Since the beginning of April, at least 27 higher education institutions have received a call of an active shooter, hostage situation or bomb threat, only for it to be fake or unfounded once police reinforcements arrived on the scene. This number reflects the date of this publication. Moreover, it’s an issue plaguing the entire education sector. In the 2022-23 academic year alone, the Educator’s School Safety Network discovered 417 swatting or accidental reporting incidents in higher education and K12 as of April 26.

Swatting incidents are usually carried out by anonymized callers reporting an impending emergency from remote areas from campus. The FBI speculates that many of these calls might be coming from foreign actors. For example, an entire residence hall at MIT had to be evacuated following a bomb threat. At Harvard, armed police officers raided a student residence hall after a reported hostage situation.

While only an illusory issue, school communities are forced to approach every call with the same level of precaution. The string of swatting incidents follows the recent deadly shooting at Michigan State University and the stabbings currently haunting the University of California, Davis.

Safety officials and legislators are beginning to map out how to deal with the rise of swatting incidents, but how some big-brand universities have recently handled these unfounded calls has sparked tension in the community. For example, in response to Boston University’s swatting incident, the second alert the school gave students about their potential active shooter was to stop calling BU about the threat and await the next update. The Harvard community was equally “outraged” by the lack of communication given to students. However, officials believed the Harvard University Police Department’s actions aligned with law enforcement protocol.

More from UB: This president has leveraged her city’s tech boom to embrace an AI-centric future

Fighting back

Although the nature of swatting makes it difficult for law enforcement to identify them, it isn’t stopping one official from intimidating any future perpetrators. Last week, one Pennsylvania lawmaker proposed legislation to make those found guilty of swatting responsible for compensating the cost of first responders tending to hoax calls.

Some officials believe we need to change our conception of swatting incidents entirely. Kelly Nee, BU’s chief safety, security, and preparedness officer, believes that swatter should be charged under terrorism statutes to increase their level of punishment and oversight. Amy Klinger, of the Educator’s School Safety Network, believes in something similar.

“We have to shift our thinking from these as being, ‘Oh, it’s just a bad joke or a threat’ to being, ‘These are attacks, and they truly are attacks.’ And we need to treat them as such, in terms of our investigation and in terms of our consequences, because they have really significant—a really significant impact on kids and schools. And so we have to treat them as the serious problem that they truly are,” says Klinger, according to PBS.

Here are schools that have experienced a swatting threat since April at the date of publication:

• Harvard University (Mass.) April 3
• Rider University (N.J.) – April 3
• Cornell University (N.Y.) – April 4
• MIT – April 5
• Valparaiso University (Ind.) – April 6
• Rutgers University (N.J.) – April 6
• Clemson University (S.C.) – April 6
• University of Central Florida – April 7
• University of Oklahoma – April 7
• Southern Utah University – April 8
• Boston University – April 9
• Syracuse University – April 9
• Wake Forest University – April 9
• University of Nevada (N.C.) – April 9
• Middlebury College (Vt.) – April 9
• University of Pittsburgh – April 10
• Collin College (Texas) – April 12
• Baylor University (Texas) – April 12
• Galen College of Nursing (Texas) – April 12
• Tyler Junior College (Texas) – April 13
• Hamilton College (N.Y.) – April 16
• Florida International University – May 2
• Arizona College of Nursing (Florida) – May 2
• Indiana River State College (Florida) – May 2
• Santa Fe College (Florida) – May 2
• Palm Beach Atlantic University (Florida) – May 2
• University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus (Florida) – May 2

The post How should colleges respond to the recent surge in swatting incidents? appeared first on University Business.

The good news is that cutting-edge technology to provide safety for students and peace of mind for parents is being adopted widely by colleges and universities. And considering the variety of potential risks in today’s environment, it’s time to view these solutions not as a matter of luxury or convenience but best practices.

Demand is growing for campuses to be equipped with emergency response technology that can connect rapidly with first responders. Students have grown up in a world saturated by connectivity and instant communication. Today’s emergency alert systems are no different. They have evolved since the bygone days of landline telephones and wall-mounted fire alarms. The new safety solutions are fast, smart, and can even integrate seamlessly with the personal devices that have already become a central part of our lives.

A campus safety technology revolution

My career began in law enforcement, and I have witnessed the shift firsthand. When I was first introduced to the world of emergency alert technology, mobile phones could not fit in your pocket and the internet needed to be dialed up, often repeatedly, to achieve a connection. Safety technology now is far more advanced, and just like our smart devices, it has been optimized for ease of access, speed, and 24/7 functionality.

Solutions like panic buttons and mobile device widgets can deliver touch-of-a-button safety tech to every single classroom across a campus. Instructors can trigger an instantaneous lockdown at the slightest hint of danger, alerting law enforcement and every other staff member that there is an emergency. It’s technology that saves lives.

The tragic reality is that hundreds of thousands of students have been exposed to gun violence since the Columbine High School shooting. Being aware of safety threats, vulnerabilities and how to handle them is crucial. The most popular phrase circulating in the active shooter response space is probably “Run, Hide, Fight.” It’s extremely helpful, and memorable, so that students and staff know clearly what to do in an emergency. But coupling this awareness with the right tools is just as important.

More from UB: As student fears rise, how strong are safety measures your college provides?

On college campuses, mobile apps are being provided to students so they can alert safety forces to emergencies, report suspicious activity, and even track friends who are walking home alone late at night. Physical and sexual assault, as well as robbery and theft, are no longer uncommon, and there is simply no time to waste when it comes to investing in the security of campus life. More than anything, it’s important that students feel safe.

Beyond active shooter situations, the most reported crimes on college campuses are burglaries, sexual harassment and motor vehicle thefts. According to recent polling, less than half (45%) of college students feel “very safe” on campus, and less than a third (28%) feel “very safe” walking around campus at night. Compared to male students, female students are 20 percentage points less likely to feel very safe walking around campus at night. Universities should consider how address students’ needs in all aspects, and especially when it comes to personal safety.

In light of the mixed-threat environment that schools today have to navigate, it’s crucial to take a holistic approach to ensuring school safety. This includes safety drills, training and education, improving access control, planning and coordination with local law enforcement, and modern emergency alert systems. When students’ lives are at stake, we can’t afford blind spots. Cutting corners is just not an option in today’s world.

The post Educators are on the frontlines for campus emergencies and they need help appeared first on University Business.

Date & Time: Wednesday, April 19 at 2 pm ET

Active Shooter—the most dreaded two words in education. As a higher education leader, the concern is real and it’s always on your mind. In this webinar, you will learn about the “5Ps”, a step-by-step approach to developing and implementing measures to secure your campus and keeping students, staff, and visitors safe.

Across North America, college and university sizes and structures vary greatly. Because of this, a universal campus safety plan does not exist. While one institution might be better suited to a particular security system, require different hardware, or have specific vendor commitments, the concept of the “5Ps” presented in this webinar are universally applicable.

Topics include:

• What are the “5Ps”?
• How can my school begin to assess our needs and create our “5Ps”?
• How do we determine who gets involved both internally and externally?
• Examples from other schools’ best practices

Speaker:

By submitting your contact information, you are agreeing to receive communication from SALTO Systems.

Sponsored by:

The post Taking Action Now To Prevent Future Tragedy: A Systematic Approach to Securing Your Campus appeared first on University Business.

Coleman, now the President at the University of Michigan, called the increasing patterns “vexing” and hoped that the AAU’s work would shine a new spotlight on the increasing problem in higher education. Its efforts and the public outreach of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) have both elevated the conversation and gotten the attention of leaders at the federal level.

This week, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA) to try to stop the violent crimes plaguing the nation’s colleges and universities. They referenced the dour data from that AAU report, which got more than 360,000 student responses.

“Sexual assault is a crime and, like any crime, weak enforcement emboldens perpetrators,” Grassley said. “Our bipartisan, bicameral bill will make data more transparent, provide colleges with needed resources and give students a clear person to report to who can provide confidential advice. This will help ensure perpetrators are brought to justice and survivors have the resources needed to recover from life-altering trauma. By taking these necessary steps, our bill will help deter and prevent sexual assault on college campuses.”

The 89-year-old Grassley has been one of the most dogged and vocal proponents of actions to protect students and institutions from the occurrences of sexual crimes. He introduced a form of CASA eight years ago and he and Gillibrand have been trying to get it through a fickle Congress for three straight terms. On this one, they have a powerful and surprising alliance comprising Republican leaders such as Marco Rubio and fellow Iowan Joni Ernst as well as Democrats Amy Klobuchar, Dianne Feinstein and Mark Warner. New York Republican John Katko and Democrat Carolyn Maloney will be introducing it in the House of Representatives.

“While we’ve made some progress to protect survivors of campus sexual violence with my Campus SaVE Act, which became law in 2013, more work is needed to combat the troublesome persistence of sexual violence on college campuses,” Maloney said. “The Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA) would address ambiguities in the law, beef up protections for survivors, and strengthen enforcement for survivors of sexual violence on college campuses. Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking are horrific crimes that exact a physical and psychological toll on survivors and an entire community. Students should never feel they are unsafe on their campuses and should have access to support services and resources.”

More from UB: Sexual assault claims at 9 universities during Red Zone spark protests

One of the most prominent cases that took years to uncover continues to haunt victims. It involves the athletes who were victimized and sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar, a team physician who oversaw their health at USA Gymnastics and who worked at Michigan State University. Grassley led the first hearing on Nassar, who was later found guilty and sentenced to more than 100 years in prison. As the Nassar saga and others like the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State have unfolded, it also has led to Grassley to push through a bill to save young players from abuse. With Gillibrand, he  helped launch the Speak Out Act to protect those who come forward and report abuse, which has passed the Senate. Now, the two are trying to increase awareness and provide further backing for students with CASA.

“Sexual assault remains an all too common occurrence in colleges and universities across the country, and for far too long there has been a lack of accountability among higher education institutions with varying access to data and resources depending on the institution,” Gillibrand said. “Students are demanding that Congress take this problem seriously.”

The new CASA legislation, if passed, would:

• Require more transparency and reporting under the Clery Act
• Help launch a website that would be simple to use and report for victims, including listing specific Title IX coordinators and officials at institutions
• Build on existing supports at institutions with additional resources for victims
• Streamline how reports and cases are handled
• Increase professional development and training for staff
• Launch a fines system for violations, which would in turn be used to help boost prevention strategies at institutions.

The post Sexual assaults prompt Republicans, Democrats to relaunch Campus Safety bill appeared first on University Business.

• “8-year-old girl grazed in the head by stray bullet from ambush shooting near Temple University”
• “Man shot during gun battle in McDonald’s parking lot near Temple’s campus”
• “Senseless: Fatal shooting of Temple University graduate believed to be attempted robbery”
• “Scary: 100 people on street as shooting erupts near Temple University campus”

This past weekend, several students waiting to get into a party just a few blocks away were confronted by a perpetrator. He put a gun to a student’s head and forced all of them to give up their money, credit cards and phones. Hardly isolated, Philadelphia has become one of the epicenters of gun violence in America, posting more than 1,400 shootings and 375 fatalities this year. In March, Temple officials addressed the issue with students and did so again this summer before their arrival.

“The city of Philadelphia is facing an unprecedented crisis of gun violence,” Ken Kaiser, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement to the community. “The unspeakable acts taking place near campus simply are not acceptable. We are considering all options to protect the safety of our students, faculty, staff and neighbors in North Philadelphia.”

And it has. It replaced its public safety director and took steps before the academic year to make the university safer. But the violence in the streets hasn’t stopped.

Temple is not alone. Gun-related incidents near campuses nationwide—including the University of Washington and the University of Denver in recent weeks—have prompted leaders to send out similar warnings about safety and vigilance. At UW, four students were hurt during a shooting on Sunday that happened a few streets from its quad, among several incidents of recent violence.

“We’ve been working with the city, Seattle police and the U District Partnership to address the root causes behind the increase in personal and property crime in the University District, and to ensure immediate responses to incidents when they occur,” said President Ana Mari Cauce, who is in her seventh year leading UW. “No one should have to fear for their safety as they go about their daily lives. Gun violence is a public health crisis, and we’re committed to working with our partners—including by providing evidence-based policy and health research—as we collectively work to make our community a safer place for everyone.”

The incident followed two separate reports of gunfire, not involving UW students but just off campus in Seattle. UW and universities in other cities beset by the violence have been vocal in both messaging while forging crisis teams and enacting different strategies. UW has created a new Campus & Community Safety department that handles every emergency possible, from counseling support, to suicide, to responding to violence and disasters among its teams. But its big message to students who are in an emergency has been a simple one that has worked for decades: Call 9-1-1.

Strategies to stop the violence

What universities like UW and Temple are doing more diligently than ever is working with local leaders to ensure the safety of both their populations and those in surrounding neighborhoods. UW’s work with U District Partnership, which serves institutions in Seattle, helps keep streets clean, assists those in need, and works to mitigate violence. Temple not only has increased the number of safety officers, escorts for students, and its neighborhood watch programs, but is also working with local landlords to stop crime. It has created a stipend program so they can install cameras or additional lighting on homes. For students concerned about safety living off campus, the university works with them to find alternative residences.

The University of Denver, which saw several gun-related incidents outside its campus to open the semester, is working with the Denver Police Department directly to prevent violence. Two officers from the department were assigned to the university “during the hours that have proven most problematic, overnight weekend hours,” according to Director of Campus Safety Michael Bunker. Temple University is doing the same, and working with a number of community-based organizations.

So far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 33,600 deaths related to guns—15,000-plus homicides and more than 18,000 suicides. There have been 516 mass shootings. There also have been 30,000 injuries related to gun use. More than a dozen college presidents across the Washington, D.C., area—where gun-related homicides are their highest in nearly two decades in 2022—are working on a national research effort to lower those numbers, called the 120 Initiative, for those that die every day from gunfire in the United States.

“We add university presidents to the call for change. Why? Because guns are now the leading cause of death for young people, and we are charged with shaping young minds to tackle the grand challenges of our time,” said Darryl Pines, President of the University of Maryland at College Park. “Because we lead communities that are deeply affected by the mass slaughter of citizens, and some weeks it feels like the flags at our public institutions fly ceaselessly at half-staff. And because universities are often the source of change and progress.”

The post How 3 universities are reacting to gun violence outside their campuses appeared first on University Business.

For higher education, the pivot back from fully remote to fully reopen has been welcoming this fall. Campus leaders have expressed confidence that even with reductions in protocols and mandates that they will be able to handle potential outbreaks, hardened by 30 straight months of planning, team-building, reacting and finding solutions.

Still, where there’s coronavirus and flu and monkeypox–and a winter ahead–disruption likely will occur. New subvariants continue to emerge, though none yet have stormed in to unseat the prevalent BA.5 and BA.4.6. There is one more on the way, BA.7, though it is unclear whether it will be any more severe than its omicron predecessors. Colleges should continue to keep a watchful eye on developments and heed the guidance of public health officials, especially if a new variant does break through to oust omicron.

Over the past few years, the American College Health Association’s COVID Task Force has been meeting with college health leaders across the country and providing advice to institutions. They’ve leaned largely on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance in creating their own roadmap for safe reopenings.

With so much change happening in the past few months and with populations seemingly reluctant to get new bivalent boosters, University Business asked Task Force co-chair Dr. Anita Barkin, a nurse practitioner and former head of health services at Carnegie Mellon University, to discuss the latest on COVID and the flu and how colleges should be navigating this very unusual and surprisingly quiet period this fall.

What are you hearing from college health leaders about uptake of vaccines and boosters on campuses with COVID numbers waning?

There is a lack of real enthusiasm for embracing mitigation strategies like masking, vaccine requirements and booster requirements. Most schools we’ve talked to have said we’re going to encourage it and educate people about the availability of the booster, but we’re not going to require it. They are turning it back to individuals to be responsible. One of the drivers I used to hear most consistently is that students are motivated to get vaccines if they feel that they’re going to lose footing academically and if they’re going to miss classes. That may be a hook for them to get the booster and flu shot.

More from UB: Yes, 82% of college students are fully vaccinated but is that enough?

If I were still in my role as executive director of health services, I would be including the opportunity to get the bivalent booster with flu shots. Some schools are doing that. Some other schools are outsourcing their flu clinics and asking if the company can include boosters. One school said if we can’t get it, we’re going to talk with a local Walgreens [to get students appointments] or are asking Walgreens if they’ll do on-campus clinics.

Short of mandates, why should colleges be encouraging students to get boosters now?

If I’ve already gotten the initial series and gotten boosted and haven’t been ill, why wouldn’t I take advantage of a vaccine that now has the two variants that are circulating included? [A new study from the University of Minnesota shows both the efficacy and safety of the new boosters]. But it’s hard to make a case with college students who, by and large, are not having any significant illness. Certainly, there are some reports of long COVID, and you don’t know how it’s going to affect you. COVID has been tricky. I’ve been a nurse practitioner for over 40 years, and I have never seen anything like this, where there’s one unpredictable scenario after another.

One the strongest protections implemented by colleges was robust testing. So why have colleges opted to reduce it?

It’s really about resources. It has been very expensive to do heavy-duty testing and surveillance. Colleges are saying, why should we have robust surveillance if we have people who can test at home? The level of concern, given the severity of illness or lack thereof, is disincentivizing schools from spending a lot of money. And there are ways to do surveillance that are pretty typical of the way that we’ve done it in the past: How many people are showing up in the health service with COVID? How many people showing up are testing positive? Are we seeing a lot of absenteeism? Are local health officials seeing an increase in the severity of disease? What the CDC said, is look at what’s happening in your local hospital. Talk to your local public health people. I have talked to enough schools to know that they are not inclined to start up surveillance testing again.

Another great development were COVID dashboards. Some have remained, but many disappeared. Without them and testing, what should college leaders do if outbreaks occur?

If the school doesn’t have a dashboard or took it down, campus leaders should be communicating to the campus that we are seeing an uptick in cases, and this is how we know that is happening: there have been positive tests, health services are overwhelmed, there is class absenteeism. It’s important that they say, here are our recommendations to decrease your risk–mask wearing, getting the vaccine or booster, remembering to wash your hands and avoiding large gatherings. And they should say, we’ll communicate with you again and give you an update in a week, or five days.

Positive cases have gone down dramatically since the beginning of the year, and the U.S. did well in stretches during the pandemic, but delta and omicron surfaced to change that. How attuned should campus leaders be to emerging variants?

As the chief medical person on campus, I had to understand what public health threats look like. I needed to understand how to develop a response plan, and how to roll out a response to a public health threat. This is not the last novel virus we’re going to see. And this is not the last pandemic. We need to learn from the past so we don’t make the same mistakes going forward. We weren’t prepared for this pandemic. And I wonder if we’ll be prepared for the next one. Should college health professionals be aware of emerging public health threats? Absolutely.

Most colleges developed thorough plans over the past few years, led by COVID teams, some of which have been disbanded. We’ve heard some leaders tout their ability to pivot during crises, with the knowledge that their campus can react because they’ve done it before. However, many institutions have seen sea change in leadership over the past two years. What is the key to responding to new health developments?

You need continuity. Emergency response structures have to be reviewed periodically. They have to be tweaked accordingly, and there have to be tabletop exercises going forward. Because it could happen at any point in time, like meningitis, or H1N1 or COVID. We learned from each one of those experiences, and you need to go back and ask what really went well and what didn’t.

The post If pandemic is ‘over,’ how should college leaders respond to future COVID issues? appeared first on University Business.

Chancellor Marshall Criser III and Florida’s board of governors also have been named in the suit brought by both graduate and undergraduate students, who allege that for decades the state has underfunded and underserved FAMU in comparison to other public state institutions, including the University of Florida and neighboring Florida State University. They say that has hampered recruitment and retention efforts over a period of more than three decades.

The plaintiffs are seeking what would be a historic leveling of funding, access and resources for FAMU and all institutions, as well as relief under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment … and they want that to happen within five years. They allege Florida and its governors have not met their obligations to serve HBCUs under federal and state law in terms of access, retention, diverse hirings and funding, something they say they not only promised to do in an inquiry by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights in 1998, but then acknowledged they did four years later. University Business reached out to state university system officials seeking comment to the plaintiffs’ claims, but a spokesperson said they do not comment on pending litigation.

Florida A&M, which was established in 1887, has approximately 9,000 total students, more than 90% of whom are students of color.

“FAMU produces more African-American B.A. graduates than any four-year public college in the nation,” said Joshua Dubin, civil rights attorney from the law firm Grant & Eisenhofer. “Yet it’s still playing catch-up in the state of Florida, which we feel has acted with an astonishing lack of good faith, despite decades of directives from the federal government that all students in the state receive equal educational opportunities. This deliberate indifference toward HBCUs is not unique to Florida, but FAMU is where we’re joining the fight to ensure the education is fair for everyone.”

The lawsuit alleges that traditionally white institutions received favor from the years 1987 through 2020. Plaintiffs claims the difference alone vs. UF in funding during that stretch was $1.3 billion. Students and athletes from FAMU also have complained of poor housing conditions and “inadequate or incomplete facilities,” according to the suit, which states that “[the state of] Florida has continually failed to provide the appropriate contracts, contractors, supplies, and appropriations for timely completion of projects at HBCUs.” Students at HBCUs in other states, including Howard University and in the Atlanta University Center consortium, have lodged similar complaints over housing and facilities the past few years. All of them, however, are private institutions.

Litigants in the FAMU complaint also allege that some of the same sets of courses exist at Florida State University–one of the promises the plantiffs said should have been remedied under the OCR agreement–and that students are more inclined to attend FSU as a result, putting FAMU in an unwinnable position to try to attract new students and maintain enrollments.

“Our school has always made a little go a long way, but we shouldn’t have to,” said Britney Denton, a first-year doctoral student at FAMU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies who is part of the lawsuit. “There are bright and determined people here who deserve the same level of support and quality of resources as FSU next door or any other state school in Florida. We want Florida to be proud to support us and other HBCUs equally.”

More from UB: Florida’s university system has a new chancellor on the way, and it is this Republican 

Bobby Brown, another attorney representing the clients, added: “The complaint isn’t about simple state oversight or forgetfulness: FAMU and FSU are neighbors–literally and figuratively across the railroad tracks from one another–yet the shortfall in Florida’s support for FAMU is starkly evident. Britney and her fellow plaintiffs are standing up for nothing less than just and equal funding for all state schools in Florida.”

There are five other HBCUs in the state of Florida, including Bethune-Cookman University, Edward Waters College, Florida Memorial University and Miles College. Though the lawsuit involves only FAMU students, depending on how it is heard by the Northern District Court in Tallahassee and its outcomes, the decision could have implications on the entire group, and perhaps beyond Florida’s borders.

The federal government has worked over the past two-plus years to assist HBCUs through historic funding initiatives, to the tune of $6.5 billion. And many philanthropists, including MacKenzie Scott, have come to the rescue with transformational donations. But they continue to face challenges against traditional universities.

“While Florida works to provide a quality education at traditionally white institutions, its treatment of HBCUs has hardly evolved from the middle of the 20th century,” said Barbara Hart, a partner at Grant & Eisenhofer and a leader of the firm’s Civil Rights group. “FAMU is more dependent on state funding than other schools, yet Florida education policy treats it as little more than an after-thought. Thirty years ago, the US Supreme Court held that Mississippi’s education system violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment–it remained for all intents and purposes segregated. Here we are well into the 21st century and Florida treats its HBCUs as Mississippi did then. This lawsuit isn’t about history, though–it’s about changing things here and now and for the future.”

The post FAMU students file lawsuit against state of Florida, claiming favoritism of white institutions appeared first on University Business.

By many measures, these are the best of times for the expanding flagship campus that dominates 918 acres inside Kentucky Route 4. While many institutions across the nation are experiencing the pains of inflation, retention and completion, the University of Kentucky is both surging and serving. Its freshman enrollment in 2022 is a record, but a few other data points are just as important: like the boost of 300 new first-generation students to 25% overall. Or closing in on a 70% six-year graduation rate with 7,600 degrees conferred. Or being able to fund $3 billion in new and improved facilities during the past decade.

But one of the proudest stats, Capilouto points out, is that even with the university pulling in enrollees from 120 different countries and every state in the U.S., 65% of its students are still from the Bluegrass State.

“A priority for the University of Kentucky is keeping our doors open widest for Kentuckians,” said Capilouto, who was born in Alabama and held key positions there for a long time but whose allegiance has shifted to blue and white. “If we can shrink the amount of financial need for our students, we appreciably increase the likelihood of student success. Twenty-five percent of our students come from families whose median household income is around $25,000. We have a high percentage of first-generation students. We will have ill-served Kentucky if we don’t think with greater certainty that success is a real possibility for those students.”

It is a high-wire act for any institution, especially those that rely so heavily on state funding, but it is one that Kentucky has managed well. UK not only has boosted outcomes among students but also now ranks in the Top 5 of all in-state Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. for employees to work by Forbes. UK HealthCare also ranks in the top 40 nationally on Forbes’ list of best large employers. It is all part of a strategic plan called UK Purpose, installed a little more than a year ago to “put students first, take care of people and inspire ingenuity.”

To learn more about how this university, known for helping students and its fierce athletics programs (No. 9 overall in the Director’s Cup, which measures all teams, not just football and basketball), University Business sat down for an engaging conversation with the president:

One of the university’s missions, noted in your strategic plan, is to take care of people. Can you talk about what that entails and how you’re doing that at UK?

The first foundational principle is putting students first in everything we do and taking care of our people … so we can better take care of Kentucky–the students who are on campus, the individuals in 120 counties that turn to our extension offices for support and the 40,000 patients that come to UK HealthCare to be treated. To do all those things, we need to have a healthy, inspired workforce. Over the last 10 years, we’ve put together a compensation plan that increased salaries, expanded health care benefits and kept a lid on premium costs. We’ve also increased beginning pay. We were really the first in our region to establish $15 an hour and have continued to move that up. We’ve also moved up wages of those just above that. We also recognize that in these unprecedented times of COVID and economic stress that we have to do more for those we serve. For students, we have established a phone number that will have wellness specialists who can immediately connect them to a service they need (financial wellness, emotional wellness or counseling).

With students as high priority, how is the University of Kentucky responding to those who want assurances of relevant career paths and for employers who need talented workers in the next few years?

Part of our strategic planning is to focus more intently on workforce challenges for Kentucky. We need more health care personnel. We’ve received a grant to immediately increase class sizes in these fields. The state has been generous in its support (over $300 million this academic year) such that we can use our monies to build health education buildings and have health professions housed within them. We have made it possible for hospitals, some in rural areas, to better recruit. Research has shown if you recruit and train people from rural or underserved areas, the likelihood of their remaining there after graduation improves. So, we opened the Bowling Green campus and had that first graduation this year. We opened the Northern Kentucky campus (part of UK Engage). We offer an education where students can work at the intersection of the disciplines. That’s going to be important. Most of the challenges we face in our country involve multiple disciplines working together. This education they receive here is the first step in lifelong education that they’re going to have to undertake to get a job, create jobs and maintain work that provides meaning and purpose in life.

New innovation occurs frequently on your campus, whether it be research, health care or just in new construction. What is happening now and in the future at UK that you’re most excited about?

One of our foundational principles is inspiring ingenuity. We don’t necessarily have to incentivize this. People come up with an idea and run with it. A few years ago, I attended a national meeting and heard about esports. I realized these aren’t just games. The people who engage in this are folks who may be working on development of the metaverse. I talked to [other campus leaders] about it. The next thing I know, we have an esports lounge facility gaming area that is quite popular, and we have some exceptional students who use that as an experience to prepare them for a great job. I see innovations everywhere, in terms of teaching and the way we treat patients. Telehealth has expanded at a rapid pace. So, I’m very encouraged about the vibe at the university to create and innovate.

We’ve had a very interesting past couple of years, in terms of health and COVID, and now monkeypox circulating. How well are you prepared for the rest of the 2022-23 academic year in protecting your community?

The forced experiences we had to endure have taught us much. I have never been so proud of an institution as I was the University of Kentucky during these challenging times. We had to innovate. We had to create quickly mechanisms to respond to this pandemic: How are we going to open campus? Are we going to close campus and still provide education, research services and care? How are we going to best protect campus to reopen? We took responsibility for providing vaccines to every K-12 employee both in public and private school districts, all first responders, others who are critical to our economy, and did all that when we had a shortage of vaccines, no scheduling software, and no dedicated facility. So, we improvised. In a short time, we provided 250,000 vaccinations. We know how to pivot. We know how to respond. We are paying close attention to monkeypox. If that raises a significant problem, we’ll be able to act.

As president, you’ve eloquently delivered positive and timely messages to students, especially during crisis moments. Is that messaging one of the best tools a president has?

It’s a tool with a privilege that has to be respected. You have to do well. People may listen the first time. But you’ve got to have something to say if you want them to listen time and again. I feel quite fortunate that I live on campus, so you can sort of keep your hand on the pulse of things. But my cabinet and others that work on these matters never get far from this campus. It’s a well-read team of communications expertise. With their help, I think we’re able to communicate effectively. It is a team sport here.

What are you hoping to see happen over the next five years from the university?

I do hope that we develop continuous learners who are able to teach themselves, because it’s a rapidly changing economy. Being comfortable amongst the differences, and being able to develop fruitful, productive relationships across different individuals, is going to be a strength, given the tensions surrounding social and culture issues. Developing a deeper understanding of yourself and others who may have a different story, different faith, different color of skin, creed, identity. We know that when we have diverse perspectives around the table, we tend to be more innovative, more successful in creating solutions. We can’t lose sight of our responsibility to Kentucky.

The post President Series: Caring for students remains No. 1 goal at the University of Kentucky appeared first on University Business.

And yet, amid the splendor being splashed across social media from the chosen ones came a lightning bolt of bad news this week from financial services company Fitch Ratings, which said higher education enrollments overall likely will not recover quickly from the effects of the pandemic and other market pressures. It expects the losses to continue for another year or more, with higher education finally seeing some relief by 2025. But even then, any gains by four-year publics and privates are expected to be below 1% through 2030. The institutions most likely to be impacted, the agency said, are those with less-than-stout academic standards.

“Enrollment pressures will be felt unevenly,” Fitch Ratings officials said in their report. “The most selective universities, few of which saw any significant enrollment declines during the pandemic, are expected to see steady student demand. Enrollment at less selective, typically smaller, four-year degree institutions is unlikely to rebound to pre-pandemic levels this fall, further straining budgets given their higher dependence on student-generated revenues.”

There are other big drivers behind Fitch’s assessment, including the economy, but also how much students and families perceive the value of higher education vs. other options.

“Enrollment growth is further complicated by inflation, a strong labor market and employer initiatives to attract and retain workers, including on-the-job training, certification programs or relaxation of college degree requirements,” Fitch analysts said. “This mirrors a longer trend, particularly in certain sectors, of relaxing degree requirements and focusing on skills-based hiring criteria.”

More from UB: Colleges lost more than 300,000 transfers during the pandemic

Although the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has yet to release official data on fall enrollments–last year saw around a 3% decline–Fitch said early numbers from the National Center for Education Statistics show an expected drop of 1.6% for the 2022-23 academic year. That would further the declines felt since the pandemic began to more than 10%.

Some areas of the country–and even within states–might be more susceptible to declines in the future just based on demographics. For example, enrollments fell off the cliff in the Midwest from 2015 to 2020 and dropped hard in the Northeast, based partly on populations waning. All other areas fell as well, though not with the same thud, helped by growth in high school-age students. The South and Southwest are expected to see big gains among that group next year.

Another population key to enrollments is international students, which also nosedived during the early stages of COVID-19 but have made a bit of a comeback. Still, U.S. higher education might be hard-pressed to get back to pre-pandemic levels in the next couple years, experts from Fitch warned.

“Through July 2022, visas issued to students from China and India will meet or exceed student visas issued for those countries for all of 2021, although the weaker Chinese economy and geopolitical tensions may affect the visa pipeline,” analysts noted (with China being the far-and-away leader of international students sent to the U.S.). “We anticipate fall 2022 will see incremental growth in international student enrollment from 2020-2021 lows, although levels are likely to remain below the most recent peak in 2018-2019.”

Market pressures aside, performance really will depend on how well individual institutions can respond to them. Some have done extraordinarily well because they are most selective and can afford to be, with applications and interest soaring. Others are doing their best to attract more students, offering better financial aid packages, keeping tuitions level or reducing them and providing an array of services, resources and flexibility that students now expect.

The record-setting enrollment surge at Purdue is backed by application numbers that have grown by 30,000 over the past decade. Several factors have contributed, including a heavy boost to research initiatives and increasing the number of faculty but notably because it has remained affordable and kept tuition level.

“Our Fall 2022 enrollment is a clear demonstration that students and their families see Purdue as an exceptional educational value,” said Jay Akridge, Purdue provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity. “Our commitments to outstanding teaching and experiential education and the resulting nationally ranked programs, combined with our commitment to an affordable and accessible education, are bringing record numbers to West Lafayette. The most exciting part is thinking about the mark these Boilermakers will leave on our world after they complete their studies here.”

The post The future of enrollments looks unsettled through 2030, Fitch Ratings report shows appeared first on University Business.

The University of South Carolina, which boasts 2,000 veterans on its Columbia campus, was named No. 1 among more than 300 colleges in the United States in the “2022 Best for Vets: Colleges” list published by the Military Times. Thanks to its Veterans and Military Center of Excellence unveiled in January 2021, it has become a centerpiece for one of the most important populations at USC.

“It’s unbelievable to think about how far the University of South Carolina has come in a relatively short amount of time and the impact student veterans had on initiating this enhanced commitment by the university,” said Jared Evans, executive director for Veterans and Military Affairs. “We are honored to be the No. 1 university in the country for veterans and service members. It truly is a team effort, and we are fortunate to have an amazing group of supporters who are committed to leaving the university better than they found it, and truly believe in serving those who serve.”

What makes for a great campus serving veterans, according to the Military Times? First and foremost, it is that they achieve in the classroom, so its weighted measures lean heavily on metrics of student success, such as grade-point average, retention and completion. But nearly as important is how well that campus serves its veterans, offering all-encompassing support and career advisement. Financial success and ease of registration are two other important factors. The Military Times said the upheaval in its rankings from 2021 to 2022 was partly due to the changing of how it shifted those measures.

At South Carolina, leaders have accelerated their assistance during the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, making a deep commitment to provide for veterans throughout their stay at the university.

“We are so proud of the learning and student experience that we are able to offer our military service members and student veterans,” said Mary Alexander, assistant provost who oversees military engagement and veteran initiatives. “The team that we have in place to support these students is world-class, and I only anticipate this support growing in the coming years under our university’s new leadership. We are excited to be recognized for the support we provide and will continue strengthening this support in the years to come.”

The Military Times’ top five includes three more public four-year institutions–Bowling Green State University, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Maryland Global Campus. UT-Arlington was No. 1 last year. The top private institution was the small but mighty Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, which like the rest provide world-class resources to all types of veterans and service members, as well as families and their children. Quinnipiac goes above and beyond by offering help off campus, as well, through the state’s Veterans Administration system.

“Our student veterans and military dependents continue to embrace their college experience and maintain their diligence with our degree programs and high retention rates,” said Jason Burke, director of veteran and military affairs at Quinnipiac. “I am extremely proud of how hard our cadre focuses on their academics as well as participating in our many co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings.”

More from UB: University of Montana president discusses how higher ed can work for veterans

Also in the Top 10 this year are University of Incarnate Word and Angelo State in Texas at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, as well as the University of Arizona (No. 8), Eastern Michigan University (No. 9) and the California State University at San Bernardino (No. 10).

One of the biggest movers this year was the University of Texas at San Antonio, which leaped 90 spots to No 31. It cited several factors, but most notably two that had made an immediate impact on their campus: its veteran’s office launched a revised website while increasing its reach on social media and worked across departments, including financial aid, to streamline processes for vets.

Here is the Top 50. The rest can be found here:

1. University of South Carolina
2. Bowling Green State University
3. Quinnipiac University
4. University of Texas at Arlington
5. University of Maryland-Global Campus
6. University of the Incarnate Word
7. Angelo State University
8. University of Arizona
9. Eastern Michigan University
10. California State University, San Bernardino
11. Columbus State Community College
12. Syracuse University
13. Rutgers University
14. Liberty University
15. University of North Carolina, Wilmington
16. Georgia State University
17. University of Southern Mississippi
18. Santa Fe College
19. West Virginia University
20. Northern Arizona University
21. Eastern Kentucky University
22. University of West Florida
23. Western Illinois University
24. Saint Leo University
25. Iowa State University
26. Pasadena City College
27. Central Community College (NE)
28. University of New Mexico
29. University of Nebraska, Lincoln
30. Texas A&M University
31. University of Texas, San Antonio
32. University of Florida
33. Arizona State University-Digital Immersion
34. University of South Carolina, Aiken
35. Florida Atlantic University
36. Florida International University
37. Arizona State University-Campus Immersion
38. Texas State University
39. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (KY)
40. Penn State University-World Campus
41. East Coast Polytechnic Institute (VA)
42. Western Kentucky University
43. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Dayton Beach
44. DeSales University
45. Joseph’s University (NY)
46. Colorado State University
47. Pikes Peak State College
48. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
49. University of Washington, Tacoma
50. Troy University

The post The 50 best colleges and universities in the nation for veterans appeared first on University Business.