Contact: Laura Osberger
lauraosberger@schev.edu
(804) 786-2323 (office), (804) 387-5191 (mobile)

May 20, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RICHMOND – The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) today launched Insights, a new platform to interpret and communicate data and policy with the overall goal of informing policy-making, engaging institutions and drawing attention to these resources. Centered around SCHEV’s nationally leading data collection, each Insight will visualize complex ideas and help inform funding and policy decisions.

Designed to inform legislators, policymakers, higher education leadership, higher education advocates and the media, Insights will publish on the SCHEV website at least six times per year with additional postings added based on trending topics.

The first Insights topic, titled “Unallotted: A Historic Higher Education Budget Placed on Hold,” looks at how the global pandemic upturned economic activity and daily life across the state, resulting in an unallottment of $389 million in new discretionary funds for higher education.

The initial content centers around topics related to the coronvirus. Future content will focus on ongoing topics related to higher education, including financial aid, student success (graduation rates, admissions, transfer, completion, retention), equity and diversity (graduation rates, college going rates, debt), state funding, student debt, post-graduation outcomes (ROI, wages, earnings by major, employment) and more.

Said SCHEV Director Peter Blake, “Our SCHEV staff expertise and repository of rich data are ripe for the additional, thoughtful analysis Insights brings. We are delighted to offer this content to a wide audience.”

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Media resources – including links to downloadable high-resolution photos and logos, news advisories and releases – are available at www.schev.edu/media.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the state’s coordinating agency for higher education. With The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, SCHEV is dedicated to making Virginia the best-educated state by 2030. Read more on The Virginia Plan.