Thanks in part to the evaluation expertise of a doctoral student in the Neag School’s measurement, evaluation, and assessment (MEA) program, a recently released report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that about 1 percent of enrollments in federal health-insurance plans in 2015 were potentially improper or fraudulent.

Each year in the United States, approximately 5 to 7.5 million students in the nation’s K-12 schools miss a month or more of school. That means 150 to 225 million instructional days are lost every school year. The problem is more pronounced in low-income urban communities throughout the country. In elementary school, for example, students who live in poverty were found to be as much as five times more likely to be chronically absent than their advantaged peers.

Each year, more than half a million students drop out of high school in the United States. But what if schools could predict which individuals were most at risk for dropping out — and perhaps even take action to prevent such an outcome? As it turns out, such a scenario is closer than ever to becoming a reality.

When Sushruta Kunnenkeri was a child, his father fostered a learning environment at the kitchen table, inviting his children to talk about science and history, giving them the confidence to explore new fields and ask questions — something Kunnenkeri, now an aspiring science teacher enrolled in the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG), wants to encourage his students to do.

UConn’s Office of First Year Programs and Learning Communities has tapped internationally recognized creativity expert and Neag School educational psychology professor Ronald Beghetto as the faculty director of UConn’s Innovation House. Beghetto, a 2015 UConn faculty of the year awardee who focuses his research on creative thought and action in educational settings, began his new director role this past fall.