Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice
On a mission to redefine the future of higher education
At CHEPP, our guiding principles drive policy, research, and advocacy.
October 6, 2025
Today’s learners are balancing careers, families, and caregiving with their studies, but many face barriers that traditional higher education models don’t address. Using CHEPP’s learner-centered design framework, this fact sheet shows how institutions can meet learners where they are with programs built around their needs and success.
September 29, 2025
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) submitted the following public comment to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Proposed Rule Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media . The letter focused on how changing the duration of status for international students to be a fixed amount of time would negatively impact some students' ability to finish their degree, continue on to a graduate program, and engage with relevant job training.
July 28, 2025
Today, the value of higher education is increasingly measured by its ability to lead to meaningful career outcomes. Yet for millions of today’s learners – the working adults, parents, and online learners who make up the majority of college students – traditional career services and work-based learning opportunities are out of reach. In this report, CHEPP analyzes research to offer insights for transforming postsecondary education into a more flexible, workforce-aligned system. By redesigning career connection strategies with learners at the center, we can unlock economic opportunity for everyone and build a more skilled workforce for America.
July 9, 2025
Only 18% of disabled adults over 25 have a bachelor’s degree—half the rate of adults without a disability. With college completion a leading indicator of economic success, this divide contributes to people with disabilities having significantly lower labor participation rates and higher rates of unemployment at 8.2%, compared to 3.9% for people without disabilities. The attainment gap is a result of longstanding barriers to success facing disabled learners from when they first enroll, to having access to the right accommodations throughout their studies and connecting to a career after graduation. By building more inclusive and accessible systems, federal policymakers and higher education leaders can increase college completion and career outcomes for learners with disabilities.
Visit the Learner Map to read about the SNHU students in all 50 states who represent today’s new traditional learners.
