“Achieving ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification is a significant milestone for us. It reflects the strong security foundation we’ve built to protect our users’ data and demonstrates our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of information security,” says Que Sengmany, Director of Information Security at Top Hat. “For our users and partners, this certification provides assurance that we’re following globally-recognized best practices to manage risks and safeguard information.”

Our security philosophy

At Top Hat, we’ve used the following pillars to guide our security philosophy.

Confidentiality: Ensuring that information is accessible only to authorized individuals

Integrity: Maintaining the accuracy and completeness of information and processing methods

Availability: Guaranteeing that only authorized users have access to information when needed

These principles continue to be our North Star as we continue to safeguard sensitive company and user data. Curious to know more about our technical security measures? Visit our Security page today.

About Top Hat

As the leader in student engagement solutions for higher education, Top Hat enables educators to employ proven student-centered teaching practices through interactive content and tools enhanced by AI, and activities in in-person, online and hybrid classroom environments. To accelerate student impact and return on investment, the company provides a range of change management services, including faculty training and instructional design support, integration and data management services, and digital content customization. Thousands of faculty at 750 leading North American colleges and universities use Top Hat to create meaningful, engaging and accessible learning experiences for students before, during, and after class.

Contact press@tophat.com for media inquiries.

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April 28, 2025
A smaller Nation’s Report Card

As Education Secretary Linda McMahon was busy dismantling her cabinet department, she vowed to preserve one thing: the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card. In early April, she told a gathering of ed tech companies and investors that the national exam was “something we absolutely need to keep,” because it’s a “way that we keep everybody honest” about the truth of how much students across the country actually know.

That was clearly a promise with an asterisk.

Less than two weeks later, on Monday of this week, substantial parts of NAEP came crumbling down when the board that oversees the exam reluctantly voted to kill more than a dozen of the assessments that comprise the Nation’s Report Card over the next seven years.

The main reading and math tests, which are required by Congress, were preserved. But to cut costs in an attempt to appease Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) scrapped a 2029 administration of the Long-Term Trend NAEP, an exam that has tracked student achievement since the 1970s.* Also cut were fourth grade science in 2028, 12th grade science in 2032 and 12th grade history in 2030. Writing assessments, which had been slated for 2032, were canceled entirely. State and local results were also dropped for an assortment of exams. For example, no state-level results will be reported for 12th grade reading and math in 2028, nor will there be district-level results for eighth grade science that year.

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

“These are recommendations that we are making with much pain,” said board chair Beverly Perdue, a former North Carolina governor who was appointed to this leadership role in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term. “None of us want to do this.”

The board didn’t provide an official explanation for its moves. But the vice chair, Martin West, a Harvard professor of education, said in an interview that the cuts were an effort to save the 2026 assessments. “A moment of reckoning came more quickly because of the pressures on the program to reduce expenses in real time,” he said.

In other words, the board was effectively cutting off the patient’s appendages to try to save the brain and the heart. Despite the sacrifice, it’s still not clear that the gambit will work.

Related: Chaos and confusion as the statistics arm of the Education Department is reduced to a skeletal staff of 3

DOGE has been demanding 50 percent cuts to the $190 million a year testing program. Nearly all the work is handled by outside contractors, such as Westat and ETS, and five-year contracts were awarded at the end of 2024. But instead of paying the vendors annually, DOGE has diced the payments into shorter increments, putting pressure on the contractors to accept sharp cuts, according to several former Education Department employees. At the moment, several of the contracts are scheduled to run out of money in May and June, and DOGE’s approval is needed to restart the flow of money. Indeed, DOGE allowed one NAEP contract to run out of funds entirely on March 31, forcing ETS employees to stop work on writing new questions for future exams.

Reading and math tests are scheduled to start being administered in schools in January 2026, and so additional disruptions could derail the main NAEP assessment altogether. NAEP is taken by a sample of 450,000 students who are selected to represent all the fourth and eighth graders in the nation, and each student only takes part of a test. This sampling approach avoids the burden of testing every child in the country, but it requires Education Department contractors to make complicated statistical calculations for the number of test takers and the number of test sections needed to produce valid and reliable results. Contractors must then package the test sections into virtual test booklets for students to take online. The Education Department also must get approval from the federal Office of Management and Budget to begin testing in schools — yet another set of paperwork that is handled by contractors.

A DOGE dilemma

People familiar with the board’s deliberations were concerned that contractors might be pressured to agree to cuts that could harm the quality and the validity of the exam itself. Significant changes to the exam or its administration could make it impossible to compare student achievement with the 2024 results, potentially undermining the whole purpose of the assessment.

Board members were ultimately faced with a dilemma. They could cut corners on the full range of assessments or hope to maintain NAEP’s high quality with a much smaller basket of tests. They chose the latter.

The cuts were designed to comply with congressional mandates. While the Long-Term Trend assessment is required by Congress, the law does not state how frequently it must be administered, and so the governing board has deferred it until 2033. Many testing experts have questioned whether this exam has become redundant now that the main NAEP has a 35-year history of student performance. The board has discussed scrapping this exam since 2017. “The passage of time raises questions about its continued value,” said West.

Related: NAEP, the Nation’s Report Card, was supposed to be safe. It’s not

The writing assessments, originally scheduled for 2032 for grades four, eight and 12, needed an overhaul and that would have been an expensive, difficult process especially with current debates over what it means to teach writing in the age of AI.

The loss of state- and district-level results for some exams, such as high school reading and math, were some of the more painful cuts. The ability to compare student achievement across state lines has been one of the most valuable aspects of the NAEP tests because the comparison can provide role models for other states and districts.

Cost cutting

“Everyone agrees that NAEP can be more efficient,” said West, who added that the board has been trying to cut costs for many years. But he said that it is tricky to test changes for future exams without jeopardizing the validity and the quality of the current exam. That dual path can sometimes add costs in the short term.

It was unclear how many millions of dollars the governing board saved with its assessment cancellations Monday, but the savings are certainly less than the 50 percent cut that DOGE is demanding. The biggest driver of the costs is the main NAEP test, which is being preserved. The contracts are awarded by task and not by assessment, and so the contractors have to come back with estimates of how much the cancellation of some exams will affect its expenses. For example, now that fourth grade science isn’t being administered in 2028, no questions need to be written for it. But field staff will still need to go to schools that year to administer tests, including reading and math, which haven’t been cut.

Compare old and new assessment schedules

Outside observers decried the cuts on social media, with one education commentator saying the cancellations were “starting to cut into the muscle.” Science and history, though not mandated by Congress, are important to many. ”We should care about how our schools are teaching students science,” said Allison Socol, who leads preschool to high school policy at EdTrust, a nonprofit that advocates for equity in education. “Any data point you look at shows that future careers will rely heavily on STEM skills.”

Socol worries that DOGE will not be satisfied with the board’s cuts and demand more. “It’s just so much easier to destroy things than to build them,” she said. “And it’s very easy, once you’ve taken one thing away, to take another one and another one and another one.”

On April 17, the Education Department announced that the 2026 NAEP would proceed as planned. But after mass layoffs in March, it remained unclear if the department has the capacity to oversee the process, since only two employees with NAEP experience are left out of almost 30 who used to work on the test. McMahon might need to rehire some employees to pull it off, but new hiring would contradict the spirit of Trump’s executive order to close the department.

Socol fears that the Trump administration doesn’t really want to measure student achievement. “There is a very clear push from the administration, not just in the education sector, to have a lot less information about how our public institutions are serving the people in this country,” Socol said. “It is a lot easier to ignore inequality if you can’t see it, and that is the point.”

The Education Department did not respond to my questions about their intentions for NAEP. McMahon has been quite forceful in articulating the value of the assessments, but she might not have the final say since DOGE has to approve the NAEP contracts. “What’s very clear is that the office of the secretary does not completely control the DOGE people,” said a person with knowledge of the dynamics inside the Education Department. “McMahon’s views affect DOGE priorities, but McMahon doesn’t have direct control at all.”

The ball is now in DOGE’s court.

Canceled assessments

Long-Term Trend (LTT) assessments in math and reading for 9, 13 and 17 year olds in 2029. (The Education Department previously canceled the 2025 LTT for 17 year olds in February 2025.)

Science: Fourth-grade in 2028, 12th grade in 2032

History: 12th grade in 2030

Writing: Fourth, eighth and 12th grades in 2032

State-level results: 12th grade math and reading in 2028 and 2032, eighth grade history in 2030

District-level results: Eighth-grade science in 2028 and 2032

For more details, refer to the new schedule, adopted in April 2025, and compare with the old, now-defunct schedule from 2023.

*Correction: An earlier version of this sentence incorrectly said that two administrations of the Long-Term Trend NAEP had been scrapped by the governing board on April 21. Only the 2029 administration was canceled by the board. The 2025 Long-Term Trend NAEP for 17 year olds was canceled by the Education Department in February. Nine- and 13-year-old students had already taken it by April.

Contact staff writer Jill Barshay at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or barshay@hechingerreport.org.

This story about NAEP cuts was written by Jill Barshay and 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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April 24, 2025
A lot of hope was pinned on after-school programs — now some are shutting their doors

CLEVELAND — In a public school cafeteria here, 6- and 7-year olds were taking turns sketching their ideas for a building made of toothpicks and gummy bears. Their task: to design a structure strong enough to support a single subject notebook.

It was a challenge meant to test their abilities to plan ahead, work as a team and overcome setbacks. But first, they had to resist the urge to eat the building materials.

Zayden Barnes, a first grader at Clara E. Westropp School of the Arts, picked up a blue gummy bear and sniffed it. “That smells good,” he said, licking his lips.

Mia Navarro, another first grader, held a green gummy bear to her nose and inhaled deeply. “I can’t stop smelling them!” she exclaimed. “I just want to eat it, but I can’t!”

The lesson in engineering and self-control was part of an after-school program run by the nonprofit Horizon Education Centers. It’s one of a dwindling number of after-school options in a city with one of the highest child poverty rates of any large urban area in the country.

Last year, Horizon and other nonprofit after-school providers reached more than 7,000 students in Cleveland public schools, buoyed by $17 million in pandemic recovery aid. But when the money ran out at the end of that school year, nonprofits here had to drop sites, shed staff and shrink enrollment. Horizon, which was in five public schools last year, is now in just one.

Similar setbacks can be seen across the country, as after-school programs struggle to replace billions in federal relief money. While a few states are helping to fill the gap, Ohio isn’t among them. And many providers fear more cuts are coming, as the Trump administration continues its campaign to slash government spending and end “equity-related” grants and contracts.

The after-school sector plays a critical role in the nation’s economy, providing close to 8 million students, or nearly 14 percent of all school-aged children, with a safe place to go while their parents work. It offers homework help, enriching activities, healthy snacks and physical exercise — often for a fee, but sometimes for free.

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

Done well, after-school programs can strengthen students’ social and emotional skills, increase their engagement with and attendance in school, and reduce their risk of substance abuse or criminal activity. In some cases, they can help improve grades and test scores, too.

Yet the sector, which has existed for more than 100 years, has long been hobbled by inadequate funding, staffing shortages and uneven quality. There are long waitlists for many programs, and low-income families often struggle to find affordable options.

In a recent survey by the nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, more than 80 percent of program leaders said they were concerned about their program’s future, and more than 40 percent said they worried they’d have to close permanently.

“The state of afterschool in America feels very grim,” said Alison Black, executive director of the Cleveland affiliate of America Scores, a nonprofit that teaches soccer and poetry to students in 13 cities across North America.

Students build a gummy bear structure in an after-school program run by Horizon Education Centers, in Cleveland. Credit: Grace McConnell for The Hechinger Report

After-school programs emerged in the second half of the 19th century, in philanthropic settlement houses that provided English courses and health care to the children of immigrants, according to a Rand Corporation report. They multiplied after Congress passed child labor laws in the 1930s, and again during World War II, when women entered the workforce in large numbers.

In those early days, the programs functioned mostly as child care, offering a solution to the problem of the “latchkey kid.” But they began to take on a broader role in the 1960s, when the programs started to be seen as a way to both reduce youth crime and provide kids with positive role models, according to Rand.

In the 1980s and 1990s, policymakers and funders began demanding that after-school programs play a part in closing the academic gaps between wealthier and poorer kids. High-poverty schools began setting aside some of their Title I funds to provide after-school programs.

But it wasn’t until 1998 that the federal government offered targeted support to after-school programs, in the form of competitive grants awarded by the states through the newly created 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. The first year, Congress appropriated $40 million for the program; by 2002, that number had swelled to $1 billion.

Today, the after-school sector is made up of a mix of programs providing academic support, enrichment (sports, theater and the like) or some combination. Their goals and funding streams vary, from public dollars to philanthropic and corporate gifts. Many survive by stitching together multiple sources of funding.

The 21st Century program remains the only dedicated federal funding stream for after-school and summer learning, providing $1.3 billion in support to 10,000 centers serving close to a fifth of students in 2023.

Related: One of the poorest cities in America was succeeding in an education turnaround. Is that now in peril?

After-school programs are popular among parents, and demand for slots far exceeds the supply. For every child in an after-school program, there are three more who would participate if an affordable, accessible option was available to their families, according to surveys by the Afterschool Alliance.

Gina Warner, CEO of the National Afterschool Association, says afterschool is a space where kids can try new things and take risks they wouldn’t take at school, where the stakes are higher. “Afterschool is still a place where kids can fail” without consequence, she said.

The programs also connect students with positive adult role models who aren’t their teachers or caregivers, said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance. “Our biggest strength, when it gets down to it, is relationships,” Grant said.

But sustaining those connections can be difficult in a sector with low pay and limited opportunities for advancement. Turnover rates are high, and when staff don’t stick around, “You’re missing one of the best benefits of afterschool,” said Warner.

Students practice a dance routine at the Downtown Boxing Gym, in Detroit. Credit: Kelly Field for The Hechinger Report

For a sector accustomed to scraping by, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was like a winning lottery ticket.

Over three years, after-school programs received roughly $10 billion in ARPA aid — money they used to add staff, improve pay and benefits and expand enrollment, according to the Afterschool Alliance. It estimates that programs were able to serve 5 million more kids as a result.

But the money has mostly been spent, and late last month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told districts that their time to use any remaining funds was over. In Cleveland, which spent almost $28 million on out-of-school time programs between fiscal 2022 and 2024, Horizon and other nonprofits formed a coalition to try to convince the district to continue at least a portion of the aid. They held rallies, secured media coverage and brought parents to testify before the school board. But the district wouldn’t budge, said David Smith, Horizon’s executive director.

“There’s no opportunity to go back to the scale we were at during the pandemic, and we still have the same problems,” said Smith. “Kids are getting in trouble after school, and they still need the extra academic help.”

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District made significant gains under its last CEO, Eric Gordon, whose Cleveland Plan was credited with improved student outcomes, including a 25 percentage point increase in the high school graduation rate. But the pandemic erased some of those gains and Cleveland, like many districts, is still recovering.

Related: $1.5 billion in recovery funds goes to afterschool

The district’s new CEO, Warren Morgan, has defended his decision not to fund the nonprofit providers, noting that the district offers after-school sports and an arts program. But those extracurriculars vary by day and by school, and after-school advocates say many schools have been left without the consistent, comprehensive care working parents depend on.

“Our city is focused on workforce development without thinking about who cutting this care hurts,” said Black, of America Scores Cleveland.

Without continued support from the district, Black’s organization has had to dip into its rainy-day fund and drop fall soccer for middle schoolers. Serving elementary students feels more essential, she explained, since younger kids can’t stay home alone.

Other nonprofits have been harder hit. The Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Centers Association, or NCA, has closed half of its locations in the district, leaving programs in seven schools. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, which lost $3 million in pandemic relief dollars and other federal support this academic year, has shuttered 17 sites.

Dorothy Moulthrop, chief executive officer of Open Doors Academy, another nonprofit, thinks the losses might have been less severe if the after-school coalition had been able to show strong results for the federal money. Though individual programs handed over reams of data to the district, Moulthrop wasn’t able to get its leaders to share the data in a form that would allow providers to study their collective impact.

“We needed to be able to demonstrate our return on investment and we were not able to,” she said.

Students in a poetry class run by America Scores Cleveland. Credit: Grace McConnell for The Hechinger Report

Questions about whether after-school programs are a good investment of public dollars have dogged the sector since the early 2000s, when Mathematica Policy Research began publishing the results of an evaluation that found the 21st Century program had little impact on student outcomes.

The study, which is often cited by politicians seeking to gut after-school spending, was controversial at the time, and remains so. Defenders of afterschool argue the evaluation was methodologically flawed and point to other research that found that students who regularly attended high-quality programs saw significant gains. But one of the study’s two authors, Susanne James-Burdumy, said in an interview that it was the most rigorous of its time.

In the 20 years since the Mathematica reports were published, hundreds of dissertations and program evaluations have added to the evidence base for both sides of the debate. But large-scale, rigorous evaluations of after-school programs remain rare, and their findings are mixed, James-Burdumy and other researchers say.

Though some analyses have found after-school programs can boost reading and math achievement, promote positive social behaviors and reduce negative ones, other studies have shown little growth in those and other areas.

Some of that inconsistency likely stems from differences in the quality of programs, researchers and advocates say. When funding is tight, after-school programs tend to focus their dollars on services, rather than professional development or program evaluation.

“Quality often feels like an extra,” said Jessie Kerr-Vanderslice, a consultant at the American Institutes for Research who focuses on out-of-school time programs.

Related: Tracking Trump: His actions to abolish the Education Department, and more

Advocates also note a misalignment between program goals and outcome measures: While after-school programs often prioritize relationships and social and emotional skill-building, their funders frequently focus on academic gains.

One variable that seems to matter in student outcomes is attendance: Studies have found that students who attend regularly reap greater benefits than those who show up sporadically.

Yet more than half of students who participated in programs paid for with 21st Century grants in 2022-23 attended for less than 90 hours, a program evaluation shows. That works out to just 30 days for a three-hour program.

At Clara E. Westropp Elementary in Cleveland, where Horizon Education Centers has been able to continue its after-school program with a 21st Century grant, 73 students are enrolled, but average daily attendance is less than half that.

Students descend the stairs during an after-school program run by America Scores Cleveland. Credit: Grace McConnell for The Hechinger Report

On the other side of Lake Erie, at Detroit’s Downtown Boxing Gym, students are required to attend at least three days a week. To keep them coming, the program offers a huge range of activities, from cooking to coding (but ironically, not boxing).

Inside the large building that houses the program, there’s a lab with a flight simulator and 3D printer, and a music studio paid for and built by one of Eminem’s former producers.

Outside, on a turf field where the program plans to build an addition that will enable it to double enrollment, a group of middle school majorettes was preparing for an upcoming dance performance.

Debra Beal, who became the caregiver to her niece’s two young sons when she was in her 50s, says the program saved her life — and theirs. It kept the boys, now 19 and 20, off the streets while she worked, provided them with exercise and tutoring, and even served them dinner. The staff became like family, supporting her when she struggled as a parent and offering to pay for counseling when one son lost his father and uncle from fentanyl overdoses on the same day.

“What they’re doing is life-changing,” said Beal, whose long denim coat had the word “Blessed” written in sequins on the back.

Financially, the Downtown Boxing Gym is on surer footing than its counterparts in Cleveland. The Michigan Legislature has provided $50 million in funding for after-school programs in each of the last two years, and the program recently received $3 million in funds from the state.

Related: ‘The kids everyone forgot’: Push to reengage young people not in school, college or the workforce falters

That doesn’t mean the program isn’t being pinched by the Trump administration’s cost-cutting campaign and purge of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, said Jessica Hauser, its executive director. Corporations the program was counting on for seven-figure gifts for the addition and program expansion are reconsidering their pledges, and a promised federal earmark now seems unlikely.

Hauser is also worried about potential cuts to federal child nutrition programs and student aid, which the program depends on for meals and college student tutors.

Back in Cleveland, the coalition Smith formed to fight for after-school funding has expanded to include the city, the county and a local foundation, which hired a consultant to come up with the cost to deliver quality after-school programming. To longtime advocates like Smith and Allison Wallace, executive director of the NCA, it feels like the sector is having to prove itself, yet again.

“They’re revisiting conversations we had 15 years ago, around best practices and identifying quality,” Wallace said. “We keep going over the same things, and we’re not getting any traction.”

Things could get even tougher in the next couple years, as the district shifts the costs of providing security and custodial services for after-school programs onto the nonprofit providers. Wallace estimates that the change will cost providers tens of thousands per site.

And future federal funding is far from guaranteed. Though the 21st Century program enjoys bipartisan support in Congress, Trump sought to eliminate it in every budget proposal he issued in his first term and is expected to do so again.

For now, though, after-school programs are still providing kids in Cleveland with caring staff, a safe place to spend the hours after school, and engaging activities like gummy bear construction.

Related: After-school programs have either been abandoned or overworked

The teams had 10 minutes to build structures that could support a notebook. When the timer went off, the structure built by Zayden and Mia’s group resembled a two-story house with a caved-in roof. Zayden wasn’t feeling optimistic.

“I think it’s going to fall,” he said.

“Think positive,” said Kathy Thome, a program administrator who is helping the group.

Ian Welch, the program’s site coordinator for Clara E. Westropp, picked up a notebook and approached the table. He reminded the teams that failure is part of the scientific method. If their structures collapse, they can try again, he said.

“It’s going to squish down,” Mia predicted.

She was right. But the flattened structure still held the notebook aloft. The kids jumped up and down, and Zayden did a little boogie.

“We’re so happy — we did it!” he said.

Welch rewarded their effort with some fresh gummy bears, and the kids, proud and hopped up on sugar, waited for their parents to pick them up.

Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, on Signal at CarolineP.83 or via email at preston@hechingerreport.org.

This story was produced with support from the Education Writers Association Reporting Fellowship program.

This story about afterschool was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger 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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April 24, 2025
Funding for online education library ERIC is slated to end this week

When you’re looking for research on four-day school weeks or how to teach fractions, or trying to locate an historical document, such as the landmark Coleman Report of 1966, you might begin with Google. But the reason that high-quality research results pop up from your Google search is because something called ERIC exists behind the scenes.

ERIC stands for Education Resources Information Center and it is a curated online public library of 2.1 million educational documents that is funded and managed by the U.S. Education Department. The collection dates back to the 1960s and used to be circulated to libraries through microfiche. Today it’s an open access website where anyone can search, read online or download material. Neither a library card nor login credentials are needed. It is used by an estimated 14 million people a year. (I am one of them.) If you’re familiar with MedLine or PubMed for health care studies, this is the equivalent for the field of education.

This critical online library catalog is supposed to continue operating under a five-year contract that runs through 2028. Initially, ERIC was spared from the department’s mass contract cancellations in February. But according to Erin Pollard Young, the sole Education Department employee who managed ERIC until her job was eliminated in March, the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE has since refused to approve disbursement of money that has already been authorized by Congress for the upcoming year.

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

ERIC is scheduled to run out of money on April 23. After that date, no new documents can be added. “The contract, from my understanding, would die,” Pollard Young said in an interview.

“After 60 years of gathering hard to find education literature and sharing it broadly, the website could stop being updated,” Pollard Young posted on LinkedIn. “Yes, the data are backed up in so many places, and the website will likely remain up for a while. But without constant curation and updating, so much information will be lost.”

Parents, teachers, researchers and education policymakers are all affected. “Defunding ERIC would limit public access to critical education research, hindering evidence-based practices and informed policy decisions vital for the advancement of American education,” emailed Gladys Cruz, a superintendent of a school district called Questar III BOCES outside of Albany, New York, and a past president of the AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

Proposal to halve the cost

Pollard Young said that before she left the Education Department, she was frantically working to comply with a DOGE demand to slash ERIC’s annual budget by half, from $5.5 million to $2.25 million. The cuts were painful. She would have to cut 45 percent of the journals added to the database each year. The public help desk would be eliminated. And Pollard Young had agreed to personally take on the extra task of directly communicating with 1,500 publishers, something that had been handled by AEM Education Services, a vendor that collects, analyzes and manages data for the government.

These proposed cuts did not satisfy DOGE. Pollard Young said she received an email reply in all caps, “THIS IS NOT APPROVED,” with a request for more information. Pollard Young submitted the additional information but never received a response. She lost access to her work email about a week later on March 11, the day that Pollard Young and more than 1,300 other Education Department employees lost their jobs in a mass firing.

Related: Chaos and confusion as the statistics arm of the Education Department is reduced to a skeletal staff of 3

Pollard Young was the only Education Department employee who was involved with ERIC on a daily basis. She oversaw a team of 30 contractors at AEM Education Services, which did most of the work. Adding documents to the digital library involves many steps, from determining their importance to cataloging and indexing them. It is the metadata, or descriptive tags, that AEM inserts behind the scenes that allows documents on ERIC to be discoverable and rise to the top on Google searches. But the public can also search directly on the ERIC website.

“Fun fact,” Paige Kowalski, executive vice president of the Data Quality Campaign, an organization that advocates for data-driven decision making in schools, posted on LinkedIn. “Over the 20 years that DQC has been around we’ve had some poorly designed websites with atrocious search functions. I often couldn’t find resources I wrote! But could always find them on ERIC. Huge resource.”

The bulk of the collection consists of academic journal articles. Many are full text PDFs that would otherwise be inaccessible behind paywalls. ERIC also contains books, federal, state and local government reports and doctoral dissertations.

Gray literature

One of its gems is the large amount of “gray literature,” which Pollard Young described as unpublished studies from private research organizations and school district reports that are not cataloged in EBSCO, a private database of academic documents. That’s another reason that Google and AI cannot simply replace this curated ERIC collection. “In education so much research is produced outside of journals,” said Pollard Young. “Big, important RCTs [randomized controlled trials] are in white papers,” or special reports.

In response to specific questions about the future of ERIC, the Education Department responded more broadly about the need to restructure the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), where ERIC is managed. “Despite spending hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds annually, IES has failed to effectively fulfill its mandate to identify best practices and new approaches that improve educational outcomes and close achievement gaps for students,” said Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications, in an emailed statement. “The Department is actively evaluating how to restructure IES with input from existing leadership and expert stakeholders so that the Institute provides states with more useful data to improve student outcomes while maintaining rigorous scientific integrity and cost effectiveness.”

It is still possible that DOGE will approve the reduced budget proposal this week before the money runs out. But there will be no one at the Education Department to oversee it or communicate with publishers. “Best case scenario, ERIC operates at half of its budget,” Pollard Young posted on LinkedIn.

Related: DOGE’s death blow to education studies

Like other Education Department employees who were fired in March, Pollard Young is on administrative leave until June. But she said she is willing to risk potential retaliation from the administration and speak on the record about the threat to ERIC, which she had managed for more than a dozen years.

“I am aware of what some of the consequences are,” said Pollard Young. “But to me, it is important for the field to know that I am doing everything in my power to save ERIC and also for the country to understand what is happening. As I’m talking to people across the country, it is clear that they don’t fully understand what is happening in D.C. Hopefully we can put some pressure on it so we can keep the funding or bring it back.”

Contact staff writer Jill Barshay at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or barshay@hechingerreport.org.

This story about ERIC was written by Jill Barshay and 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.

Source link

April 21, 2025

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