Goal 4: Quality & Sustainability Archives - Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

PERC Examines UTK Student Debt

September 22, 2019 by Jonah Hall

PERC Examines UTK Student Debt

In the age of the student loan crisis, The University of Tennessee Knoxville has been a leader in helping students minimize and manage the debt they accrue while pursuing degrees. In 2017, for instance, UTK’s proportion of graduates in debt fell not only below the state average, but 15% below the national average as well.

These and other findings were just released by UT’s Postsecondary Education Research Center from Data Science and Engineering PhD student and PERC Graduate Research Assistant Kriss Gabourel. Gabourel’s report, entitled “Student debt profile: A brief look at a decade of graduates from UT Knoxville” was also presented at the July 2019 Tennessee Association for Institutional Research (TENNAIR) Conference in Franklin, TN.

You can click here to view the report summary. The next phase of analysis is anticipated to include income data for those same graduates, which will provide deeper insight into the relationship between student debt and earnings for graduates at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Online Leadership Studies Program at The University of Tennessee – Knoxville made the ranking of 24th for Master’s Degrees in Educational Leadership.

October 23, 2018 by Jonah Hall

Online Leadership Studies Program at The University of Tennessee – Knoxville made the ranking of 24th for Master’s Degrees in Educational Leadership.

SR Education Group, a leading education research publisher founded in 2004, has just unveiled their 2019 rankings on GuidetoOnlineSchools.com.The new best online colleges lists are the first to offer all-encompassing rankings of online colleges using up-to-date alumni salary data from PayScale and tuition rates across degree level and program. Inclusion on this list shows high return on investment and commitment to affordability, two key factors for prospective students. The University of Tennessee – Knoxville made the ranking at 24th for Master’s Degrees in Educational Leadership.

The full list is available here: https://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/degrees/educational-leadership#best-value-masters

The methodology for these rankings employs median mid-career salary data, as well as manually researched tuition rates. Since salaries differ by degree level and program, SR Education Group utilizes bachelor’s, master’s, and program specific salary data for the rankings. Manually collected tuition rates are also specific to degree level and program.

“We are excited to offer the most comprehensive and diverse collection of online school and program rankings. Our resources give prospective students transparent and accessible information to help them make important decisions about investments in their education and future career paths,” said Sung Rhee, CEO of SR Education Group.

ELPS, PERC, & CEL Honored at Big Orange Family Campaign Celebration

April 19, 2018 by Jonah Hall

ELPS, PERC, & CEL Honored at Big Orange Family Campaign Celebration

The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, including the Postsecondary Education Research Center and the Center for Educational Leadership, were honored at the Big Orange Family Campaign Celebration for achieving 100 percent participation among its faculty and staff.

The Big Orange Family Campaign is an annual month long initiative to enhance philanthropy among faculty and staff. Last year, donations helped provide 6,148 undergraduate and graduate students with scholarships. This year the Big Orange Family Campaign reached 59.56% participation, a full 5.5% higher than the campus-wide goal of 54%.

PERC’s Graduate Student Receives First Grant

December 6, 2017 by Jonah Hall

PERC’s Graduate Student Receives First Grant

Gresham Collom, a graduate research assistant for PERC, receives his first grant with Faculty member Dorian McCoy from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This Student/Faculty Research Award will help support student research and foster the mentor relationship between faculty and graduate students.

The project titled. “Stories to be Told: Life-Course Narratives of Previously Incarcerated Persons” will identify the need here at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to support previously incarcerated individuals and also work towards breaking barriers to their enrollment through recruitment initiatives. Collom states. “By gathering rich, qualitative narratives from previously incarcerated person who have attended or wish to attend UTK, we hope to bring to light important stories which do no often get told.”

As a first year PhD student Collom is grateful for this opportunity and hopes everyone keeps an eye out for the results.