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Friday, December 24, 2010

160. MVCAP fyi: 10 in 2010

While the MVCAP blog resets over the holidays, 10 of the most important articles highlighted in 2010 are featured below.

1. Proficiency of Black Students is Found to Be Far Lower Than Expected, by Trip Gabriel -http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/education/09gap.html?_r=2&hpw

“What this clearly shows is that black males who are not eligible for free and reduced-price lunch are doing no better than white males who are poor,” said Michael Casserly, executive director of the council. The report shows that black boys on average fall behind from their earliest years. Black mothers have a higher infant mortality rate and black children are twice as likely as whites to live in a home where no parent has a job. In high school, African-American boys drop out at nearly twice the rate of white boys, and their SAT scores are on average 104 points lower. In college, black men represented just 5 percent of students in 2008."

2. Black Male Achievement in a 'State of Crisis,' Study Says, by Dakarai Aarons - http://t.co/1wmZtp2 via @educationweek

"As a study this summer by the Schott Foundation for Public Education pointed out, fewer than half of black males graduate from high school on time. "At almost every juncture, the odds are stacked against these young men in ways that result in too much unfulfilled potential and too many fractured lives," writes Michael Casserly, the council's executive director. The council's report suggests that the underperformance of black male youths is nothing short of a national emergency, and it calls for the convening of a White House conference."The previous efforts to ring the alarm bell have too often fallen on deaf ears, and we thought that a White House conference would help both raise the visibility of the issues and aide in attempting to martial the public will to tackle it," Casserly said in an interview."

3. This Raging Fire, by Bob Herbert, The New York Times, November 15, 2010 - http://nyti.ms/9Jjsc2

"The first and most important step would be a major effort to begin knitting the black family back together. There is no way to overstate the myriad risks faced by children whose parents have effectively abandoned them. It’s the family that protects the child against ignorance and physical harm, that offers emotional security and the foundation for a strong sense of self, that enables a child to believe — truly — that wonderful things are possible.
All of that is missing in the lives of too many black children."

4. Urban Education: The State of Urban Schooling at the Start of 21st Century, by Martin Haberman - http://www.educationnews.org/ed_reports/104105.html

"Since 1962 the achievement gap between disadvantaged populations and more affluent ones has widened. At one extreme urban school districts graduate half or fewer of their students. (Arbanas, 2001) At the other extreme 11% of American students are now among the top 10 percent of world achievers. “If you’re in the top economic quarter of the population, your children have a 76% chance of getting through college and graduating by age 24. . . . If you’re in the bottom quarter, however, the figure is 4 %.” (Loeb, 1999) White students’ achievement in reading, math and science ranks 2nd, 7th and 4th when compared with students worldwide. Black and Hispanic students however rank 26, 27th and 27th on these basic skills. (Bracey, 2002)

5. Even with free tuition, hurdles remain for raising number of college graduates, by David Jesse - Hechinger Report: http://t.co/ctzrZe1

"Just 54 percent of the first recipients are either still in college or have graduated, a stark reminder that it will take more than money to achieve the president’s ambitious goal of leading the world in college attainment by 2020. Nationally, getting students through college has long been a challenge: only half of those who start certificate or degree programs at two- and four-year institutions finish within six years, U.S. Education Department data show.

“We took the first hurdle down [not having money for college] and now can see all the hurdles behind it,” said Michelle Miller-Adams, a visiting scholar at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo and author of the first comprehensive study of the initiative."

6. Financial Aid: A Broken Bridge to College Access? by Bridget Terry Long and Erin Riley - http://www.hepg.org/document/19/

"Although there are many barriers to college access and success for low-income and minority students, most can be grouped into three major categories. The first set of major barriers relates to cost. . . . A second major set of barriers to college enrollment and persistence is academic preparation. . . . The third major impediment to higher education for many students, particularly those from low-income families, is the complexity of the college admissions process and financial aid systems, as well as a lack of accurate information about higher education costs. College attendance is the culmination of a series of steps and benchmarks, and this current landscape is too complex and difficult for many families to decipher and navigate."

7. From Access to Success: Funders Guide to More Americans Earning Degrees - http://edfunders.org/downloads/GFEReports/GFE_FromAccessToSuccess_FundersGuide.pdf
"A large proportion of students are underprepared—academically, financially and in terms of their own assumptions and expectations—for college. As a result, only about
57 percent of students who enroll in a bachelor’s degree program graduate within six years, and only one-fifth of students who begin at a community college graduate within three years.
The disparities for students of color and students from lower-income households are even starker."

8. In families, numbers work out, by George Will - http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/aug/29/in-families-the-numbers-work-out/?partner=yahoo_feeds#

"Two decades have passed since Barton wrote “America’s Smallest School: The Family.” He has estimated that about 90 percent of the difference in schools’ proficiencies can be explained by five factors: the number of days students are absent from school, the number of hours students spend watching television, the number of pages read for homework, the quantity and quality of reading material in the students’ homes — and, much the most important, the presence of two parents in the home."

9. For-Profit Colleges Change Higher Education's Landscape, by Robin Wilson - http://chronicle.com/article/For-Profit-Colleges-Change/64012/

"Proprietary schools charge a lot more than public colleges—an average of $14,174 this year, compared with $2,544 at public two-year institutions and $7,020 for in-state tuition at public four-year institutions, according to the College Board. But students frequently choose proprietary schools over public colleges because for-profits do so much to limit the hassle of enrolling and applying for aid, and because students can take the classes they need quickly and get on with their lives."

10. Experts Begin to Identify Nonacademic Skills Key to Success, by Sarah D. Sparks - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/23/15aera.h30.html?tkn=TOOFSR%2B4810CTp1N9ef4pgxwBLgqJMYV0Ew0&cmp=clp-edweek&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EducationWeekAmericanEducationNewsTopStories+%28Education+Week%3A+Free+Daily+Stories%29 via @educationweek

"Across education and industry, research by Mr. Sackett; Neal Schmitt, a psychology professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing; and others shows the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by such traits as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next-best predictors of college achievement, followed by variations on extroversion and openness to new experiences, Mr. Sackett found."

Thursday, December 23, 2010

159. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Common Application Users Find Glitch In Common, Too, by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/hrIqxS

"When he would follow the program’s instructions to execute a “print preview” of his answers — which would show him the actual version that an admissions officer would see, as opposed to the raw work-in-progress on his screen — his responses were invariably cut off at the margin, in midsentence or even midword."

2. Showdown in the Offing - http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/12/23/top_republican_vows_legislation_to_stop_rules_on_for_profit_colleges

"One possible scenario has House Republicans putting forward 2011 budget legislation in early March that would cut the Pell Grant Program or slash Head Start or other Democratic priorities -- but would soften those stances in exchange for an amendment to the legislation that gutted gainful employment."

3. 46% Of Fed Loans To For-Profits Will Go Into Default - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/23/46-percent-default-rate-o_n_800283.html

‎"The staggering percentage of defaulted loans at proprietary institutions may garner support for federal efforts to regulate such colleges and provide a boost for the DoE's proposed "gainful employment" rule, which would screen for-profit institutions according to their students' ability to repay loans. Essentially, the rule would test the likelihood that students will graduate and then become gainfully employed."

4. For-Profit College Loan Fail, by Andy Kroll - http://t.co/NCkkTI5 via @motherjones

"The DoE's regulations would mandate that for-profit college graduates earn enough to repay their federal loans, or else the schools could lose access to federal loan funding. That would be a serious blow to much of the industry, which relies on such funds to survive. Most colleges receive 75 percent of more of their revenue in federal loan funding; at others, like the University of Phoenix's parent company, Apollo Group, federal dollars comprise upwards of 90 percent of the revenue. (The legal limit is exactly 90 percent.)"

5. At Kaplan U., 'Guerilla Registration' Leaves Students Deep in Debt, by Chris Kirkham - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/kaplan-university-guerilla-registration_n_799741.html?ir=College

"Far from an aberration, Castillo's experience typifies the results of a practice known informally inside Kaplan as "guerrilla registration": academic advisors have long enrolled students in classes they never take, without their consent and sometimes even after they have sought to withdraw from the university, in order to maximize the company's revenues, according to interviews with former employees."


"Across education and industry, research by Mr. Sackett; Neal Schmitt, a psychology professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing; and others shows the biggest predictor of success is a student’s conscientiousness, as measured by such traits as dependability, perseverance through tasks, and work ethic. Agreeableness, including teamwork, and emotional stability were the next-best predictors of college achievement, followed by variations on extroversion and openness to new experiences, Mr. Sackett found."


"But Republicans, who will control the House come January, are already signaling that they may not be so generous in the future. In a news release issued today, the incoming chairman of the House Appropriations Committee described the additional Pell money as a “bailout” for the program."

8. Top Colleges Reconsider R.O.T.C. After ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Vote, by Tamar Lewin and Anemona Hartocollis - http://nyti.ms/efkKY0

"The R.O.T.C., which has units on 327 campuses nationwide, was sent packing from several Ivy League and other prominent campuses in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in the firestorm of student protests against the Vietnam War. More recently, though, it has faced opposition because of discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the military."



Wednesday, December 22, 2010

158. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. UConn women get Division I record 89th straight win, by Jason Hanna – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs: http://t.co/GKO98Ue

‎"Earlier this week, after UConn tied UCLA's Division I record with a victory Sunday over Ohio State, Auriemma took issue with the media's motives for paying attention to his team, saying there wouldn't be as many people covering the club if it were chasing a women's record, and that people were "up in arms about" the possibility that women could break a men's record."

2. Big-bucks college presidents don't earn their pay, by Mark Schneider: http://usat.ly/gbtwcX - RT @USATODAY

"To find the answer, I compared these top-paid presidents with two measures of student success: 1) the graduation rate of students who obtain a bachelor's degree in six years, and 2) the percentage of borrowers who default on their student loans within two years of graduating or dropping out."

3. Elation, Then Life Intervenes, by Sophia Gimenez - http://nyti.ms/gdruR1

‎"In the midst of my college acceptances and applying — including to Scripps, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University at Fort Collins — my mother fell frightfully ill. Just as I had nervously awaited for results from Knox and Mills, my mother, along with the rest of my family, anxiously awaited the results of her spinal tap. She couldn’t share good news like I had, and unfortunately, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis."


"If winter weather tops your college wish list, then these schools are for you."

5. Oral Lee Brown, Oakland Woman, Sends Dozens of Underprivileged Kids To College - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/20/oral-lee-brown-oakland-wo_n_799389.html

"When the time came, almost all of the 23 students went on to college thanks to "Mama Brown," who had tucked away a nest egg saved from her real estate income. Now, Brown's foundation continues to make dreams come true for Oakland students, doling out college scholarships every three years."

6. U.S. students discovering U.K. universities, by Daniel de Vise - http://t.co/Bs9zkxV via @washingtonpost

"Now Waldrop, from Silver Spring, is a sophomore at St. Andrews, one of a growing number of American students who enroll at top-ranked British universities, which offer the prestige of elite U.S. schools at a fraction of the cost."

7. For-Profit Colleges Change Higher Education's Landscape, by Robin Wilson - http://chronicle.com/article/For-Profit-Colleges-Change/64012/

"Proprietary schools charge a lot more than public colleges—an average of $14,174 this year, compared with $2,544 at public two-year institutions and $7,020 for in-state tuition at public four-year institutions, according to the College Board. But students frequently choose proprietary schools over public colleges because for-profits do so much to limit the hassle of enrolling and applying for aid, and because students can take the classes they need quickly and get on with their lives."

8. Poorest pupils '55 times less likely to go to Oxbridge' - BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12048629

"The Sutton Trust has the percentages of pupils who qualified for free lunches when they were at school - a measure of deprivation - attending each of England's universities. The proportion was 0.8% at both Oxford and Cambridge, while more than 40% of their students came from independent schools.And in general, pupils from private schools were 22 times more likely to go to a top university than those who had been on free school meals, the Trust said.

The Trust said the greatest factor determining how many poorer students go to university is the fact that so few of them get the grades they need - something many top institutions also point out."

9. Study: Nearly a quarter of takers fails Army entrance exam, by Ed Payne - http://bit.ly/gVgJnD #cnn

‎"The study's results show disparities between ethnic groups. "Among white test-takers, 16% scored below the minimum score required by the Army. For Hispanic candidates, the rate of ineligibility was 29%. And for African-American youth, it was 39%," the study says. Recruits must score at least a 31 on the test to meet minimum eligibility requirements. Higher scores can qualify recruits for enlistment bonuses and advanced training."

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

157. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Me, in 500 Words or Less, by Michael Campbell - http://nyti.ms/eqkrD4

‎"The essays are my chance to reveal myself as an individual with substance beyond scores and merit beyond my transcript. If I fail to do so, I will become little more than a statistic in the eyes of admissions. If I succeed, I may prove myself a worthy candidate for acceptance."

2. Goodbye DADT, Hello ROTC, by Dan Berrett - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/hZMcLE

"It also effectively ends what has been a vexing problem for higher education, including at Columbia -- given our desire to be open to our military, but not wanting to violate our own core principle against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," continued Bollinger. "We now have the opportunity for a new era in the relationship between universities and our military services."

3. Spare the Rod, Pay the Prof, by Steve Kolowich - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/ig5ERr

‎"Instead, the university is offering to share tuition revenues from online students with colleges and departments that accommodate them. In the College of Arts and Sciences, professors — who are not generally given bonuses for developing new courses — are offered $5,000 to adapt a course to the online medium."

4. 'The Global Auction' by Scott Jaschik - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/fByZ2t

‎"Start asking hard questions about your reasons for going to college, which college is likely to offer you a high-quality education, and what your chances are of finding a job that meets your expectations after graduation. If you’re aiming high, be prepared for a long and intense competition that doesn’t end when you enter the job market. If you do not see yourself at an elite university, is it better to go for a two-year rather than four-year college education and then opt for further training while employed?"


"They showed their true selves. And in 2010, they accomplished monumental things. Below, see 11 inspiring college students, campuses, groups and professors who lead by example this year -- and may renew your confidence in younger generations."

6. 100-Headed Monster That Digests College Applications! by Ruth Starkman - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ruth-starkman/100headed-monster-digests_b_798907.html

‎"At large universities additional temporary readers, usually 100 or so, are hired on for the reading season from December to February. They are the first line of people reading your applications. These "external" temporary readers undergo several weeks of training before the reading process and continue to receive support from the fulltime admissions personnel after the reading starts. External readers are a hugely mixed group of people from high school academic counselors to alumni to retired or part-time faculty from many different universities."

7. Why Don't Professors Like to Teach? by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/ThEkjhK

"The reason is simple, according to a policy paper by the Center For College Affordability and Productivity. Professors are rewarded for staying out of the classroom. The big money in the higher-ed world is in research. It’s definitely not in teaching a bunch of undergraduates Psych 101 or holding office hours."

8. Cutbacks Force Some Early Colleges to Close Down, by Mary Ann Zehr - http://t.co/ThIN94j via @educationweek

‎"Over the past two-and-a-half years, two such schools have closed in Georgia, and a District of Columbia high school greatly scaled back its school-within-a-school early-college program. In Ohio, Youngstown State University is transferring responsibility for an early-college high school on its campus to the nearby Eastern Gateway Community College because it can no longer afford to sponsor it."

9. Early Decision Up, Yet Still Small Part of Admissions Pie, by Caralee Adams - http://t.co/Qr19mFc

"Early decision is when a student applies to his first-choice school and, if accepted, the decision is binding. Early action is similar to early decision, but the student doesn't have to commit immediately. She can still apply to other colleges and wait to make a decision until spring. About 18 percent of colleges offer early decision and 24 percent have early action plans, according to the 2010 State of Admissions Report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). These plans are more common at private colleges."


"Nearly two-thirds of respondents said the contents of individual award letters were clear and easy to understand, but more than half said that letters from different colleges were hard to compare. Almost seven-eighths of respondents said award letters should be standardized."

11. 30 Ways to Rate a College - by Alex Richards and Ron Coddington - http://chronicle.com/article/30-Ways-to-Rate-a-College/124160/

‎"That indicates a lack of agreement among them on what defines quality. Much of the emphasis is on “input measures” such as student selectivity, faculty-student ratio, and retention of freshmen. Except for graduation rates, almost no “outcome measures,” such as whether a student comes out prepared to succeed in the work force, are used."

Monday, December 20, 2010

156. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Is Going to an Elite College Worth the Cost? by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/fczdLB

"The sluggish economy and rising costs of college have only intensified questions about whether expensive, prestigious colleges make any difference. Do their graduates make more money? Get into better professional programs? Make better connections? And are they more satisfied with their lives, or at least with their work?"

2. Early Admissions Decisions Pour In For Class Of 2015 - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/17/early-admissions-decision_n_798239.html

"Thus far, Elon University in North Carolina has accepted the highest percentage of applicants with an 84 percent rate, followed by American University at 72 percent and Dickinson College at 69 percent. The colleges that accepted the lowest percentage of early applications include Stanford University, 13 percent; Georgetown University, 17 percent; and Dartmouth College (25 percent). Duke University accepted 29 percent of its early applicants, a record amount.

Notable for students applying regular decision is that some of the schools reported filling nearly half of the class of 2015 in the early round -- the University of Pennsylvania accepted 49 percent of incoming freshmen, John Hopkins University admitted 42 percent and Dartmouth 40 percent."

3. Even with free tuition, hurdles remain for raising number of college graduates, by David Jesse - Hechinger Report http://t.co/ctzrZe1

"Just 54 percent of the first recipients are either still in college or have graduated, a stark reminder that it will take more than money to achieve the president’s ambitious goal of leading the world in college attainment by 2020. Nationally, getting students through college has long been a challenge: only half of those who start certificate or degree programs at two- and four-year institutions finish within six years, U.S. Education Department data show.

“We took the first hurdle down [not having money for college] and now can see all the hurdles behind it,” said Michelle Miller-Adams, a visiting scholar at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo and author of the first comprehensive study of the initiative."

4. Pell Grants Face Uncertain Future, by Tamar Lewin - http://nyti.ms/hvhhWx

"Earlier this year, Congress passed legislation that provided an extra $36 billion over 10 years to the Pell grant program and increased the maximum grant to $5,550, up from $4,050 five years ago. But with a new Congress arriving in January and determined to cut spending, it is unclear whether that expansion is sustainable."

5. Early admit rate increases slightly, by Emily Wanger - http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/dec/15/early-admit-rate-increases-slightly/#

"Other Ivy League schools that have released their early admissions decisions include Brown, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell. Brown admitted just under 20 percent of its early applicant pool, a 3 percent decrease from last year, according to the Brown Daily Herald. Dartmouth admitted 4 percent fewer early applicants than it did last year according to the The Dartmouth, with 25.5 percent acceptance for the class of 2015. Penn admitted 26 percent of its early applicant pool, a 5 percent decrease from last year, according to the Daily Pennsyvanian."

6. Representative Kline Eyes Way to Stop Rule Restricting For-Profit Colleges,by John Lauerman- Bloomberg http://t.co/OoxPlei via @BloombergNow

"Kline, a Minnesota Republican who will become chairman of the education committee in January, said he would rather that nonprofit and for-profit colleges be required to disclose graduation rates, costs, and graduates’ debt burdens to all applicants. The so-called gainful employment rule is scheduled to go into effect in 2012, and Kline said he has been looking at ways of “stopping” it."

7. Misrepresenting the GAO's Revision, by Tom Harkin - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/f0K8ut

"We’ve found that 95 percent of for-profit students end up saddled with debt (as compared with 16 percent of community college students), and that 57 percent of students at 16 for-profit schools withdrew without a diploma in a single year. Most recently, we documented a startling increase in the amount of military education benefits flowing into this sector in the last year."

8. Notre Dame Responds To Lizzy Seeberg Controversy - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/17/lizzy-seeberg-notre-dame_n_798126.html

"In response to the Tribune's article, Notre Dame's Vice President of Communications Janet Botz wrote to the university community that because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the school could not discuss any disciplinary cases."

9. Applying to College: Advice From a Grizzled Senior, by Dan Treadway - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-treadway/advice-on-applying-to-col_b_798350.html

"First things first, do not pick a school strictly because it has one very specific major that you're interested in. I can't tell you how many aspiring doctors I met freshman year that ultimately became passionate art history aficionados, or how many future TV directors that discovered that their true interest lies in history. Once you get to college you'll discover that students usually change their major as often as they change their clothes. Go to a well-rounded school that can offer you a substantive education in several disciplines. Being stuck in a town you don't like, at a school you don't like, in a major that, after investing tens of thousands of dollars, you realize you don't like, is no fun."

10. How Important Is the College You Choose? by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/f3D4nE

"But, as also noted in the article, those studies are more than a decade old — predating the surge in the prices of elite private colleges (at least for those paying full freight) as well the rise in student loan debt. Never mind that the prices of some public universities have been soaring too, especially in struggling states like California."

11. Serious Mental Health Needs Seen Growing at Colleges, by Trip Gabriel - http://nyti.ms/fvllYl

"Stony Brook is typical of American colleges and universities these days, where national surveys show that nearly half of the students who visit counseling centers are coping with serious mental illness, more than double the rate a decade ago. More students take psychiatric medication, and there are more emergencies requiring immediate action."


"Newly released figures show that nearly 75 percent of city high students entering City University community colleges could not pass placement exams in reading, math and writing this year, requiring remediation.That’s up from 71 percent in 2009 but down from 2002, when 82 percent needed remediation, according to the New York Daily News. So after eight years of Klein reforms, the remediation rate has gone from 82 percent to nearly 75 percent.

Not exactly a record to be proud of."



Friday, December 17, 2010

155. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Data on 760,000 at risk after The Ohio State University's server hacked, by Jim Kavanagh - http://t.co/3mry0Bh via @cnn

"It doesn't appear that anyone's personal data were accessed, the university said, but Ohio State is providing a year of free credit protection services to those potentially affected. . . . The university expects the investigation and credit protection services to cost it $4 million, according to the Dispatch."

2. Elite Colleges Continue to Fill Slots Early, by Jacques Steinberg: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/early-admission-acceptances/

"At UPenn, for example, nearly half of the freshman class has already been admitted, according to my back-of-the-envelope calculations. At Haverford, Johns Hopkins and Bowdoin, the comparable figure is at or near 40 percent.

By allowing the most motivated — and, at times, some of the most financially able — applicants to lock in their college choices in December, selective colleges have in past years drawn criticism. The institutions have responded that it is in their interest to accept those applicants who are deemed the most qualified, and who have done sufficient research on a university to commit to it as their first choice."

3. More Tuition Struggles Projected, by Jack Stripling - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/e7yG2y

"Of 128 respondents, 15 percent of private institutions forecast zero growth or decreases in net tuition revenues for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30 for most colleges. That’s quite a change from the period between 2002 and 2008, when no more than 5 percent of private colleges saw annual decreases. The declines don't mean private colleges are cutting tuition, but rather that revenue lost from increases in discounting rates, which are at a 41 percent median, may be greater than revenue gained by tuition hikes."

4. Making P-16 Meaningful, by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed http://t.co/ni0vzYK

"Education reformers have held out hope that the Common Core State Standards Initiative -- the bottom-up effort by governors and state school chiefs to define college readiness and create national standards and assessments to measure progress toward it -- could get college and K-12 leaders out of the silos in which they too often operate."

5. Tracking Students to 200% of Normal Time: Effect on Institutional Graduation Rates - http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011221.pdf

"A majority of college graduates take longer to earn a degree than what is commonly thought to be the “normal” amount of time it should take—4 years for a bachelor’s degree and 2 years for an associates degree."

6. Delaware man pleads guilty to duping Harvard - http://b.globe.com/h1zyqU (via @BostonUpdate)

"Adam Wheeler was sentenced to 10 years of probation and to pay restitution to Harvard for the financial aid, scholarship money and academic awards he received fraudulently from the school."

7. 2010 high school valedictorians - Boston.com: http://shar.es/XcocG

"Forty different paths, many that began in distant lands, have brought them together. Through hard work, caring parents, and perceptive teachers, they've conquered challenges. Now, they've made it to the top of their class. Here is a snapshot of Boston's 2010 valedictorians."

8. Sweating Bullets at the GAO, by Frederick M. Hess and Andrew P. Kelly - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/gFoGJo

"The authors of the Government Accountability Office’s for-profit secret shopper investigation pulled off a statistically impressive feat in August. Let’s set aside for the moment that on Nov. 30, the government watchdog quietly revealed that its influential testimony on for-profit colleges was riddled with errors, with 16 of the 28 findings requiring revisions. More interesting is the fact that all 16 of the errors run in the same direction -- casting for-profits in the worst possible light. The odds of all 16 pointing in the same direction by chance? A cool 1 in 65,536."


"A school's location is the inherent culture surrounding the campus, and what that environment can offer its students. Don't worry though, if you are looking for great weather, we have that too! The perfect vista, town, or climate where you'll be truly happy is out there waiting for you. Here are ten of our favorites."

10. Seeberg parents feel betrayed by Notre Dame sex attack investigation - chicagotribune.com: http://bit.ly/h9Zm8A

"We are parents fighting for our daughter. We're fighting for our sisters, our nieces and our granddaughters," Tom Seeberg said. "If not at Our Lady's university, then where? Where in the world would you fight for women? Where in the world would you fight for a cause like this?"

11. 3 Reasons Colleges Accept More Early Applicants, by Kim Clark - US News and World Report: http://t.co/s8Y0AY5

"Many schools' early admission rates appear high because coaches often push recruited athletes, who are pre-screened, through early to ensure commitments. Yale University, for example, accepted 730, or 13.9 percent, of its 5,261 early applications last year. Meanwhile, Yale says it accepted just 1,309, or 5.6 percent, of the 23,273 regular candidates. But Yale spokesman Tom Conroy noted that many of the early applicants were recruited athletes."

12. A Plea Deal for George Huguely, by Liz Seccuro - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-seccuro/the-plea-deal-for-george-_b_797742.html

‎"It is important to note that today, as I sit a mere 10 minutes from Capitol Hill, Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) is introducing the SaVE Act in the Senate, a bill crafted in direct response to this horrific death. Let us not lose focus on what Yeardley's murder means, the facts of the case, and that it resonates beyond UVA and to every corner of America's college and university communities."

13. Should You Major in Journalism? by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/QEmDWuF

"I write a college blog for CBS MoneyWatch and the two most popular posts that I’ve written in 2010 focused on the 20 best-paying college degrees and the 20 worst-paying college degrees. Since this summer when I wrote those posts, they’ve had close to a half million hits. And this is no fluke. The most popular college blog post that I wrote in 2009 was also on the same subject."

14. Mentor Program Introduces Students to STEM-Related Fields, by Jamaal Abdul-Alim - http://t.co/ijMyOBl via @educationweek

‎"Just one of dozens of local chapters affiliated with the national ACE Mentor Program, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., the program provides early career exposure, mentoring, and scholarships to high school students in an attempt to encourage them to enter one of the three fields that make up the ACE acronym: architecture, construction, and engineering."

15. Tax Bill With Benefits for Colleges and Students Heads to President's Desk, by Kelly Fields - http://chronicle.com/article/Tax-Bill-With-Benefits-for/125737/

"The bill would extend for two years a series of expiring tax breaks, including several deductions and credits for research, tuition, and charitable donations. They include a tuition tax credit worth up to $2,500, a student-loan interest deduction worth up to $2,500, and a benefit that allows companies to provide up to $5,250 in tax-free tuition assistance to their employees.

The measure would also renew a tax credit for companies that give research dollars to colleges and allow individuals to continue to contribute up to $2,000 a year tax-free to Coverdell Education Savings Accounts."







Thursday, December 16, 2010

154. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. Some Checklists for Those Applying, or Already Decided, by Kelly Dunham - http://nyti.ms/fL5Swk

"To help keep your sanity, and not alienate your parents or high school counselor, some dos and don’ts for those preparing regular-decision applications:"

2. A Curricular Innovation, Examined - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/fyXbqY

‎"Students can choose to take any number of StraighterLine classes for a flat rate of $99 per month, plus an additional one-time fee of $39 per course; take a single class for a single payment of $399; or take ten courses over one year for $999. As a result, the company has received a raft of press attention, much of it positive, with a focus on StraighterLine's low cost and the convenience it affords students."

3. Give Back That Scholarship, by David Moltz - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/fu3M5u

"For the 2006-7 academic year, Arizona State’s baseball team awarded 11.17 of its permitted 11.70 academic scholarship equivalencies to players (in many NCAA sports, teams can divide up their allocation of scholarships into partial grants). As a result, 0.53 scholarship equivalencies remained. The coaching staff, however, wanted to bring in three midyear transfer students to play for the team, and needed a total of 1.06 scholarship equivalencies in the spring semester to give these transfer students the scholarships they were promised.
To fill the gap, Murphy asked six or seven players on his team to participate in a program he dubbed “Devil-to-Devil,” and give part or all of their scholarship money back to the team to bring on the three midyear recruits. Four players gave back scholarship money to reach the 1.06 scholarship equivalencies needed."


"The Chronicle found that overall, graduation rates at American higher education institutions have declined by 33 percent since 2002 -- with the recession as a likely cause. Below are the 12 public and private research universities with lowest graduation rates. The Chronicle has a searchable list of all colleges and universities included in their research."


"Roughly 22 million undergraduates attended college at some point in 2007-8, and the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study from that year provides a snapshot of where students are coming from and how they pursue their educations. More than a third of all undergraduates attend part-time, and most are not affluent. That's reflected in where students go to college—more than twice as many undergraduates attend the University of Phoenix's online campus as go to an Ivy League college. You can explore students' demographics for yourself below."


"Graduation rates for blacks and Hispanics -- the overwhelming majority of all immigrants in the United States -- are far below those for whites. The trend line therefore suggests that the country will be facing a growing shortage of educated Americans as global competition intensifies, particularly as other countries' graduation levels rise."

7. Avoid These 4 Financial Aid Whoppers, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/tEMM3Ce

‎"Odds are that you will increase your chances of capturing financial aid if you can avoid common financial aid myths. Here are four of the biggest financial aid whoppers:"

8. Spelman Looks to Help Would-Be Dropouts With Co-op Program, by Sara Lipka- http://chronicle.com/article/Spelman-Looks-to-Help-Would-Be/125723/

"Thirty percent of students at Spelman, a historically black women's college in Atlanta, qualified for federal Pell Grants eight years ago; almost 50 percent do today, said Beverly Daniel Tatum, the college's president. Demographic data project that trend will continue, as the population of college-going black women grows and includes a higher proportion of low-income students. Spelman's graduation rate, about 82 percent, far exceeds the national average, but Ms. Tatum thinks it should be higher. "When students don't finish," she said, "it is almost always related to their financial situation."

9. Stress and the High School Student - Room for Debate - http://nyti.ms/e9vkaN

‎"A new documentary, "Race to Nowhere," looks at the pressures being put on high school students to build their résumés with Advance Placement classes and athletic accomplishments to improve their chances of acceptance at elite colleges and universities. The film captures the angst of boys who drop out of high school because of the pressure, girls who suffer stress-induced insomnia and students forced to cheat their way through classes."

10. Reconsider Attitudes About Success - Room for Debate, by Alfie Kohn - http://nyti.ms/ekymCt

"Many parents push their kids with the best of intentions, but some are so busy basking in the reflected glory of their children’s accomplishments that they overlook the damage being done by the pressure to live up to their expectations. “Few parents,” said the psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, “have the courage and independence to care more for their children’s happiness than for their success.” Whole childhoods are sometimes sacrificed in a relentless regimen of preparing kids for Harvard, a process I’ve come to call “Preparation H.” Gambling their mental health and love of learning in the hopes of acceptance at an extremely selective college is a bet that no caring, rational parent should take.
Ultimately, though, educators (with parental support) must be willing to change the entrenched educational practices that are turning so many teens into basket cases."

11. What Happened to Childhood? by Clara Hemphill - Room for Debate - http://nyti.ms/g5ijaj

"Schools and families can ease the pressure on high school students by acknowledging that there are many fine colleges and universities that don’t require perfect SAT scores and straight As. But any parent who reads the newspapers knows that the very rich are getting richer while incomes are stagnating for almost everyone else. These conditions may fuel parents’ fears that any child who doesn’t attend an elite high school and a super elite university will end up flipping hamburgers."



Wednesday, December 15, 2010

153. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap


See the graduation gap on the football teams in upcoming bowls.

2. Deferral? Denial? Acceptance? A Daughter Tells Her Story, by Nicole Gerszberg - http://nyti.ms/eNZF6S

"This process has taught me a great deal. Not only did I learn how to package myself into “250 words or less,” but I also have a better sense of where I want to be in 10 years, what areas of study I would like to explore, and a lot about who I am."

3. In Over Its Head, by Elizabeth Redden - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/goaHgu

"How did Keuka College end up being a powerhouse player in China, with more than twice as many students enrolled there as in New York? Is it the little college that could or is it, per the account in the dissertation, the institution that got in over its head? These narratives are not mutually exclusive."

4. The Senate's Budget Approach, by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/gb9xZC

‎"To the relief of many college officials, both pieces of legislation would provide $5.7 billion to close a shortfall in the Pell Grant Program, ensuring that -- with the help of mandatory budget funds Congress provided in last spring's Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act -- the maximum grant would remain at $5,550."

5. Tweaks to GI Bill Move Ahead, by Jack Stripling - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/gMFMne

"While the current law derives its maximum payout from the highest in-state public tuition in a given state, the new legislation would cap annual payouts at $17,500. Any expenses above that threshold could be covered by the Yellow Ribbon Program, which allows participating private colleges to enter into dollar-for-dollar matching agreements with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs."


"On Harvard's heels are Yale University and the University of Notre Dame, with rates of 97 and 96 percent. Among public research universities, the University of Virginia had the highest graduation rate in 2008 at 93 percent, followed by the College of William and Mary and the University of California-Berkeley."

7. Stanford shares details of early-admit class, by Elizabeth Titus - http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/12/13/stanford-shares-details-of-early-admit-class/

"The University received a record-high 5,929 applicants, dropping the admission rate to 12.7 percent for Stanford’s “restrictive early-action program.” Applicants were up 6.5 percent from last year, when Stanford admitted 753 of its 5,566 applicants, or 13.5 percent. The University notified all early applicants of their application status via e-mail on Friday afternoon."

8. 14 Things You Didn't Know About College Students, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/HWVU1UG

‎"Did you know, for instance, that only 48% of undergraduates attend college full-time? This week The Chronicle of Higher Education assembled some statistics on undergraduates in such categories as household income, gender and where students are attending college that could change your perception of the typical college kid. Here are 14 facts about undergrads:"

9. Higher-Ed Groups Lay Out Strategies to Reach Obama's College-Completion Goal, by Eric Kelderman: http://chronicle.com/article/Higher-Education-Groups-Lay/125710/

"Changing how higher education is paid for "may be the hardest task of all, because it will mean abandoning well-understood and deeply ingrained practices that . . . serve to preserve the institutional status quo rather than creating incentives for vital changes, such as improved persistence and graduation rates, or cost containment," the report says."


"As a mountain of research makes clear, what ails them is primarily long-term poverty and the myriad problems poverty spawns. That’s a matter I’m not qualified to write about, but for those who think test scores actually mean something important, I’ll note in passing that Finland always ranks near the top, and their child poverty rate is less than 3%, while America’s rate is over 20% and climbing rapidly. Those who believe skilled teachers can level the education playing field enough to erase that difference in the quality of the material they’re given to work with aren’t just not in the game, they’re not even in the ball park."



Tuesday, December 14, 2010

152. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. The Case for Early Decision, by Robert J. Massa - http://nyti.ms/fuagT1

‎"Here’s what colleges typically don’t make clear: Although early decision is binding, no college will hold a student to a contract if a family determines that the financial aid package is inadequate, regardless of how much assistance the college offers or what the needs analysis-scholarship eligibility criteria suggests. That’s right. If the family says they can’t afford it, files an appeal and the college still doesn’t meet their expectations, they can withdraw their child’s application without penalty."

2. Did You (Or Your Child) Get an Early-Admission Decision? by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/gpxx4k

"In the meantime, though, I hope that those of you who applied — or had a child who applied — will use the comment box below now, or over the next few days, to tell readers what you’re hearing as you hear it. In the process, I’d like to give readers of The Choice the virtual experience of being around the kitchen table or at the computer as these decisions land. So please, tell us your stories."

3. Surprise: Alumni Love Their Colleges, by Allie Grasgreen - Inside Higher Ed - http://t.co/dz4hBVW

"The survey, which was commissioned by the American Council of Education, hinges on one finding in particular: that despite a harsh economic climate for recent graduates and a harsh political one for colleges in general, 89 percent of alumni say their degree was worth the time and money."

4. 10 Paying College Jobs That Look Good on Your Résumé - US News and World Report, by Alexis Grant - http://t.co/JsHgLGh

‎"Your best bet is to look for a job that's related to the career you're hoping to pursue, so you can gain relevant skills, contacts, and experience. If you don't know yet which career is right for you, use your college job to help you figure that out, says Lindsey Pollak, author of Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World. If you don't end up enjoying the job you choose, you can cross it off your list of potential careers.
These 10 jobs are great choices for students because they look good on a résumé, work around class schedules, and offer decent pay."

5. The 7 Most Important Classes to Take In College, by Rachel Dozier - http://j.mp/hUxJyc

"You’re not in school for the easy A’s. Here are seven classes that are not only fun but can help you down the road as well—no matter what your major is!"

6. Education Week: Study: States Must Move Faster to Close Achievement Gaps, by Mary Ann Zehr - http://t.co/BGp8XFI via @educationweek

"In Washington State, for example, the Center on Education Policy predicts it will take 105 years to close the gap between white and African-American students in 4th grade reading at the rate it’s going. By contrast, if Louisiana continues at the same pace in narrowing the gap between those same two groups of students in 4th grade reading, the gap will be closed in 12.5 years."

7. College, Jobs and Inequality - Editorial 12/14/10, The New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/opinion/14tue1.html?_r=1&hp

"Over the past year, for example, the unemployment rate for college grads under age 25 has averaged 9.2 percent, up from 8.8 percent a year earlier and 5.8 percent in the first year of the recession that began in December 2007. That means recent grads have about the same level of
unemployment as the general population. It also suggests that many employed recent grads may be doing work that doesn’t require a college degree.
Even more disturbing, there is no guarantee that unemployed or underemployed college grads will move into much better jobs as conditions improve."

8. Emphasizing Sports Over Academics Sets Up Black Boys to Lose, by Richard Whitmire - http://t.co/r4Utc5k via @educationweek

"It’s perhaps understandable that high school boys ignore the odds and insist that academics don’t matter because they have a shot at the pros. But parents should know better. A community that pushes sports over academics is doing a terrible disservice to its children, who will find themselves in deep trouble when their athletic aspirations fail to materialize and they don’t have the academic background to do much else."

9. Md.'s Towson University conquers 'graduation gap' by Daniel de Vise - http://t.co/8ffofsd via @washingtonpost

"In 10 years, according to school data, Towson has raised black graduation rates by 30 points and closed a 14-point gap between blacks and whites. University leaders credit a few simple strategies: admitting students with good grades from strong public high schools, then tracking each student's progress with a network of mentors, counselors and welcome-to-college classes."

10. Dearth of Blacks at Oxford and Cambridge, by D.D. Guttenplan - http://nyti.ms/hTf6ta

"According to Mr. Lammy, last year the whole of Oxford University admitted just one black student, and Cambridge University does not have a single black faculty member. . . . A spokeswoman for Oxford said that Mr. Lammy’s arguments “don’t stack up.” In a statement, the university said lack of success in secondary school was the biggest barrier to blacks’ admission, noting that “in 2009, 29,000 white students got the requisite grades for Oxford compared to just 452 black students.”
“Black students apply disproportionately for the most oversubscribed subjects,” it said, further reducing their chances of success."



Monday, December 13, 2010

151. MVCAP fyi

See free MVCAP e-books on college admissions and financial aid for sharing, printing, and downloading at our online resource library: http://issuu.com/mvcap

1. The 'Real World' Skills You Acquire During the Admissions Process, by Ann Derry - http://nyti.ms/fXKjFn

"In short, applying for college isn’t just a hideous process to be endured. It is excellent preparation for the rest of your life — a step into the “adult world” when you acquire basic skills like writing a résumé, setting goals, doing research, organizing your thoughts and your time, persevering to get what you want, following through."


2. The President Just Saved You $2,500 In Tuition, by Kalpen Modi - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kalpen-modi/the-president-just-saved-_b_794952.html?ir=College

‎"Political pundits and talk show hosts who have reported on the tax deal (which includes extending tax breaks for all Americans) have overlooked the president's fierce advocacy on this issue of college affordability and have even suggested that he has made a deal that ignores young people. This couldn't be further from the truth."


"Below, check out our top picks for student gifts this holiday season, as well as some suggestions offered by HuffPost readers."

4. Are Ivy League Professors Good Teachers? by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/natO40I

"When I recently wrote a post on the 25 colleges and universities with the best professors, none of the Ivy League schools made the list. In fact, the eight Ivy League schools were nowhere to be seen even among the top 100 schools on the best professor list."

5. China’s Army of Graduates Faces Struggle, by Andrew Jacobs - http://nyti.ms/eMPsYd

“College essentially provided them with nothing,” said Zhang Ming, a political scientist and vocal critic of China’s education system. “For many young graduates, it’s all about survival. If there was ever an economic crisis, they could be a source of instability.”

6. Students Know Good Teaching When They Get It, Survey Finds, by Sam Dillon - http://nyti.ms/fxurdm

"Classrooms where a majority of students said they agreed with the statement, “Our class stays busy and doesn’t waste time,” tended to be led by teachers with high value-added scores, the report said. The same was true for teachers whose students agreed with the statements, “In this class, we learn to correct our mistakes,” and, “My teacher has several good ways to explain each topic that we cover in this class.”
The questionnaires were developed by Ronald Ferguson, a Harvard researcher who has been refining student surveys for more than a decade."

7. Education Secretary Arne Duncan Rethinks His Goals, by Sam Dillon - http://nyti.ms/eEQQi6

"But with Republican deficit hawks taking control of the House next month, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will no longer have billions of dollars to use at his discretion."

8. Online And For-Profit Colleges Face Aid Audits by Education Dept, by Goldie Blumenstyk - http://chronicle.com/article/OnlineFor-Profit-Colleges/125705/

"The department, which has been beefing up the compliance-office staffing in its Office of Federal Student Aid, expects to conduct about 300 program reviews of student-aid operations next year, in contrast to about 200 this year."

9. Is an internship the new entry-level job? by Natalie Avon - http://bit.ly/glFFX7 #cnn

"Full-time employment has dropped 9 percentage points among 18-to-29-year-olds since 2006, leaving only 41 percent of millennials with full-time jobs, according to "Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next," a report released by Pew Research Center in February. These statistics hit home for the 1.5 million students preparing to graduate with a bachelor's degree."

10. Kick start: College in High School, by Virginia Shank - Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH - http://t.co/nCTZOj1

"YSU initiated its College in High School program in 2007 with a handful of area school districts through a grant from the state education department's Educational Service Centers. The purpose was to encourage dual enrollment classes in math and science for high school students. YSU started by offering calculus in six Mahoning County districts, but the university expanded the program to include school districts in Trumbull County as well. This year some 27 in the area are participating, explained Marla Carano, program coordinator at YSU."

11. Souring on Business? by Dan Berrett - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/i04XGn

‎"But as the current economic downturn drags on and hiring continues to lag, interest in business among undergraduates appears to be static, even flagging in some circles, according to federal and college data and a nationwide survey of incoming freshmen."

12. A Lack of Leadership, by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/ec9Ne6

"For too long, policymakers and higher education leaders have engaged in a 'we need to change, but you go first' conversation," the three write. "Meanwhile, costs have skyrocketed, attainment has stagnated, and the public has grown skeptical. Failing to act will not result in catastrophic failure in American higher education, but a slow and steady erosion of confidence, investment, and quality."

13. Shortage of Math and Science Graduates Is a Myth, by Walt Gardner - http://t.co/K0ouJ3g

"A record 49,562 doctorate degrees were awarded in the 2008-09 academic year, representing a 1.6 percent increase over the 2007-08 year. According to the foundation, the growth was largely due to increases in the number of degrees in science and engineering. In 2009, 67.5 percent of all doctorates were in these two fields, a 1.9 percent increase over the previous academic year. Yet despite this growth, companies continue to insist that they need to recruit abroad because of a shortage domestically. The more likely explanation is that they prefer looking overseas because H1-B visa holders are willing to work for below-market wages."


"In October, Mr. Gerber started the Young Entrepreneur Council “to create a shift from a résumé-driven society to one where people create their own jobs,” he says. “The jobs are going to come from the entrepreneurial level.”

15. Colleges Lock Out Blind Students Online, by Marc Parry - http://chronicle.com/article/Blind-Students-Demand-Access/125695/

"Roughly 75,000 students at colleges and trade schools are visually impaired, according to Education Department figures. Barriers to access could deny them equal learning opportunities. And colleges are finding that the problems are lawsuit bait, generating litigation and complaints."

16. Senator concerned about colleges' treatment of vets, by Mary Beth Merklein - http://usat.ly/hSmWQB - RT @USATODAY

"The report found soaring enrollments — and revenue — at 30 for-profit colleges by students whose education is covered by the Defense Department or by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, passed by Congress in 2008 to ensure that Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans could attend college at no cost. Enrollments increased from 23,766. in 2006 to 109,167. last year and reached 100,702. by the first half of this year."

17. When Will Black Churches Start Their Own Schools? by RiShawn Biddle - http://dropoutnation.net/2010/12/10/black-churches-start-schools/

"If education is truly the most-important civil rights issue of this era, it means that black churches must play their part in ensuring that every child in the pews and communities they serve are educated in cultures of geniuses. It is as important for them to step up and embrace school reform as it was for them to combat Jim Crow segregation fifty years ago. For these churches, they can learn this important lesson from another civil rights movement — the effort by Catholics to receive equal treatment in public schools: You must take education into your own hands and start your own schools for the children in your flock."