Affordability Remains Top Consideration on Where and Whether Students Attend College

Survey results released this summer by EAB of nearly 5,000 students who graduated from high school in 2021 revealed that test-optional admissions policies have had significant DEI impacts on college applications.

Overall, 15% of Gen Z students say they applied to a school specifically because it did not require them to submit an SAT or ACT score with their application. Black and Hispanic/Latinx students were much more likely (24% and 21%, respectively) than their White or Asian counterparts (12% and 15%, respectively) to apply to a school because of its test-optional policy.

“The majority of higher ed institutions suspended or permanently discontinued testing requirements during the pandemic, and many schools still do not require students to submit SAT or ACT scores,” said EAB’s dean of enrollment management Madeleine Rhyneer. “Unfortunately, schools aren’t doing a very good job of making it clear to students whether their institution is test-optional for every academic program and scholarship. Schools looking to diversify enrollment would be well-served by clarifying and promoting their testing policies.”

The new EAB survey also showed that college affordability continues to be the top consideration in whether and where students apply and enroll. Thirtysix percent say they picked their institution for its “affordable tuition.” Roughly one-third of Black (32%) and Hispanic/Latinx (35%) respondents who decided not to attend college this year said that cost concerns drove their decision.

As the number of high school graduates who enroll in college continues to decline, schools are getting more creative in how they attract and engage prospective students. Some have begun offering $1,000 “bonus” scholarships, added to the aid package when a student enrolls, to incentivize applicants to make a campus visit. This bonus scholarship incentive was favored by 64% of EAB survey respondents, making it far more popular than other potential choices, including free school apparel (39%) or reimbursement for campus visit travel costs (39%).

Not all students are interested or able to make in-person campus visits a staple of their college search experience. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said they took at least one virtual campus tour during 2021, a 50% increase from the 2020 school year.

“Getting a prospective student to visit your campus in person has been a staple of college recruiting for years,” Rhyneer added. “It makes perfect sense since a campus visit is strongly correlated with a student’s decision to enroll. However, since many families lack the resources or flexibility to travel, creating an effective virtual tour of your campus has become critically important, especially for schools looking to diversify their applicant pool.”

EAB collected survey responses from 4,848 students who graduated from high school in 2021. The report also includes analysis of student behavioral data from more than 1,100 partner colleges and universities.

From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across five major areas: enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and DEI.

https://www.latimes.com/b2b/diversity2022/story/2022-12-18/affordability-remains-top-consideration-on-where-and-whether-students-attend-college

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Bill to ban biological males from girls' sports teams fails in Ohio General Assembly

A bill that would have banned biological males from playing on girls' sports teams in Ohio failed to pass in the state's General Assembly last Thursday.

The amended bill, which cleared the state Senate, 23-7, before it narrowly fell in the statehouse, would also have given the governor greater power over the state Department of Education and banned discrimination against students based on COVID-19 vaccination status.

Republican state Rep. Jena Powell introduced the transgender student-athlete amendment to the bill, which was originally intended to address the Ohio Teacher Residency Program.

The amendment said no school or athletic conference "shall permit individuals of the male sex to participate on athletic teams or in athletic competitions designated only for participants of the female sex."

A provision in the bill that would have mandated students undergo "internal and external" exams to determine their biological sex was taken out of the bill earlier this month. A subsequent provision was also removed that would have required student-athletes whose "sex is disputed" to prove their biological sex with a birth certificate.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, though he voiced support for overhauling education oversight, has previously expressed his opinion that Ohio legislators should not be addressing the issue of transgender students in sports.

"This issue is best addressed outside of government through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions," DeWine has said.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has said there is no evidence that biological males who identify as transgender are posing a problem and that there are few transgender student-athletes in the state.

There have been 15 transgender student-athletes in Ohio since the 2015-2016 school year, with seven transgender females in high school sports and eight transgender females at the seventh- and eighth-grade level, according to the association.

Despite the bill's failure, some form of it could be taken up again during the next legislative session, when Republicans will hold a firmer majority in the state House of Representatives. Republicans presently hold 64 of the House's 99 seats and will pick up three more next year.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/bill-ban-biological-males-from-girls-sports-teams-fails-ohio-general-assembly

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Ohio teacher says she was forced to resign after telling principal using students' preferred pronouns violated her religion

A former Ohio middle school teacher said she was forced to resign after telling the principal that she would not address students by their preferred pronouns because of her religious beliefs.

Vivian Geraghty, 24, is now engaged in a lawsuit against the Jackson Memorial Middle School principal, the Board of Education, and two employees of the school district.

Geraghty, who is Christian, worked at the Massillon, Ohio school teaching art until her abrupt resignation on August 26.

The school had adopted a policy that said its teachers would abide by the wishes of students as far as the names and pronouns they want to be called

The school had adopted a policy that said its teachers would abide by the wishes of students as far as the names and pronouns they want to be called

A federal lawsuit filed last week states that prior to her resignation, she 'taught her class while remaining consistent with her religious practices and scientific understanding concerning human identity, gender, and sex.'

Earlier in August, two of Geraghty's students requested that she begin using names that were consistent 'with their new gender identities rather than their legal names.'

One of the students, according to the suit, also wanted to be addressed by new 'preferred' pronouns. The suit also noted that the school had a policy that required teachers to use the pronouns requested by students.

The policy flouted Geraghty's religious beliefs prompting her to meet with principal Kacy Carter 'in the hope of reaching a solution that would allow her to continue teaching without violating her religious beliefs and constitutional rights.'
Ohio principal Kacy Carter, who allegedly told Geraghty that she would have to change her faith-based beliefs or resign

Ohio principal Kacy Carter, who allegedly told Geraghty that she would have to change her faith-based beliefs or resign

Following her conversation with Carter, Geraghty was called into a separate meeting with the principal and district employee Monica Myers.

During the second meeting, Geraghty was told she would be 'required to put her beliefs aside as a public servant' and any unwillingness to do so would be read as insubordination, according to the lawsuit.

When the teacher held her ground, she was sent back to her classroom only to be pulled out minutes later and instructed to either change her mind, or resign her position.

Feeling as though she had no other option, she opted to resign and submitted a letter of resignation. She was then escorted out of the building.

Attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has taken up Geraghty's case, said that the school failed to consider any possibilities that could accommodate Geraghty and her students, like moving her to a different classroom, or having her call students by their last names.

The suit alleges that the school's policy is unevenly enforces given that, Kacy, for instance, is able to avoid using pronouns altogether in his position. The ADF additionally argued that Geraghty should not have been placed in a position where she was required to choose 'between her faith and her job.'

Logan Spena, counsel for the ADF, wrote, 'No school official can force a teacher to set her religious beliefs aside in order to keep her job.'

'The First Amendment prohibits that abuse of power.'

Religious Christians generally take an unsympathetic view toward the transgender movement in the US. According to Focus on the Family, parents and other community leaders - including teachers - should refrain from 'acquiesc(ing)' to the 'gender struggle' some children may experience without 'considering the more important responsibility of shepherding their eternal souls.'

'Putting your acceptance of your children’s preferences and behavior above their relationship with God doesn’t truly help them,' read the site.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11551271/Ohio-teacher-forced-resign-claiming-using-students-preferred-pronouns-violated-religion.html

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