A task force of faculty members, students and administrators has recommended significant changes to undergraduate education at Northwestern University, including changing the University's academic calendar, addressing student workload requirements, enhancing support for teaching and improving advising, as well as a number of related improvements.

Chaired by Indira Raman, the Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Biology in the department of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the task force on the Undergraduate Academic Experience recently delivered its final report and recommendations to Provost Daniel Linzer. The task force spent the spring, summer and fall quarters gathering data and meeting with a wide range of University stakeholders.

The task force's recommendations are grouped into three types of changes: structural changes to be made at the University level; programs and projects to address identified issues; and cultural shifts to enhance the academic and broader University environment.

The transition from high school to college is a critical milestone for many young people, often representing the first time they leave the comfort and support of their childhood home to experience a more independent lifestyle. It is a time of excitement and opportunity, but it can also be a stressful period in life that takes a toll on students' emotional and mental health. This past spring, Harris Poll conducted an online survey of 1,502 U.S. college students to better understand their experiences during their first year at college. The study, commissioned by The JED Foundation, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and The Jordan Porco Foundation has significant implications for parents, educators and students alike.

The results of this study provide critical information that can inform the discussion around college mental and emotional health. It reveals the true extent of the struggles faced by first-year college students and shows that silence and isolation continue to pervade college life. It also highlights the pivotal role that external pressures like social media, school prestige, and other non-academic challenges play in the emotional health of students.

The transition from high school to college is a critical milestone for many young people, often representing the first time they leave the comfort and support of their childhood home to experience a more independent lifestyle. It is a time of excitement and opportunity, but it can also be a stressful period in life that takes a toll on students' emotional and mental health. This past spring, Harris Poll conducted an online survey of 1,502 U.S. college students to better understand their experiences during their first year at college. The study, commissioned by The JED Foundation, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and The Jordan Porco Foundation has significant implications for parents, educators and students alike.

The results of this study provide critical information that can inform the discussion around college mental and emotional health. It reveals the true extent of the struggles faced by first-year college students and shows that silence and isolation continue to pervade college life. It also highlights the pivotal role that external pressures like social media, school prestige, and other non-academic challenges play in the emotional health of students.

The dramatic increase in wealth inequality over the past several decades now forms the backdrop for many of today's most pressing public policy debates. Currently, the top 1 percent of U.S. households controls 42 percent of the nation's wealth, and nearly half of the wealth accumulated over the past 30 years has gone to the top 0.1 percent. Simultaneously, the wealth held by the bottom 90 percent of U.S. households continues to shrink, just as people of color are a growing percentage of the U.S. population. These trends have converged to produce a wealth divide that is apparent not just by class, but by race as well. The average white family owns $13 for every $1 owned by a typical Black family, and $10 for every $1 owned by the typical Latino family.

This analysis uses the Racial Wealth Audit, a framework developed by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) to assess the impact of public policy on the wealth gap between white and Black households. We use the framework to model the impact of various student debt relief policies to identify the approaches most likely to reduce inequities in wealth by race, as opposed to exacerbating existing inequities. We focus specifically on the Black-white wealth gap both because of the historic roots of inequality described above, and because student debt (in the form of borrowing rates and levels) seems to be contributing to wealth disparities between Black and white young adults, in particular.

The dramatic increase in wealth inequality over the past several decades now forms the backdrop for many of today's most pressing public policy debates. Currently, the top 1 percent of U.S. households controls 42 percent of the nation's wealth, and nearly half of the wealth accumulated over the past 30 years has gone to the top 0.1 percent. Simultaneously, the wealth held by the bottom 90 percent of U.S. households continues to shrink, just as people of color are a growing percentage of the U.S. population. These trends have converged to produce a wealth divide that is apparent not just by class, but by race as well. The average white family owns $13 for every $1 owned by a typical Black family, and $10 for every $1 owned by the typical Latino family.

This analysis uses the Racial Wealth Audit, a framework developed by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) to assess the impact of public policy on the wealth gap between white and Black households. We use the framework to model the impact of various student debt relief policies to identify the approaches most likely to reduce inequities in wealth by race, as opposed to exacerbating existing inequities. We focus specifically on the Black-white wealth gap both because of the historic roots of inequality described above, and because student debt (in the form of borrowing rates and levels) seems to be contributing to wealth disparities between Black and white young adults, in particular.

The dramatic increase in wealth inequality over the past several decades now forms the backdrop for many of today's most pressing public policy debates. Currently, the top 1 percent of U.S. households controls 42 percent of the nation's wealth, and nearly half of the wealth accumulated over the past 30 years has gone to the top 0.1 percent. Simultaneously, the wealth held by the bottom 90 percent of U.S. households continues to shrink, just as people of color are a growing percentage of the U.S. population. These trends have converged to produce a wealth divide that is apparent not just by class, but by race as well. The average white family owns $13 for every $1 owned by a typical Black family, and $10 for every $1 owned by the typical Latino family.

This analysis uses the Racial Wealth Audit, a framework developed by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) to assess the impact of public policy on the wealth gap between white and Black households. We use the framework to model the impact of various student debt relief policies to identify the approaches most likely to reduce inequities in wealth by race, as opposed to exacerbating existing inequities. We focus specifically on the Black-white wealth gap both because of the historic roots of inequality described above, and because student debt (in the form of borrowing rates and levels) seems to be contributing to wealth disparities between Black and white young adults, in particular.

This report summarizes the work of the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative during its first five years, 2010-2015. OPEC is a multi-year initiative led by The Oregon Community Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation and Oregon State University. Financial supporters include The Oregon Community Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust, The Collins Foundation, and OCF Donor Advised Funds. The initiative supports expanded access to best practice parenting education programs, with a focus on reaching parents of children prenatal to age six, and supports efforts to develop and strengthen regional parenting education "Hubs." OPEC is unique in its collaborative, foundation-led approach to building a statewide infrastructure for parenting education through community-based non-profits and public agencies. The OPEC initiative was launched in July 2010 with the funding of six regional parenting Hubs serving 12 counties, and nine Small Grant projects providing evidence-based classes and/or home visiting for specific groups of parents. As of fall 2015, 15 Hubs reach 26 Oregon counties and Siskiyou County, Calif., and OPEC has provided Small Grant funding to 17 additional Oregon organizations. OPEC has achieved strong outcomes in the building of regional infrastructure and parenting education partnerships, as well as increasing positive parenting capacities.

This report summarizes the work of the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative during its first five years, 2010-2015. OPEC is a multi-year initiative led by The Oregon Community Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation and Oregon State University. Financial supporters include The Oregon Community Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust, The Collins Foundation, and OCF Donor Advised Funds. The initiative supports expanded access to best practice parenting education programs, with a focus on reaching parents of children prenatal to age six, and supports efforts to develop and strengthen regional parenting education "Hubs." OPEC is unique in its collaborative, foundation-led approach to building a statewide infrastructure for parenting education through community-based non-profits and public agencies. The OPEC initiative was launched in July 2010 with the funding of six regional parenting Hubs serving 12 counties, and nine Small Grant projects providing evidence-based classes and/or home visiting for specific groups of parents. As of fall 2015, 15 Hubs reach 26 Oregon counties and Siskiyou County, Calif., and OPEC has provided Small Grant funding to 17 additional Oregon organizations. OPEC has achieved strong outcomes in the building of regional infrastructure and parenting education partnerships, as well as increasing positive parenting capacities.