This week at @IthakaSR, we’ll be digging into how we engage with our academic and cultural communities. I’ve spent some time reflecting on the folks who I’ve had a chance to engage with and learn from on here lately… and this feels like a good opportunity to say thank you! For ongoing (and frequent!) tracking of college openings, closures, finances: @rkelchen, @BryanAlexander, @ChrisMarsicano

And a special shout out to my amazing collaborator in tracking academic library responses to the pandemic early on: @lisalibrarian

Have started referring to this kind of explanation as "COVID-19 data gymnastics." Any other terms out there that are surely better than what I've come up with?

https://twitter.com/dailytarheel/status/1294360423190401025

Still not seeing any daily updates since 8/14 + no weekly updates since week of 8/3: carolinatogether.unc.edu/dashboard/

Cannot believe this is the second time I've felt the need to tweet this in the last few months:

The idea that one of the biggest problems facing higher ed right now is the "professionalism" of faculty backgrounds, clothing, etc. while teaching is... absurd.

https://twitter.com/chronicle/status/1293925352755036160

In case it needs to be repeated: We are still all operating under the conditions of a pandemic. The "crisis mode of spring" is not "over."

Are students + higher education institutions facing tremendous uncertainty? Yes. Are there plenty of things to panic about in the near-term future? Yes. But, did 40% of students say they were unlikely to enroll in the fall? Not really.

https://twitter.com/cwolffeisenberg/status/1292848716945272837

The group of respondents - recent high school grads who were all originally planning on living on campus - were asked:

"How likely is it that you will not go to college next term because of the COVID-19 outbreak?"

A thread on women, volunteer labor, and COVID-19

TLDR: Women continue to volunteer their time in ways that benefit their organizations and fields, despite being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Organizations need to take note (and action). The pandemic is causing women to disproportionately struggle. This has been well-documented: they are taking on substantial childcare (washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020…), have more often been laid off (cnbc.com/2020/05/14/cor…), + are falling behind professionally (sr.ithaka.org/blog/what-abou…).

I urge managers to read this great @scholarlykitchn piece, recognize that staff in your organization are likely facing similar issues, and reflect on the barriers that prevent them from disclosing and the ways that you can better accommodate their needs. scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/07/22/gue… Here are two very simple steps I have previously taken with new staff before their first day for these reasons:
▶️ Ask about tech/space needs
▶️ Let them know I'll take them to lunch, ask if they have any preferences/restrictions, and let them choose from a few possible options

It is clear that the upcoming academic year will not represent a return to normal. To help institutions enhance research, teaching, and learning, we will be offering new versions of our COVID-19 surveys on student and faculty experiences this fall: sr.ithaka.org/blog/now-avail… The COVID-19 student survey covers curricular needs, safety and well-being, intentions for returning in the spring, and perceptions of institutional communications and support: sr.ithaka.org/our-work/covid…

JUST PUBLISHED: Survey findings from @IthakaSR on the experiences of 15k+ students during the spring semester - covering curricular needs, safety and well being, perceptions of institutional communications, and intentions for returning in the fall. sr.ithaka.org/publications/s… Many challenges students faced during the spring semester - managing time, balancing complex responsibilities - are not new. Unexpectedly having to pivot to online learning and finding quiet space to complete work - during a global crisis - especially added to the difficulty.

NEW ANALYSIS from @JenKFrederick + me on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives -- their prevalence, operationalization, and the challenges ahead -- in academic library strategic plans: sr.ithaka.org/blog/measuring… Our national library director survey indicated that leaders at doctoral universities are relatively more confident in DEIA strategies, which led us to begin this analysis with @ARLnews institutions. We welcome suggestions for expanding the methodology. sr.ithaka.org/blog/measuring…

As the spring semester winds down, we're gearing up to partner with colleges & universities as they plan for the upcoming academic year with our new COVID-19 faculty survey: sr.ithaka.org/blog/announcin… The survey covers research and teaching practices as well as perceptions of institutional communications and support. More information on the instrument and process for signing up here: sr.ithaka.org/blog/announcin…

Immensely insightful new post on the @IthakaSR blog from @lizdj on the challenges of connecting students to critical campus services and resources during a global pandemic: sr.ithaka.org/blog/when-know… While institutional decisions and policies evolved, @lizdj kept a close eye on the questions that @LaGuardiaCC students, faculty, and staff were seeking answers to: sr.ithaka.org/blog/when-know…

"Many institutions have done their best to loan laptops to computerless students who would otherwise be working in on-campus computer labs. The internet access problem is more complicated, however." insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/0… I've spent a lot of time over the past few weeks thinking about students like the one we interviewed a few years ago who reported having a laptop... but the battery for it was broken and they couldn't afford to get it fixed. sr.ithaka.org/publications/a…

Thrilled to be able to help so many colleges and universities over the next month by gathering & sharing student experiences in real time through our new COVID-19 survey: sr.ithaka.org/our-work/covid… The student survey focuses on institutional communications, coursework, wellness, and anticipated enrollment. Partner institutions are already using the data in real time to more effectively support their students. sr.ithaka.org/our-work/covid…

Over the next month, we are helping colleges & universities gather & share student experiences in real time through our new COVID-19 survey at @AmarilloCollege, @DrakeUniversity, @GBCEdu, @illinoistech, @NOVAcommcollege, @RentonTech, @SamfordU, @UISedu, and @WestVirginiaU. Our new survey will provide insights on course formats, resources utilized, institutional communications, general wellness, and retention. More information on the instrument and process for signing up here: sr.ithaka.org/our-work/covid…

To provide real-time information needed by institutional leaders, we at @IthakaSR have launched a new student survey to examine + address course formats, resources utilized, institutional communications, general wellness, and retention. More here: sr.ithaka.org/blog/covid-19-… In an effort to reduce the admin work to participate in the survey as much as possible, we will be waiving the fee for 20 institutions and providing a click-through agreement, a simplified implementation process, + templates for invitation/reminder emails. sr.ithaka.org/our-work/covid…

Excited to share our findings with the @cni_org #cni20s community in just a few minutes! Will tweet out key slides + findings over the next hour here. @JenKFrederick ⬇️ In fall 2019, we heard from 662 library directors at US four-year colleges and universities on many long-standing + new topics related to leadership and strategy. #cni20s

Shout out to @econroy_1 who kicked off this webinar with a breathing exercise -- self-care is so important right now. @saragoldrickrab @hope4college #CovidCampus

https://twitter.com/hope4college/status/1240627825310343175

"A lot of these students won't be here in the fall if we don't take care of them now." @saragoldrickrab #RealCollege #CovidCampus

NEW DASHBOARD OF LIBRARY CLOSURES: We (@cwolffeisenberg + @lisalibrarian) have received numerous requests for a report of just those US academic libraries that have entirely closed physical locations. Now available! #CovidLibrary ql.tc/0qevAA If you just want a full list of the US academic libraries that have closed, scroll to Q4. You can review online or click “Download Legacy CSV” - you can then open in Excel or GSheets and sort by name. #CovidLibrary ql.tc/0qevAA

Has your institution participated yet in @cwolffeisenberg + @lisalibrarian survey of US academic libraries on COVID19 policies? Have your policies changed since you first responded? Please take a few minutes to SUBMIT an initial response or UPDATE ➡️ surveys.ithaka.org/jfe/form/SV_8q… We have made all of the results publicly available as they arrive in real time ➡️ ql.tc/aAaxhh #CovidLibrary

As dozens of colleges + universities quickly move to online instruction only, I can't help but think about the ~70-80% of community college students who shared with us how helpful it would be to borrow wifi hotspots + laptops from their institution. sr.ithaka.org/publications/s… Many students do not currently have affordable, reliable access to the internet or fully-functioning devices for accessing it.

When interviewing dozens of community college students in 2018 on their goals and challenges, I asked about their level of confidence in achieving success. “Success” was defined by what students shared -- in their own words -- about their goals. [short thread] 1/# I took a few minutes this morning to review those interview transcripts again. This is what emerged. 2/#