Washington, D.C. – Since 2010, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has conducted a survey of state postsecondary data systems, called Strong Foundations, to better understand the landscape of state postsecondary data. Today, SHEEO released an updated, redesigned State Postsecondary Data website featuring responses from the Strong Foundations 2020 survey.

This new data comes from the fifth and most recent iteration of the survey, marking over a decade of documentation on the content, structure, and effective use of state postsecondary student unit record systems. The Strong Foundations project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, represents the most comprehensive record of state postsecondary data systems and how they have changed over time.

These systems exist in an increasingly complex postsecondary data environment, one in which the connections between state, federal, and institutional data collections and policy contexts continue to evolve. Over the past ten years, state postsecondary data systems have been greatly influenced by increased linkages to K-12 and workforce data and a growing availability of disaggregated data, allowing states to examine critical transition points in the education pipeline and identify equity gaps in postsecondary systems. They are vital information resources necessary for states to analyze, understand, and improve their systems of postsecondary education.

“Since it was launched a decade ago, the Strong Foundations project has tracked how state postsecondary data systems have become more comprehensive and complex, and how states have used these important information resources to respond to shifting policy priorities,” said Tanya I. Garcia, Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary and commissioner for postsecondary and higher education, and lead author of SHEEO’s 2010 and 2012 Strong Foundations reports. “As states grapple with the health, social justice, and economic crises, state postsecondary data systems will be vital to understanding what happened to Black, Indigenous, Latino, rural, adult, and low-income learners pursuing postsecondary education in their state. Strong Foundations provides a key resource for state policymakers as they use state postsecondary data systems more effectively at this critical juncture.”

“State postsecondary data systems provide policymakers with information that is essential for them to understand the extent to which higher education systems are serving the needs of all students,” said Christina E. Whitfield, senior vice president and chief of staff at SHEEO, “and provide a foundation for developing policies that promote equitable outcomes.”

The update is the first of several Strong Foundations 2020 projects slated for this year. Through summer 2021, SHEEO will release a series of reports analyzing trends and themes in state postsecondary data system growth, how state data systems can be used to promote equity in education, changes in privacy and security protocols, and how researchers access and use information housed in state postsecondary data systems.

Visit the State Postsecondary Data website at postsecondarydata.sheeo.org to see the latest results and explore how these systems have changed over the last decade.

About the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership.

Located in in Washington, D.C.

Position Description:

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks a senior policy analyst to contribute to our efforts to develop state postsecondary data and information resources, provide technical assistance and professional development to SHEEO agency researchers and policy analysts, and collaborate with partner organizations. The ideal candidate for this position will be enthusiastic about working with higher education data, understand how data can inform policy and practice, and use this enthusiasm and knowledge to inform our members and the community about current practices and future trends in public higher education.

SHEEO serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit www.sheeo.org.

Key Responsibilities:

SHEEO is seeking diverse applicants who are qualified to undertake the following responsibilities:

• Contributing to the development, administration, and analysis of SHEEO’s “Strong Foundations” survey of state postsecondary systems.
• Coordinating with partner organizations on national postsecondary data initiatives.
• Providing technical assistance and professional development to state-level data practitioners.
• Developing agendas for SHEEO’s national convenings of data practitioners, researchers, and policy analysts.
• Managing grant deliverables.
• Developing and maintaining knowledge regarding current activities and future trends in public higher education.
• Representing SHEEO at state, regional, and national meetings and conferences.
• Contributing to reports, white papers, and policy briefs.
• Responding to information requests and providing other member services.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• A master’s degree in a relevant field plus at least five years of experience in a role that requires similar skills.
• A doctoral degree may serve as a substitute for two years of experience.
• Experience with state- or system-level postsecondary data systems.

• Knowledge of data resources such as IPEDS, NSC, NPSAS, or U.S. Census Bureau.
• Demonstrated statistical expertise. 
• Ability to creatively analyze and visualize data and present it to non-technical audiences.
• Skill in establishing priorities and coordinating work on multiple projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• An identifiable commitment to advancing equity and student success in higher education.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for state higher education policy and data-informed policymaking.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of state higher education policy and issues.
• Experience working with higher education associations or foundations.
• Experience developing or providing professional development or technical assistance resources.
• Experience conducting education, social science, or public policy research.

Salary:

Salary will be commensurate with successful candidate’s level of education and experience. SHEEO provides excellent staff benefits. 

Term:

This is a two-year contract position. Contract may be renewed or extended at the end of the two-year term.

Application Process:

Please apply by email to sheeo@sheeo.org and include the following:

1. Letter describing how you meet the requirements of the position addressed to Dr. Christina Whitfield, SHEEO, 1233 20^th Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20009.
2. Resume or curriculum vitae.
3. Names and contact information of three professional references. (References will not be contacted until you have given permission for us to do so.)

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but full consideration will be given to those received by February 22, 2021. This position is based in Washington, D.C. SHEEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is vital to the success of the organization.   

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, with generous funding provided by Arnold Ventures, are undertaking a new multiyear research endeavor to quantify the impacts of college closure on student persistence and completion.

According to a recent analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education, even before the pandemic, over the previous five years, an average of 20 campuses closed each month, leaving around 500,000 students (mostly working adults, low-income students, and students of color) affected.¹ Yet, little is known about what happens to students after a campus closes.

Over the next two years, leveraging a newly constructed student-level longitudinal dataset that the Clearinghouse holds on behalf of colleges, SHEEO and the Research Center will use descriptive analyses, advanced data visualization techniques, and quasi-experimental research designs to examine what happens to students post-closure. Rigorously and thoroughly quantifying the impacts of college closure on subsequent postsecondary outcomes will inform what has been a contentious policy debate around appropriate regulatory action meant to prevent, prepare for, and respond to college closures in a pandemic where more closures are expected to occur.

This work will result in a number of publicly available deliverables, including three published reports that examine the impacts of college closures on student outcomes in detail and a website devoted to the project that will house interactive data visualizations and aggregated data to download. All the research generated by this work will be widely shared with our various members, partners, and higher education stakeholders.

“Many higher education institutions find themselves at a crossroads in the wake of the financial calamities caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Though we’ve hoped all will make it through unscathed, a handful of campuses have already shut their doors,” said SHEEO President Rob Anderson. “If more closures are, in fact, coming, it’s important for researchers, higher education leaders, and policymakers to understand the ramifications of these closures on students. Knowing precisely what occurs post-closure and what state and federal policies might do to mitigate the effects on students is imperative.”

“While SHEEO has undertaken and facilitated a number of original research projects in recent months, I’m happy to announce that the college closures work is the first official project housed within our Center for State Higher Education Policy Research,” said David Tandberg, SHEEO vice president for policy research and strategic initiatives. “It is our hope that the center will provide our members and the larger higher education community with actionable and evidence-based policy recommendations that can equitably increase student success. As we undertake this work, we could not ask for a better partner than the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Their expertise, commitment to data-informed decision-making, and passion for higher education policies and programs are aligned with our own. I look forward to seeing this collaboration and project bear fruit in the coming months.”

“The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and SHEEO will examine many questions,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the Research Center. “Do students disengage from higher education entirely? Do they stop out only to return later? Do they enroll at a different institution and, if so, what type of institution? Do they earn a credential and, if so, what happens to their time to degree?

“How do the answers to these questions vary by the student demographics available in the NSC data? We’re not only going to have descriptive answers, but also we’re going to have causal estimates of their impact that will help policymakers and researchers.”

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit https://sheeo.org.

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes.

The Research Center analyzes the data from 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represent 97% of the nation’s postsecondary enrollments in Title IV degree-granting institutions in the U.S., as of 2018. Clearinghouse data track enrollments nationally and are not limited by institutional and state boundaries. To learn more, visit https://nscresearchcenter.org.

¹Vasquez, M., & Bauman, D. (2019). How America’s college-closure crisis leaves families devasted. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-americas-college-closure-crisis-leaves-families-devastated/?cid2=gen_login_refresh&cid=gen_sign_in

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President-elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan is a bold, necessary step to address the immediate public health and economic emergencies. It recognizes the pandemic’s financial toll on students and institutions of higher education and its role in exacerbating longstanding inequities in our educational systems. The aid to state, local, and territorial governments is a welcome relief that will help mitigate further state budget cuts to public colleges and universities. We look forward to working with the new administration to champion additional state aid for higher education to help stabilize campus budgets and advance state educational goals during this challenging time.

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“I join elected leaders from both parties and higher education leaders from across the country in denouncing the lawless violence that occurred this week on the Capitol grounds and in Washington, D.C. These actions have no place in a democracy, and this reprehensible attack on our country and the democratic process is inexcusable.

As our country ushers in new leadership, we at SHEEO are eager to work alongside the new administration and leaders in Congress to advocate for the equitable education of all students and to develop an effective state-federal partnership that results in meaningful and transformative higher education policy.”

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit https://sheeo.org.

Located in our Boulder, Colorado office

Position Description:

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) seeks a policy analyst to support our efforts to perform policy evaluation and contribute to the knowledge base that our member agencies and offices rely upon. The ideal candidate for this position will be enthusiastic about state policy in higher education and how policy can be used to improve equity and outcomes for all students, have strong research skills, and understand how data can inform policy and practice.

SHEEO serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit www.sheeo.org.

Key Responsibilities:

SHEEO is seeking diverse applicants who are qualified to:

• Use data to create actionable, policy-relevant insights for state systems of higher education.
• Leverage statistical software packages to create reproducible analyses and accompanying data visualizations, descriptive tables, and trend comparisons.
• Identify and promote best policies and practices related to closing equity gaps in higher education.
• Communicate empirical findings to non-technical audiences through presentations, reports, white papers, and policy briefs.
• Develop and maintain knowledge regarding current activities and future trends in public higher education.
• Represent SHEEO at state, regional, and national meetings and conferences.
• Respond to information requests and provide other member services.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience and Qualifications:

• A master’s degree in a relevant field or at least two years of experience in a role that requires similar skills.
• Experience managing and working with data from a variety of higher education and related sources (e.g., IPEDS, ACS, BLS, etc.).
• Fluency in advanced statistical software packages (e.g., Stata, R, Python).
• Ability to establish priorities and coordinate work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• An identifiable commitment to advancing equity and student success in higher education.
• Experience collaborating with others on empirical research projects.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to work with large administrative datasets efficiently and accurately.
• Experience conducting rigorous education, social science, public policy, or related research.
• Strong Stata skills.
• Experience working with student-level data.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for state higher education policy and the data used to inform policy-related conversations.

Salary:

Salary will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s level of education and experience. SHEEO provides excellent staff benefits.

Term:

This is a two-year contract position. Contract may be renewed or extended at the end of the two-year term.

Application Process:

Please apply by email to dszczesny@sheeo.org and include the following:

1. A letter describing how you meet the position’s requirements addressed to Dr. David Tandberg, SHEEO, 3035 Center Green Drive, #100, Boulder, CO 80301.
2. Résumé or curriculum vitae.
3. Names and contact information of three professional references. (References will not be contacted until you have given permission for us to do so.)

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but full consideration will be given to those received by January 22, 2021. This position is based in Boulder, Colorado. SHEEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and believes that recruiting and developing a diverse and inclusive staff is vital to the organization’s success. 

Washington, D.C. – The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) announces the opening of a new office in Washington, D.C. The SHEEO Washington office is located in the Lion Building (1233 20th Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, D.C. 20036).

Through its office in Washington, SHEEO will better serve its members by developing consistent communication with policymakers and cultivating closer relationships with federal officials and colleagues at associations and think tanks. SHEEO will be able to participate in more discussions without the costs and time associated with long-distance travel.

As part of the organization’s expansion to Washington, SHEEO has joined leading higher education associations and coalitions, including the American Council on Education (ACE), the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, and the Committee for Education Funding (CEF). SHEEO looks forward to participating in discussions with other associations on areas of shared interests in the years ahead.

Dr. Robert Anderson, president of SHEEO, shared, “We look forward to furthering our reach by the opening of our D.C. office. With more dialogue revolving around reimagining the roles of the federal government and the states in higher education, it is imperative that SHEEO have a constant presence in Washington.”

“The public health crisis has led to unprecedented new challenges for state higher education leaders,” said Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, chair of the SHEEO Executive Committee and Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education. “Having a Washington presence will help elevate the voices of SHEEOs in federal policy discussions and lend greater visibility to our interests and priorities as we work to improve educational opportunities in states across the nation during these critical times.”

For more information regarding the new Washington, D.C., office, contact Dr. Christina Whitfield, senior vice president and chief of staff, at cwhitfield@sheeo.org.

Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed was recently named chair of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) Executive Committee.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Reed serve as our chair this year,” said Dr. Robert Anderson, president of SHEEO. “She brings a wealth of state and federal experience to this position, which will benefit our members and students as we navigate both a recession and pandemic in the year ahead. I look forward to working with Kim and the Executive Committee on an agenda that will benefit all our students and the states and campuses that serve them.”

The Executive Committee is responsible for shaping SHEEO’s federal priorities and strategies and leading its communications with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and other federal agencies.

“It’s an exciting time to serve in this role because higher education is at the epicenter of talent development, new ideas and solutions,” said Dr. Reed. “The innovation and resilience shown by our campuses throughout 2020 has been nothing short of remarkable, and yet I know our best work is yet to come. Our institutions are incubators of knowledge, from understanding disease prevention to leading research towards a vaccine. We fuel efforts to restart our economy through retraining of displaced workers. And we support the persistence of our students, who are committed to using their voices to drive change. Without a doubt, higher education is a strategic asset for our states, our nation, and our world.”

SHEEO, the national association of the chief executives of statewide governing boards and coordinating boards for postsecondary education, works to assist its members and states in developing and sustaining excellent systems of higher education.

Dr. Kim Hunter Reed was named  Louisiana’s commissioner of higher education by the Board of Regents in  April 2018. Reed has served on the SHEEO Executive Committee since 2019. She is the only female in the country currently serving as a state higher education leader who has led higher education in more than one state. Reed also served effectively at the federal level as deputy under secretary at the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama administration.

Working with the Louisiana Board of Regents and the state’s public and private institutions, Reed is a nationally recognized student advocate, leading the state’s talent development efforts with a goal of ensuring that 60% of adults in Louisiana hold a postsecondary credential of value by 2030.

During her first two years in office, Reed launched a Master Plan for Higher Education that has quickly become a statewide guidebook, adopted by multiple public agencies and cited by organizations as “the plan” to support human development and improve Louisiana’s overall prosperity. Moody’s Investors Service, a leading provider of credit ratings, research, and financial risk analysis, reported that Louisiana’s Master Plan for Higher Education, if accomplished, will mean “greater economic competitiveness” and will be “credit positive” for the state moving ahead.

Since launching the Master Plan in 2019, Louisiana has seen a 3% increase in its attainment rate, and its work has been nationally recognized as high-quality, equity-focused, outcomes-driven, and scalable. Approximately $35.7M in external funding has been secured to accelerate talent development efforts and drive the state’s commitment to increase completers, expand research, and erase equity gaps.

SHEEO is also excited to welcome the remaining new Executive Committee officers: Blake Flanders of the Kansas Board of Regents as chair-elect, Ben Cannon of the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission as treasurer, and Carlos Santiago of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education as past chair. SHEEO also added four new members to its Executive Committee: Mike Krause of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Zora Mulligan of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, Angie Paccione of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and Aaron Thompson of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

“House leaders have put forth a meaningful relief proposal with their updated HEROES Act, and it is time for both sides to come together on a federal relief plan that meets the economic and public health challenges posed by the pandemic, stabilizes state budgets, and recognizes the central role of higher education in the national recovery.

Absent a federal relief package, states will confront deep budget shortfalls in 2021, resulting in devastating budget cuts to higher education and other state services. These cuts would ripple throughout states for years to come, threatening student access to high-quality, affordable, college opportunities, weakening institutional capacity to safely educate and train students, exacerbating existing inequalities, and constraining the ability of public colleges and universities to address state needs during a public health crisis and period of economic uncertainty. We urge Congress to prevent lasting damage to the American economy by expediently passing a robust relief package.”

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The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) welcomes Dr. Jenna Sablan as a senior policy analyst.

Dr. Sablan will be located at SHEEO’s Washington, D.C., office. Her work will focus on identifying and promoting best policies and practices related to closing equity gaps in higher education, improving student success and employment outcomes, and addressing the needs of the workforce. Dr. Sablan will support innovative state- and system-level practices related to advising, academic readiness, digital learning, and pathways, and will work to develop strategies to bring these practices to scale in multiple states and systems.

Before joining SHEEO, Dr. Sablan was an assistant research professor at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. In that role, she contributed to work on free college and higher education. Her research focused on college access, higher education policy, and K–12 to higher education transition. She also previously served as the inaugural 2016–17 American Educational Research Association/American Association for the Advancement of Science  Congressional Fellow on the Senate Budget Committee, where she worked on college affordability policy. Dr. Sablan has also held postdoctoral and institutional research positions at the University of Maryland and Loyola Marymount University. Dr. Sablan received her Ph.D. in urban education policy and M.A. in economics from the University of Southern California, and her B.A. in political science, B.A. in social policy, and Certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies from American University, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar.

ABOUT THE STATE HIGHER EDUCATION EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit https://sheeo.org.