Tieken advocates for colleges to rethink how they support rural students once they arrive on campuses far from their homes, not just in terms of miles, but in cultural markers. “We don’t have that vocabulary for how geography matters,” Tieken told .

In a June 11 Education Week story headlined “,” Tieken said, “The assumption is just so baked into the logic of closure decisions that it’s assumed closures will save money, so it can be really hard for leaders to combat that thinking. This is a really important piece of evidence as districts navigate these conversations and decisions.”