Preliminary Agenda for EWA’s 2018 Higher Education Seminar

University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Sept. 24-25

This agenda is correct as of Sept. 11, 2018.

Monday, Sept. 24, 2018

Unless otherwise stated, all events on Monday take place in the Ballroom of the Student Union building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

8:00 a.m. Breakfast

8:30 a.m. Welcome

  • Caroline Hendrie, Executive Director of the Education Writers Association
  • Marta Meana, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

9:00 a.m. Reinventing the Liberal Arts – Enrollment in liberal arts programs has plummeted. What are colleges doing to make humanities courses more attractive to and useful for undergraduates?

  • Michael Sorrell, Paul Quinn College
  • Greg Summers, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
  • Robert Townsend, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
  • Marjorie Valbrun, Inside Higher Ed (moderator)

10:00 a.m. Rethinking Federal Regulation of Higher Education – Hear about the drive to reduce regulations and provide education consumers with more information from the top federal higher education policymaker and the head of the Education Department’s main education research arm.

  • Diane Auer Jones, U.S. Department of Education
  • Mark Schneider, U.S. Department of Education
  • Erica Green, New York Times (moderator)

11:00 a.m. Higher Education and the Midterm Elections – In 2014, fewer than one in five college students voted. How might students influence the upcoming elections? What barriers stand in their way? And why should colleges and universities care? Experts discuss the voter turnout strategies and issues that will be making the biggest impact on campuses in the fall of 2018.

  • Karl Catarata, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Norma Ramos, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Nancy Thomas, Tufts University
  • Natalie Bruzda, Las Vegas Review-Journal (moderator)

12:00 p.m. Lunch

  • Kevin Corcoran, Lumina Foundation

1:00 p.m. Rounds – Journalists will have opportunities to visit tables and rooms where they can chat with and learn from various experts, representatives, sources and advisers.

  • Adult Learners: Meet a few of the more than 7 million college students who are over the age of 22, including working parents, veterans and returning students.
    • Jimmieka Mills
    • Tanisha Saunders
    • Morchea Canonge
    • Tiffany James
  • Higher Ed Research Sources: Meet representatives from organizations doing some of the most important research on higher education.
    • Diane Cheng, TICAS
    • Erica Cuevas, Jobs for the Future
    • John Cheslock, Pennsylvania State University
    • Erica Cuevas, Jobs for the Future
    • Matt Chingos, Urban Institute
    • Shaun Harper, UCLA
    • Kim Nehls, Association for the Study of Higher Education
    • Judith Scott-Clayton, Columbia University
    • Alexandra Tilsley, Urban Institute
  • Possible Plan B: Meet and get advice from former journalists who have built great careers at colleges, education-related nonprofits and foundations.
    • Kevin Corcoran, Lumina Foundation
    • David Hoff, Hager Sharp
    • Shannon Stevens, California State University, Stanislaus
    • Lynne Varner, Washington State University Everett

2:30 p.m. Mental Health on Campus – The number of undergraduates seeking mental health services is skyrocketing. Hear from experts, students and practitioners about what colleges are — and should — be doing to address this issue.

  • Nance Roy, JED Foundation
  • Megan Larson, Active Minds Student
  • Autumn Arnett, U.S. News and World Report

3:30 p.m. Busting Financial-Aid Myths – New research shows that many assumptions about financial aid can be faulty. Learn from researchers about how “merit aid” may actually meet “need,” how many “free college” programs don’t do what proponents hope, and the surprising demographics of student-loan defaulters.

  • John Cheslock, Pennsylvania State University
  • Amy Li, University of Northern Colorado
  • Judith Scott-Clayton, Columbia University
  • Delece Smith-Barrow, Hechinger Report (moderator)

4:30 p.m. Fighting Discrimination on Campuses – Tensions over race and ethnicity are among the hottest news stories on the higher education beat. Hear from reporters and experts on better ways to cover this sensitive issue.

  • Fanta Aw, American University
  • Dan Bauman, The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Barbee Oakes, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Deirdre Fernandes, The Boston Globe (moderator)

5:30 p.m. 2018’s Top 10 Higher Ed Stories – Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik gives his predictions for the hottest topics on campus for the upcoming academic year.

6:30 p.m. Dinner

  • Marie Cini, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

8 p.m. Reception, Retro Pool Deck, SLS Hotel.

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018

8:00 a.m. Breakfast 

Room 208a, Student Union, UNLV

8:30 a.m. How I Did the Story – Prize-winning journalists give the inside scoop on how they reported and produced high-impact higher education stories.

Room 209, Student Union, UNLV

  • Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe
  • Eli Hager, The Marshall Project
  • Steve Kolowich, Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Liz Willen, Hechinger Report (moderator)

9:30 a.m. The New World of Admissions – Experts discuss admissions trends including the test-optional movement and the demographic realities affecting the numbers and types of applicants amid efforts to diversify colleges’ applicant pools.

Room 209, Student Union, UNLV

  • Jon Boeckenstedt, DePaul University
  • Nathan Grawe, Carleton College
  • Ozan Jaquette, UCLA
  • Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed (moderator)

10:30 a.m. Studying for a J.O.B. — There’s growing student interest in and federal emphasis on post-secondary programs that lead directly to careers. Learn about the impact of the reauthorization of the Perkins Act – the first major higher education legislation to pass under the Trump Administration – as well the growth of programs that combine college credit with job training.

Room 209, Student Union, UNLV

  • John Corcoran, glazier apprentice
  • Ashly Crowley, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
  • Erica Cuevas, Jobs For the Future
  • Grace Suh, IBM
  • Jamaal Abdul-Alim, The Conversation (moderator)

11:30 a.m. Practical Data Training – Researchers and data experts team up with veteran data reporters to provide attendees a choice of three concurrent sessions of hands-on training on using new data sets to buttress and generate must-read stories.

  • Admissions: UCLA Prof. Ozan Jaquette demonstrates his data set of the recruiting visits made by representatives of 150 colleges, and shows reporters how to document the recruiting efforts of the colleges they cover. Neal Morton, Seattle Times, moderator. Room 209, Student Union, UNLV.
  • Socioeconomic impacts: Martin Koenan demonstrates the socioeconomic mobility database developed by the Equality of Opportunity Project, and how to analyze the extent to which specific colleges help low-income students graduate into middle-class lives or careers. Marquita Brown, EWA, moderator. Room 211, Student Union, UNLV.
  • Data visualizations: DePaul University’s Jon Boeckenstedt shows reporters how to create data visualizations in Tableau. Trisha Powell Crain, AL.Com, moderator. Room 213, Student Union, UNLV

12:30 p.m. Lunch. Room 208A, Student Union, UNLV.

12:45 p.m. Practical Data Training – Researchers and data experts team up with veteran data reporters to provide attendees a choice of three concurrent sessions of hands-on training on using new data sets to buttress and generate must-read stories.

  • Admissions: UCLA Prof. Ozan Jaquette demonstrates his data set of the recruiting visits made by representatives of 150 colleges, and shows reporters how to document the recruiting efforts of the colleges they cover. Neal Morton, Seattle Times, moderator. Room 209, Student Union, UNLV.
  • Socioeconomic impacts: Martin Koenen demonstrates the socioeconomic mobility database developed by the Equality of Opportunity Project, and how to analyze the extent to which specific colleges help low-income students graduate into middle-class lives or careers. Marquita Brown, EWA, moderator. Room 211, Student Union, UNLV.
  • Data visualizations – DePaul University’s Jon Boeckenstedt shows reporters how to create data visualizations in Tableau. Trisha Powell Crain, AL.Com, moderator. Room 213, Student Union, UNLV.

1:00 – 3:30 p.m. Site Visits

  • Desert Rose Tech Center – Students from five of Clark County School District’s high-poverty high schools get technical training at the Tech Center while still enrolled at their home schools. They are provided training in the Las Vegas Valley’s highest-demand workforce areas to help build both a career and college pipeline.
  • College of Southern Nevada – The College of Southern Nevada offers “stackable credentials” aimed at encouraging CSN students to continue adding to their training as their careers progress. Innovative certification programs include: cyber security, advanced manufacturing, and robotic surgery.

For more information, read this announcement.

Due to overwhelming demand, as of Aug. 21, 2018, EWA has reached capacity for scholarships and registrations for this event. But more room may open up in September. Journalists interested in attending our 2018 Higher Education Seminar can sign up for our wait list.

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