In The News

Angela Baldasare, the former assistant provost for institutional research at University of Arizona, has joined Civitas Learning as a senior strategic consultant. The edtech company appointed her to its growing services team, which partners with institutions to improve student experience and graduation rates by leveraging Civitas’ analytics platform and change management expertise.

Civitas Learning announced a key expansion of its services team with the hiring of Dr. Angela Baldasare, a former Assistant Provost for Institutional Research at University of Arizona, as a Senior Strategic Consultant. A nationally recognized expert in using data and analytics for student success, Dr. Baldasare will serve as a senior member of the company’s growing Services team, which focuses on consulting and change management services for institutions using analytics and student success technology to improve students’ outcomes and experience.

What fosters culture? Is it mission? Is it the people? Is it support for team members? Turns out, for many companies, it’s a combination of all three — and then some. We asked four Austin tech companies to share what makes their cultures stand out, including Civitas Learning. Here’s what they had to say.

Recent research suggests that many U.S. college students who drop out have actually already completed most of their program requirements. The organization Civitas Learning studies and supports the growth of higher education in the United States. The study found that on average, nearly one in five students who left school without a degree had completed at least 75 percent of their program requirements.

Machine learning is beginning to improve student learning and provide better support for teachers and learners. Following is a quick list of a couple dozen applications that are (or soon will be) making good use of machine learning to support better education.

The Tech Tribune staff has compiled the very best tech startups in Austin, Texas. In doing their research they considered several factors including but not limited to Revenue potential, Leadership team, Brand/product traction, and Competitive landscape.

Chico entrepreneur Robert Strazzarino encouraged startup entrepreneurs to keep going no matter what, learning as much from failure as success. Strazzarino spoke to a roomful at 1 Million Cups, a weekly gathering to introduce new startups, and link them with mentors and experienced business individuals. The event is sponsored by Chicostart a local incubator designed to support Northern California entrepreneurs and based in the Chico city offices building.

There is a growing awareness that American higher education needs to better serve students who are attending college part time and who face long odds of completing a degree. Yet, the strategies put forward to improve these students’ prospects have largely focused on increasing their course loads. While that is undoubtedly the best answer for some part-time students, it’s impossible for others.

The Austin Business Journal convened some of the most successful founders and executives in Austin to share their experiences. Participants included Charles Thornburgh, Founder and CEO of Civitas Learning.

It’s time for student advising to go beyond the traditional format. While 44 percent of college students would like their coaching to be one-on-one in person, according to a recent survey, more collectively would prefer other modes, including e-mailing (18 percent), online via videoconference or texting (both at 11 percent), via personalized college app (10 percent) and by social media (6 percent).