294. Summer College News

Here are some links to today's stories
about college access and success.
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

1. Read The Joe Rottenborn Daily ▸ today's top stories via @rottenbornj ▸ http://t.co/UftEiOc

2. Community colleges step in to fill 'skills gap' by Tami Luhby - http://t.co/EzWFwe3 via @CNNMoney - "Employers are turning to community colleges because those lining up at the door aren't qualified," said Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. "The skills requirement has gone up and employers don't train entry-level workers anymore."

3. Short-Term Stability, But . . . , by Libby A. Nelson - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/ooWXD3 - "Congressional leaders appeared late Sunday to have reached a deal on increasing the nation’s debt limit that would avoid many of higher education’s worst-case scenarios: cuts to Pell Grants, the end of subsidized student loans, or a government default that would leave student financial aid and other funding for colleges in limbo going into the fall semester.
But as details about the deal began to emerge Sunday evening, it became clear that the plan leaves colleges and universities with plenty of long-term uncertainty."

4. Education Policy Critics March on White House, by Nirvi Shah - http://t.co/yTY0EN0 via @educationweek - "Teachers and their supporters gathered near the White House on Saturday afternoon to chant, cheer, and march for a variety of changes they hope to see in public schools—most notably, a 180-degree shift away from standards- and testing-based accountability."

5. A Progress Report on Geography, by Timothy Williams - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/us/01questions.html?src=recg - "The good news is that students did not do all that poorly: Fifty-six percent of high school seniors knew, for instance, that glaciation formed the Great Lakes. The bad news is that students have not shown much improvement from previous exams and that only about one in four fourth graders was able to identify all seven continents correctly."

6. Debt-Ceiling Deal Provides $17-Billion for Pell Grants, by Kelly Field - http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/fate-of-student-aid-in-debt-ceiling-deal-still-unclear/34973 - "Like the House’s version of the bill, it would provide $17-billion for the Pell Grant program, which is expected to run an $11-billion shortfall this year. The Senate had proposed $18-bilion for the program. It’s unclear if the agreement would end the in-school subsidy on federal loans to graduate students, though it’s likely, since both the House and Senate supported the idea.Regardless, the measure offers only a temporary reprieve for the Pell program."

7. State Schools That Pay: PayScale List - http://wwstate/ Schools w.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/01/state-schools-that-pay-pa_n_914676.html#s319406&title=State_University_of - "Tech schools and maritime colleges dominated the salary website PayScale's list of state schools with the best mid-career salaries. It makes sense when you consider that several forms of engineering topped PayScale's list of best-paying majors."

8. The 12 Top-Paying Liberal Arts Schools: PayScale Report - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/the-12-top-paying-liberal_n_913081.html#s318156&title=Harvey_Mudd_College - "Harvey Mudd College is the top paying liberal arts school in the country, according to the salary website PayScale's report on alumni median career earnings. It's no surprise this Claremont school tops the list -- it focuses heavily on engineering, which dominated the list of best-paying majors. Harvey Mudd is followed closely by Colgate University in New York."