students to continue pursuing their education goals.
What Prevents Isolation and Dropout for Non-Traditional Students? Connection: Features interview with Melvin Hines (CEO, Upswing), describing lessons learned in engaging and supporting non-traditional (e.g. adult learners, on-line students) college students, whose isolation has been exacerbated by restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This 29-minute podcast interview and transcript describes strategies including tutoring, advisement and on-line learning assistant (“Ana”) options to strengthen engagement. Hines indicates the strategies have increased graduation rates by 10-15%.
Asymptomatic Population COVID-19 Testing Guide: Explains the various approaches to serial COVID-19 testing, and offers considerations about how to determine which is best for a given organization (e.g. college/university). This guide was created by ThermoFisher Scientific for organizations interested in including asymptomatic population testing for SARS-CoV-2 as part of their mitigation strategy to keep people safe. The guide discusses how to evaluate different testing methods to determine which technology approach might best fit your circumstances and needs. Visitors must fill out an on-line form to access the guide, but there is no cost and no advertisement involved.
Your Guide to Creating a Contactless Campus: Offers a free downloadable guide that walks interested institutions of higher education [IHE] through a three-step process to resume classes while managing the safety of every one on campus: enabling Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, adding mobile capabilities, and switching to cloud-based administration. The free e-book from TouchNet Information Systems Inc., includes step-by-step ideas for transitioning everyday campus activities to low-or no-contact equivalents; a Contactless Campus checklist to help identify key elements of an IHE’s contactless strategy; and additional pandemic-related resources specific to higher education. TouchNet offers a more extensive suite of resources to support campus safety, Timely, Targeted Resources for Transitioning Your Campus.
Encouraging Protective COVID-19 Behaviors among College Students: Presents research-informed habit-promoting and communication strategies to encourage the adoption of behaviors that can stem the spread of COVID-19 infections on college campuses. This rapid expert consultation report by the Societal Experts Action Network [SEAN] of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM] draws from developmental psychology and brain research, and was developed to support campus leaders as they work together with students to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on college campuses and in the surrounding communities.
Surviving COVID-19: A #RealCollege Guide for Students: Addresses common needs and offers resources for college students as they embark on this semester while the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic is still a reality. This guide provides a set of resources and strategies regarding food, housing, and health needs.
Campus Counselors Are Burned Out and Short-Staffed: Reports (November 2021) convergence of unprecedentedly high need and demand for mental health services for college students with growing departures of college counseling clinicians and a significant tightening of the applicant pool. The Chronicle of Higher Education outlines numerous strategies colleges and universities are using to adjust to and cope with those dynamics.
JED's POV on Campus Mental Health and Well-being in Fall 2021 Reopening: Offers guidance for students, families, administrators, faculty and staff, based on the Jed Foundation’s comprehensive public health framework, about returning to campus for the 2021-2022 academic year. Reflecting published guidelines and considerations from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and the American College Health Association [ACHA], JED’s “POV” discusses important contextual issues, encourages strategic planning through an equitable implementation lens, promotes socia