The weekly digest from
and other news from the New England Board of Higher Education
March 4, 2020
NEBHE will post updates at  nebhe.org  related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and New England higher education
Responding to Coronavirus
NEBHE will be posting updates at  nebhe.org  related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and New England higher education.

We're tracking news related to New England colleges and universities, such as these pieces from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Online Learning Consortium . Please share updates from your institution at: nejhe.nebhe.org .

We’re also surveying the region's colleges and universities about what they are doing to address this public health challenge. Among our questions:

  • How has your institution been impacted by COVID-19?
  • How is your institution preparing for instructional continuity—the ability to continue to provide learning despite a health crisis? 
  • Is your institution able to continue instruction via online or other means if the campus closes or if the public is urged to avoid meeting?
  • How is your institution preparing for business continuity—the ability to sustain campus operations despite a health crisis?
  • To what extent have students and/or faculty abroad been impacted?
  • How is international enrollment affected?
  • How are campus health services responding?
ICYMI ... from The New England Journal of Higher Education
Persistence Plus, a Boston-based social impact venture that applies behavioral science to help colleges increase retention, asked college students to finish the sentence "I wish my college knew ..." Cecilia Le, director of strategic engagement at Persistence Plus, describes their moving answers, such as "That I take care of my very ill partner, work full time, am a full-time mom and study full time" or "I'm determined to finish my degree even though I have two children under five and work full time." Le notes that "Professors, advisors or administrators who try #IWishMyCollegeKnew may find this leads them to start an emergency grant program, change the way they structure late fees, or simply have more context for why a student has been missing class."
Do employers really know how to assess the quality of graduates' college experiences--or how those experiences influence how prepared these graduates are to be engaged, productive employees? Brandon Busteed, then executive director of education and workforce development at Gallup, and his colleague Sean Seymour, examine how a set of connections students are exposed to in college--including experiential opportunities, such as internships and long-term projects that mimic real work environments--help prepare graduates with a clearer sense of what they do and how they can shape their workplace. "It's time for us all to dig beneath the surface of resumes, grades and test scores and look to the elements that matter most to workplace success," the authors suggest.
Newslink
NEJHE's Comings and Goings highlights key appointments and job changes in New England higher education and beyond.
Sandra J. Doran, NEBHE's first director of New England SARA, named president of Bay Path University
Read the latest from NEJHE's DC Shuttle, featuring national news drawn from our friends at the New England Council.
Nearly 1.3 million students were enrolled exclusively in distance-education programs at institutions participating in National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) in fall 2018—up 5% over the previous year. SARA institutions located in the six New England states enrolled 123,151 out-of-state students in programs that are 100% online. NEBHE’s affiliate members, New Jersey and New York, enrolled 45,059 out-of-state students in programs that are 100% online.
News around NEBHE
NEBHE and its sister regional higher education compact organizations unveiled plans for a national network to support scaling and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) across state lines. For more on NEBHE's work in OER, visit the Open Education and Open Educational Resources page on NEBHE's website.
NEJHE NewsBlast is a summary of NEJHE content and other news around NEBHE prepared weekly by NEJHE Executive Editor John O. Harney and emailed every Wednesday to opinion leaders and practitioners. When responding to NEJHE content, please make sure that your remarks are relevant, courteous and engaging. Individuals are responsible for their comments, which do not represent the opinions of the New England Board of Higher Education. We urge commenters to briefly note their occupational or other interest in the topic at hand. Please refrain from offensive language, personal attacks and distasteful comments or they may be deleted. Comments may not appear immediately. Thank you for staying engaged.
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