PRINCETON, N.J., June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Representatives of Educational Testing Service’s Research and Development (R&D) and Higher Education (HED) divisions, as well as the organization’s Center for Advocacy and Philanthropy, will be featured speakers during a first-ever national summit on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Student Success in Atlanta, Ga., June 19–21. The event is presented by the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU).

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The theme of the three-day conference is Charting The Path Forward to Student Success, and features both public and private HBCU presidents and chancellors, provosts, vice presidents and other senior level campus administrators and professionals. Over the course of the summit, participants will detail new and effective practices, partnerships and strategies taking place at HBCUs and feature institutions that have made significant gains increasing student success. ETS’s support and involvement with HBCUs spans three decades.

Lenora Green, Senior Director of ETS’s Center for Advocacy and Philanthropy, will speak during the opening plenary kickoff session as part of a panel discussion moderated by John Michael Lee Jr., Vice President of APLU. Gene Bouie, Director of College Programs, and Steve Robbins, Director of Research Innovations at ETS, will speak as part of a panel discussing Different Gaps, Different Bridges: Using Non-cognitive Skills to Better Understand and Work with Underserved Populations. The discussion will be hosted by Michael Reynolds, a teacher in the Atlanta public schools. Jonathan Steinberg, Principal Research Data Analyst with ETS’s Center for Data Analysis & Research Technologies, will speak during a session titled Improving K–12 Teacher Preparation.

“HBCUs serve a tremendous need in higher education, and we are honored to participate in the summit to help advance their goals of improving and promoting successful student outcomes,” says Green. “This aligns with the ETS Center for Advocacy and Philanthropy’s goal of focusing on, and providing support for, initiatives that bring about solutions and long-term results for students and groups that have the least resources and educational opportunities. ETS applauds APLU and its Council of 1890 Universities for convening this event.”

Session topics during the three-day summit include:

• Transforming HBCUs for Student Success
• Recruitment Tools You Can Use
• Recruiting Diverse Students: Moving Beyond Racial and Ethnic Diversity at HBCUs
• National Recruitment Strategies
• Approaches to Addressing Developmental Education
• Non-cognitive Skills
• Collaborating for Student Success
• Retention Solutions
• Innovative Recruitment Strategies
• Changing Policies for Student Success
• Diversity and Inclusion at HBCUs
• Enrollment Management Solutions
• Succeeding with At-Risk Students
• Using Data to Drive Student Success
• STEM Living Learning Communities

The ETS Center for Advocacy and Philanthropy is a lead sponsor for the event. Other sponsors include the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, College Board®, and the APLU’s Council of 1890 Universities. View agenda details.

About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC ^® tests, the GRE ^® tests and The Praxis Series ^® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

SOURCE Educational Testing Service