363. College Access and Success News

Here are links to recent news on 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 on college access and success via @rottenbornj ▸ http://paper.li/rottenbornj

2. Part 2: Answers to Your Questions on Applying with a Learning Disability, by Marybeth Kravets: http://nyti.ms/t5W6UD - "In this second batch of answers, Ms. Kravets addresses questions on disability assessments and college accommodations. Answers to additional questions will continue this week."

3. Part 3: Learning Disabilities Q&A, by Marybeth Kravets: http://nyti.ms/tvosLk - "In this third batch of answers, Ms. Kravets addresses questions on specialized school environments and SAT-optional admissions."

4. Survey shows that as online enrollments boom, doubts about online quality persist, by Steve Kolowich Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/w0T6Jk - "Online enrollments grew 10 percent, as the number of students taking at least one online course (“online” defined here as a course where most or all content exchanges and class meetings occur virtually) crept past six million. It was the smallest bump in enrollments since 2006, and less than half the growth online programs saw last year (21.1 percent). . . . They now account for nearly a third of all enrollments in higher education."

5. Leaders at Football Powers Still Mostly White, Male Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/sf4YUa via AddThis - "Of the college presidents at the 120 institutions, 90.8 percent are white and 81.7 percent are male. Among athletics directors, 88.3 percent are white and 95.8 percent are male. Commissioners of the institutions' conferences are all white and male. In total, 91.2 percent of the 365 campus leadership positions accounted for in the report are filled by white people. Seventy-five percent and 84.2 percent of the college presidents and athletic directors, respectively, are white men (only three presidents are minority women). In contrast, black students make up the majority -- 52.1 percent -- of the athletes playing football for the colleges."

6. Michelle Obama’s tips for applying to college, by Jenna Johnson - Campus Overload - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/campus-overload/post/michelle-obamas-tips-for-applying-to-college/2011/11/08/gIQAi1EI4M_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_twitter via @washingtonpost - "So on Tuesday afternoon, first lady Michelle Obama spent about an hour talking about the college application process — and how to succeed once on campus — with several dozen local high school students who are part of a Georgetown University mentoring program."

7. Admissions 101: Should AP courses have such a tight grip on college admissions? by Jay Mathews - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/admissions-101-should-advanced-placement-have-such-a-tight-grip-on-college-admissions/2011/11/08/gIQAS8Xa1M_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_twitter via @washingtonpost - "Each of them said the most important factor was the quality of the students' high school courses."

8. You think your kid's school is fine? Think again, says @JonSchnur http://ti.me/tRJtp9 via @TIMEIdeas - "First, the ticket for my son and America’s children to the middle class and American dream requires much more and better education than for my generation or my parents’ generation. When I was Matthew’s age, only a quarter of the middle class had post-secondary education. Today, nearly two-thirds of middle class jobs require at least some post-secondary education. And we have seen that many of our high school graduates are leaving ill-prepared for success in college or careers."

9. Who’s Minding the Gap? by Andrew J. Rotherham - http://ti.me/sUuCyz via @TIMEIdeas - "No matter how many people try to argue that focusing on closing achievement gaps is a bad idea, it’s not. It’s still the right goal. And not merely for social reasons — although the crushed dreams, diminished opportunities, and the violence that today’s educational system does to communities and any semblance of equality should not be underestimated. Closing the gap is the right goal for economic reasons, too."

10. The Education Crisis No One Is Talking About, by Andrew J. Rotherham - http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2070930,00.html?xid=tweetbut via TIME - "Our public schools are woefully unprepared to deal with the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. Only 17% of Hispanic fourth-graders score proficient or better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (a test given to samples of students each year) while 42% of non-Hispanic white students do. Nationally, the high school graduation rate for Hispanics is just 64%, and only 7% of incoming college students are Hispanic, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education."