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Paying for college consistently ranks as a top concern for students considering stopping out or otherwise at risk of leaving their institution without a credential. And while tuition and fees are often the biggest financial responsibilities students face, there’s also living expenses, books, supplies, activities and more. These expenditures add up, especially as college students experience higher levels of food and housing insecurity than the general population. 

In this live webcast, Inside Higher Ed’s Colleen Flaherty and Ashley Mowreader will explore what’s been called the college affordability crisis and share the steps—big and small—that institutions, policymakers and other leaders are taking to ease the financial burden on students.

Key topics include:

  • The potential for AI to reduce higher education costs in ways that benefit students
  • State-level efforts to offer free college in Massachusetts and Colorado
  • Initiatives around the country that have addressed housing insecurity among their students and lessons learned from these efforts
  • The data on college costs, its impact on student success and the ongoing debate surrounding the value of a college degree
  • Disparities in financial security levels among students, based on race, ethnicity and gender
  • The extent to which colleges are using financial aid data to help their students meet basic needs

Prior to the webcast, make sure to download and explore the recently-published booklet.

Wednesday, October 16 | 2 p.m. E.T.

Supporting Student Success: Case Studies in Making College More Affordable

SPEAKERS

Colleen Flaherty
Senior Editor of Special Content at Inside Higher Ed

Colleen Flaherty, Senior Editor of Special Content, previously served as Student Voice Editor for Inside Higher Ed. Prior to joining the publication in 2012, Colleen was military editor at the Killeen Daily Herald, outside Fort Hood, Texas. Before that, she covered government and land use issues for the Greenwich Time and Hersam Acorn Newspapers in her home state of Connecticut. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal with a degree in English literature, Colleen taught English and English as a second language in public schools in the Bronx, New York. She earned her M.S.Ed. from City University of New York Lehman College as part of the New York City Teaching Fellows program.

Ivan L. Harrell II, Ph.D.
President of Tacoma Community College

Ivan L. Harrell II is president of Tacoma Community College (TCC). Having a passion for community college education, Harrell strives every day to lead a group of professionals in providing the best environment, programs and services students need to complete their academic and career goals. Prior to TCC, Harrell most recently served as the executive vice president of academic and student affairs at Georgia Piedmont Technical College. Harrell has written or co-written a number of scholarly articles and book chapters. He has also served as a presenter at numerous local, regional and national conferences and seminars. He is most proud of his work around improving the success of students of color, particularly Black men, first-generation college students, as well as students who come from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Harrell completed his doctor of philosophy degree at Florida State University, where he defended his award-winning dissertation, titled, “Using Student Characteristics to Predict the Persistence of Community College Students Enrolled in Online Courses.” A native of Oberlin, Ohio, Harrell was a first-generation student who began his career in community colleges at Tallahassee Community College.

Ashley Mowreader
Student Success Reporter at Inside Higher Ed

Ashley Mowreader is the student success reporter for Inside Higher Ed. Prior, Ashley wrote for Air Cargo World, the Thousand Oaks Acorn, the Graphic, Currents Magazine and the Malibu Times. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Pepperdine University.

Catherine Brown
Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National College Attainment Network

Catherine Brown is senior director of policy and advocacy at the National College Attainment Network (NCAN). Brown oversees the creation and execution of NCAN's nonpartisan policy agenda, priorities, and research at the federal and state levels. Brown most recently served as senior director at The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), helping to advance affordability, equity and college completion. Her work focused on increasing college persistence and completion and she launched a new project to improve college affordability in Michigan. Prior to joining TICAS, Brown served as the vice president of education policy at the Center for American Progress and vice president for policy at Teach for America. Earlier in her career, Brown was a senior education policy adviser for the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, domestic policy adviser for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and legislative assistant to then-Senator Clinton. Brown received a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Dr. Margaret McMenamin
President of UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ

Dr. Margaret McMenamin is president of UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ. Under her leadership, the college’s graduation rate quintupled and UCNJ was recognized as a Top 10 community college by the Aspen Institute for College Excellence in 2023. Previously, she was the vice president of student and academic affairs at Lehigh Carbon Community College as well as the executive vice president and acting president of Brookdale Community College. Dr. McMenamin has an unwavering passion for advancing higher education. Currently, she serves as the chair for the Advisory Board of HERDI, a member of the executive committee of the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, the National Junior College Athletic Association Presidents Council and the board of HACU. In 2020, she was named the National Marie Y. Martin CEO of the year. Dr. McMenamin holds degrees from Temple University, the University of Scranton and Lehigh University.

Doug Lederman
Co-founder and Editor at Inside Higher Ed

Doug Lederman helps lead the news organization's editorial operations, overseeing news content, opinion pieces, career advice, blogs and other features. Doug speaks widely about higher education, including on C-Span and National Public Radio and at meetings and on campuses around the country, and his work has appeared in The New York Times and USA Today, among other publications. Doug was managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education from 1999 to 2003. Before that, Doug had worked at The Chronicle since 1986 in a variety of roles, first as an athletics reporter and editor. He has won three National Awards for Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association, including one in 2009 for a series of Inside Higher Ed articles he co-wrote on college rankings. He began his career as a news clerk at The New York Times. He grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and graduated in 1984 from Princeton University.

CAN'T ATTEND LIVE?

Can't attend the webcast? You should still register -- all registrants, including attendees and absentees, will receive a recording of the webcast and a copy of the presentation slides.