Scaling change in higher education: A guide for stakeholder groups

A new Pullias Center publication shows external groups how to effectively support change and reform in higher education Two months ago, the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the Association of American Universities (AAU) jointly released “Scaling Improvement in STEM Learning Environments: The Strategic Role of a National Organization,” a report assessing AAU’s efforts to reforms of undergraduate STEM teaching and learning on a national level […]

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To help students succeed in STEM, colleges need a holistic plan

A study of college transition programs at CSUs details the benefits of comprehensive, integrated support programs for underserved students. Abstract | Full article HTML | Full article PDF When college and university departments work together to help first-year STEM students transition to college, students succeed at significantly higher rates. That is what two researchers from the Pullias Center for Higher Education found when they studied CSU […]

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Elizabeth Holcombe successfully defends dissertation

Congratulations to Elizabeth Holcombe, research assistant at the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education, who successfully defended her PhD dissertation on August 9, 2018! Titled “Assessment and Teaching Improvement in Higher Education: Investigating an Unproven Link,” Holcombe’s dissertation studies whether research universities’ efforts to assess the knowledge and abilities students gain through their college experiences shapes teaching and learning environments. While […]

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Building bridges for student success

When academic and student affairs departments work together, first-year STEM students achieve greater success, a study finds. Full article HTML | Full article PDF A first-generation college student wants to major in math—but enrolls in the wrong course because her academic advisor isn’t familiar with the math sequence.  Once classes begin, the student doesn’t understand what faculty office hours are—and so never […]

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Congratulations to new USC Rossier graduates from the Pullias Center

Congratulations to the four members of the USC Pullias Center of Higher Education who participated in the USC Rossier graduation ceremonies last weekend! Three Pullias research assistants — Elizabeth Holcombe, Antar A. Tichavakunda, and James Dean Ward — were among the the 334 students honored in the doctoral hooding ceremony on May 11. Tichavakunda was the recipient of the USC […]

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Meet Pullias researchers at AERA 2018

The annual meeting for the American Educational Research Association takes place April 13-17, 2018, in New York City, and researchers from the Pullias Center will be presenting on a wide variety of topics, from “Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education” to “Evaluating the Effects of a Game-Based Intervention on Free Application for Federal Student Aid Completion” to “The Evolution […]

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Elizabeth Holcombe: Implementing integrated comprehensive student programs in STEM

Implementing Integrated Comprehensive Student Programs in STEM: Challenges and Facilitators from the CSU STEM Collaboratives This blog post, authored by Pullias Center research assistant Elizabeth Holcombe, was originally published in the ASCN Blog, March 21, 2018. In my last post, I described the benefits of integrated support programs for underrepresented students in STEM. These integrated programs bridge organizational silos and build a unified […]

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Free Webinar: Increasing Success for Underrepresented Students in STEM

How can universities support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented minority STEM students? Collaborating between academic and student affairs can play an important role, according to a key study by Pullias researchers. This finding comes from a three-year, eight-campus study of the California State University (CSU) STEM Collaboratives project, funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. Elizabeth Holcombe, research assistant at Pullias Center, […]

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Elizabeth Holcombe: An Integrated approach to support underrepresented students in STEM

Integrating across Academic and Student Affairs to Support Underrepresented Students in STEM: Lessons from the CSU STEM Collaboratives This blog post, authored by Pullias Center research assistant Elizabeth Holcombe, was originally published in the ASCN Blog, Feb. 21, 2018. The challenges of keeping undergraduate students in STEM programs and getting them to complete their degrees are well-documented and frequently discussed […]

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Envisioning the Faculty for the Twenty-First Century

New book by Pullias researchers highlights the need for new faculty models Envisioning the Faculty for the Twenty-First Century: Moving to a Mission-Oriented and Learner-Centered Model Edited by Adrianna Kezar and Daniel Maxey Contributions by Daniel Maxey, Adrianna Kezar, Elizabeth Holcombe, Ann E. Austin, Andrea G. Trice, William T. Mallon, Arleen Arnsparger, Joanna Drivalas, Malcolm Brown, KerryAnn O’Meara, Lauren DeCrosta, Richard Allan Gillman, Nancy Hensel, David A. Salomon, William Plater, R. Eugene Rice, Leslie Gonzalez, Aimee LaPointe Terosky ___ Order […]

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