389. 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. Diploma Rates Far Short of Goal, Report Says, by Rebecca R. Ruiz: http://nyti.ms/tlKr21 - "From 2000 to 2009, the report noted, the percentage of adults with associate degrees or higher increased by just 3 percent. If that pace holds steady, by 2025 the United States will fall nine percentage points below the president’s goal, with 46 percent of adults holding college degrees. . . . The report also highlighted differences in completion rates by race, noting that while around 40 percent of all young Americans hold college degrees, nearly 70 percent of Asian-Americans do, compared with 49 percent of white young adults, 19 percent of Hispanic young adults and 29 percent of African-American young adults."

3. For-profits should get ahead of accountability push, experts say, by Paul Fain Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/rBPRxL via @AddThis - “They’re going to run you out of town anyway,” said Smith, who is senior vice president of academic strategies and development for Kaplan Higher Education. “Get in front and make it look like a parade.”

4. AYP Results for 2010-11 - http://www.cep-dc.org/ - "This report updates previous CEP research with data from the 2010-11 school year on the number of schools not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The estimated percentage of all U.S. schools not making AYP was 48% in 2011, an all-time high and an increase from 39% in 2010."

5. What Is College For? by Gary Gutting: http://nyti.ms/rGzWtl - "Most American college students are wrapping up yet another semester this week. For many of them, and their families, the past months or years in school have likely involved considerable time, commitment, effort and expense. Was it worth it?"

6. Our Universities: Why Are They Failing? by Anthony Grafton - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/24/our-universities-why-are-they-failing/?pagination=false - "Fewer than 70 percent of high school students graduate. Just over 70 percent of those graduates will enter some form of postsecondary education. But barely more than half of those who start BA programs will finish them in six years, and only 30 percent of those who start community college will win an associate degree in three years. After that point, most people don’t manage to graduate."

7. Education Secretary Overstated Failing Schools Under No Child Left Behind, Study Says, by Sam Dillon: http://nyti.ms/ugOmVJ - "Now a new study, scheduled for release on Thursday, says the administration’s numbers were wildly overstated. The study, by the Center on Education Policy, a Washington research group headed by a Democratic lawyer who endorses most of the administration’s education policies, says that 48 percent of the nation’s 100,000 public schools were labeled as failing under the law this year."

8. ‘Moneyball’ Meets Education, Part 2: Colleges Pool Data to Prevent Dropouts, by Marc Parry - http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/moneyball-meets-education-part-ii-colleges-pool-data-to-prevent-dropouts/34681 - "But what if you could perform that kind of predictive analysis based on student information and course records from many colleges, not just one? That’s the idea behind an ambitious project that is pooling more than 640,000 student records from six different institutions. Led by WCET, a group that promotes technology in higher education, the project aims to answer three main questions. What factors make some students drop out? What keeps others in college? What demographics make a difference?"

9. Boomers heading back to community colleges, by Matthew Daneman – http://usat.ly/vZMU22 via @USATODAY - "An increasing number of people ages 50 and up are headed to community college — 388,000 were enrolled nationwide in fall 2009, the most recent data available from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). That was up 6% from 2007 and more than 12% from 2005. Nationwide, people over the age of 50 typically make up between 5%-6% of community college enrollment, according to AACC figures."

10. George W. Bush Looks Forward After No Child Left Behind, by Andrew J. Rotherham - http://ti.me/sS7ErX via @TIMEIdeas - "The education debate about George W. Bush is loaded with irony. The same President who is attacked by the left for pushing through tax cuts that benefited the wealthy is being assailed by the right for education policies that focus on disadvantaged students allegedly at the expense of high-achieving ones. But Bush remains steadfast. He considers No Child Left Behind a piece of civil rights legislation, and while his party is running from his education record, some education leaders are starting to run toward his institute and its work."

11. Why strong afterschool programs matter to school reform, by Jodi Grant -http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-strong-afterschool-programs-matter/2011/12/14/gIQAvtUpuO_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_tw - "Afterschool programs have long known that they can embrace the hours between the time school closes and parents return from work to provide children, especially those who don’t have access to other activities, with exciting, engaging experiences that will help them learn academic, social and professional skills. The research is clear: children in quality afterschool programs are more likely to come to school and stay in school, more likely to hand in their work and get better grades."

341. 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. Undocumented immigrant students will be eligible for California aid, by Michael Martinez - http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/08/us/california-dream-act/index.html - "Undocumented immigrant students in California will be able to receive state-funded financial aid in 2013 to attend college, under a new law signed Saturday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law allows top students who are on a path to citizenship to apply and receive the state aid, the governor said. About 2,500 students are projected to receive Cal Grants totaling $14.5 million, according to the California Department of Finance. That averages out to $5,800 per student. The funding amounts to 1% of the overall $1.4 billion Cal Grant program, officials said."

2. Starting to Worry, by Kevin Kiley - Inside Higher Ed - http://bit.ly/nmMkXK via @AddThis - "In the past year, presidents of several elite liberal arts colleges have questioned whether the financial model underpinning their institutions – one relying on high tuition costs and student aid paying for expensive instruction and residential life on beautiful campuses -- is sustainable over the long term. They have also begun to question whether the education they offer, with small classes, relatively rigid schedules, limited course and major offerings, and intense academic rigor, is going to continue to appeal to students. . . . In total, liberal arts colleges teach about 5 percent of all undergraduate students, and include hundreds of institutions, some of which are struggling financially.A residential liberal arts education is expensive to deliver. It requires highly trained faculty members, small classes, significant academic resources, and a residential environment with amenities."

3. Suddenly Ineligible, by Libby A. Nelson - Inside Higher Ed - http://bit.ly/nplIyb via AddThis - "The budget, proposed Sept. 29 by an appropriations subcommittee, would make several changes to the Pell Grant program. Among them: The grants could be used for 12 semesters, not the current 18; students enrolled less than half-time would no longer be eligible; and students who are eligible for less than 10 percent of the maximum grant would receive nothing, rather than $550 as they would have in the past. Students without a high school diploma or GED would no longer receive the grants."

4. Flexibility on Tutoring Pleases Districts, Worries Industry, by Michele McNeil - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/12/07ses_ep.h31.html via @educationweek

"2009: Education Secretary Arne Duncan uses his waiver authority to let all school districts provide tutoring before choice and to serve as providers of SES tutoring.

2011: Mr. Duncan announces a broad waiver plan to give states more flexibility under NCLB, which includes lifting the requirement that school districts in need of improvement set aside money for, and provide, tutoring and choice."

5. Education Week's Digital Directions: Teachers use social media to enhance instruction - http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/10/07/460859iexchangesocialmediacurriculum_ap.html via @educationweek - "School districts around central Iowa are scrambling to keep up with policies stipulating personal and professional boundaries between teachers, administrators and students as social media applications and wireless-capable devices become more accessible. But most schools have come to terms with the fact the Internet, including social media, has become a stock part of instruction, said Karl Hehr, director of technology and information for Ames Community School District."

6. A Sociological Eye on Education Duncan vs. Duncan, by Aaron Pallas - http://bit.ly/p8Y0yk via @AddThis - "But although there are some shining examples of high-performing schools serving high concentrations of students in poverty, they surely aren’t typical–and it would be very misleading to claim that any state or school district has effectively eliminated the link between poverty and low academic achievement, despite a decade or more of federal and state reforms intended to do just that."

7. Economic inequality: The real cause of the urban school problem, by Greg J. Duncan and Richard J. Murnane - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-perspec-1006-urban-20111006,0,6924934.story - "Historically, we have relied on our public schools to level the playing field for children born into different circumstances, but in recent years, the gaps in achievement and behavior between high- and low-income children have only grown wider. Why? For one thing, residential segregation by income has meant that poor children are concentrated in the same schools to a much greater extent today than 40 years ago. As a result, children from low-income families are far more likely to have classmates with low achievement and behavior problems, which have a negative effect on their own learning."

8. Group Calls for More Spending on New York Students, by Winnie Hu - http://nyti.ms/nak1IL - “This is not going the cheap way,” said Michael A. Rebell, an education professor and lawyer who is executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity. “What we’re saying is, if we’re really serious about overcoming the achievement gap, students need these services to have a meaningful opportunity. . . . Starting with prenatal care for mothers, the campaign’s recommendation counts on 18 years of services — through high school graduation — that include extensive early child care and after-school and summer programs."

9. A Classroom Software Boom, but Mixed Results Despite the Hype, by Trip Gabriel and Matt Richtel - http://nyti.ms/ojodYC - "The federal review of Carnegie Learning’s flagship software, Cognitive Tutor, said the program had “no discernible effects” on the standardized test scores of high school students. A separate 2009 federal look at 10 major software products for teaching algebra as well as elementary and middle school math and reading found that nine of them, including Cognitive Tutor, “did not have statistically significant effects on test scores.” Amid a classroom-based software boom estimated at $2.2 billion a year, debate continues to rage over the effectiveness of technology on learning and how best to measure it."

10. Digital library aims to expand kids' media literacy, by Greg Toppo – http://usat.ly/qud62q via @USATODAY - "It goes like this: Take a very large room and fill it with the latest digital media — laptop computers, music keyboards, recording equipment, video cameras and gaming consoles. Invite teenagers. Apply a little pressure, pushing them both to consume and produce media. Watch what happens."

11. Guest post: Let’s be up-front about merit aid, by Stephen MacDonald - College, Inc. - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/guest-post-lets-be-up-front-about-merit-aid/2011/10/07/gIQAx098SL_blog.html via Washingtonpost.com - "The only difference is that we disclose a student’s merit aid up front. Why? The late John Synodinos, former president at Lebanon Valley, believed that parents should know at the time of their child’s acceptance how much their education was going to cost them. “You wouldn’t buy a winter overcoat this way,” John said. “You wouldn’t buy a coat in December and wait until March to find out how much it is going to cost you. You shouldn’t have to buy a college education that way, either.”This policy takes the mystery out of the financial aid process, making it easy to understand for students and their family. This simple plan is one that rewards students for their good work. It’s a plan LVC still uses 20 years later."

12. Why school reform can’t ignore poverty’s toll, by Marcus D. Pohlmann - The Answer Sheet - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-school-reform-cant-ignore-povertys-toll/2011/10/07/gIQAYPHMUL_blog.html via @washingtonpost - "Poverty increases family stress, leads to poor nutrition and medical care, and, importantly, means children are talked to less and end up with vocabularies that are about half that of middle-class children. Research suggests that the first years shape a child’s capacity to learn. Science tells us that it is essential to brain development that babies are spoken to, read to, cuddled, and allowed to engage in physical play. National Institute of Health studies have indicated the foundations necessary for higher learning — working memory, vocabulary, spatial recognition, reasoning, and calculation skills — are set by the time a child reaches puberty."

13. The Most Expensive Colleges In America: Campus Grotto List - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/the-most-expensive-colleg_n_1003135.html - "For the fifth year in a row, our friends at Campus Grotto calculated which colleges boast the highest total price tags in the country -- some nearing a whopping $60,000 per year. This year, 19 colleges made their list. See the top 10 most expensive colleges below, and click over to Campus Grotto for the full list and their methodology."

291. 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. Recession worsens racial wealth gap, by Ben Rooney - http://t.co/i7LDA0A via @CNNMoney - "The wealth gap in the United States has grown wider in the wake of the Great Recession, with black and Hispanic American households faring much worse than white households, according to a study published Tuesday.The study, from 2009 data compiled by the Pew Research Center, found the median wealth of white households was 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households."

2. 'Class Dismissed' by Serena Golden - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/nCdWHR - "What I learned — and what I wanted to convey in the book — is the unsettling truth that if people truly care about lessening poverty and economic inequality, they should forget about education."

3. A Partial G.I. Bill Fix, by Libby A. Nelson - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/q22v8C - "Veterans currently attending private colleges and universities that charge more than $17,500 in tuition and fees won’t see their tuition spike next month after all, after Congress approved a change to the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill on Monday night. But veterans using their benefits to attend public universities in states where they are not residents might still have to come up with thousands of dollars on their own to pay for their studies after Aug. 1."

4. Iron Cage of Accountability, By Douglas Dempster and Steven J. Tepper - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/raRUIO - "Surprisingly, 8 of the top 10 highest net-price schools are art schools (fine art, design, theater, dance) or music conservatories. In fact, almost every major private art school in America is listed in the top 5 percent of most expensive colleges in the United States."

5. Recession Study Finds Hispanics Hit the Hardest, by Sabrina Tavernise - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/us/26hispanics.html?_r=1&src=rechp - "The share of Americans with no wealth at all rose sharply during the recession. A third of Hispanics had zero or negative net worth in 2009, up from 23 percent in 2005. For blacks, the portion rose to 35 percent from 29 percent, and for whites, it rose to 15 percent from 11 percent. About a quarter of all black and Hispanic households owned nothing but a car in 2009. Just 6 percent of whites and 8 percent of Asians were in that situation."

6. 'It Gets Better,' Harvard Education School Tells Gay Teens, by Don Troop - http://chronicle.com/article/It-Gets-Better-Harvard/128397/ - "Adolescent bullying and harassment are central concerns of education schools, but the institutions rarely have an opportunity to speak directly to the perpetrators and victims. In a poignant video that will be unveiled on Tuesday, several students, staff members, and administrators of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education do their best to change that, describing the traumas they endured as gay and lesbian youths and the triumphs they have enjoyed since then as their careers and personal lives have flourished. The video is part of the It Gets Better Project, which the gay columnist Dan Savage started last September with his husband, Terry Miller, in the wake of a wave of suicides by teenagers who had been bullied for being gay or being suspected of it."

7. The 13 Best-Paying College Majors: PayScale List - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/26/the-best-paying-majors-pa_n_909472.html#s316047&title=Petroleum_Engineering - "You've worked hard in your major, now how will your major pay you back? According to salary data site PayScale, engineers of many different stripes are poised to earn the most money over the course of their careers. At mid-career, the average petroleum engineer earns a whopping $155,000 per year (perhaps more if he or she went to Princeton). Below, check out which other majors pay off over time."

8. Campus Progress Presents The History Of The Pell Grant - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/campus-progress-presents-_n_908937.html -"Campus Progress has handily put together a history of the diminishing Pell Grant as a handy infographic. Can you believe that in 1972, the Pell Grant covered almost the entire cost of a student's education?"

9. Education summit begins today, by Dar Danielson - http://www.radioiowa.com/2011/07/25/education-summit-begins-today/ - "Duncan says is we are serious about closing the achievement gap, how we integrate technology into learning 24-seven is important as he says we have been “far too slow to move.” He says other countries are already moving ahead with the use of technology in education."

10. Possible cuts in Pell grants raises alarms in college sports, by Andy Gardner - http://usat.ly/p43snm via @USATODAY - "Pell Grants are usually part of a larger financial aid package for students, including athletes. They can be particularly important to athletes in sports outside of football and basketball where full scholarships are not typically awarded.The program, begun more than 30 years ago to help make college more accessible to low-income students, awarded more than 8 million students nearly $30 billion in aid in 2009-10. Grants are awarded on a need basis with the current annual limit of $5,500. The Department of Education estimated that 76% of those recipients had a total family income at or below $30,000."