325. 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. Last of 5 Parts: Answers to Your Back-to-School Admissions Questions, by ROBIN MAMLET and CHRISTINE VANDEVELDE: http://nyti.ms/okBdt4 - "Sometimes students want to jump on the early bandwagon because they fear that the early round of admissions fills most of the seats in the freshman class. But this is simply not the case. It sounds incredible, but it’s true that even when half the seats at a college are filled with ED applicants, fewer than half the acceptances have been given out."

2. Help Needed for Student Debtors: http://nyti.ms/qlZmEn - "A substantial part of the problem also lies in the fast-growing for-profit college industry, which accounts for only about 10 percent of students but nearly half of student loan defaults."

3. Major Publishers Join Indiana U. Project That Requires Students to Buy E-Textbooks, by Jeff Young - http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/major-publishers-join-indiana-u-project-that-requires-students-to-use-e-textbooks/33156 - "Slightly more than half of the students surveyed—about 55 percent—said they read less of the e-textbook than they would have read from a printed copy, while 22 percent said they read more from the e-textbook than they would have from a printed copy.Officials were watching closely to see whether students simply printed out the e-books and read from those paper copies. According to system logs, 68 percent of the students printed no pages, while 19 percent printed more than 50 pages."

4. White House details plans for more digital learning, by Greg Toppo – http://usat.ly/nnv0NB#.TnNQdis7Ky4.twitter via @USATODAY - "The center, dubbed "Digital Promise," will aid the rapid development of new learning software, educational games and other technologies, in part through helping educators vet what works and what doesn't."

5. SAT reading scores drop to lowest point in decades, by Michael Alison Chandler - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/sat-reading-scores-drop-to-lowest-point-in-decades/2011/09/14/gIQAdpoDTK_story.html via @washingtonpost - "For the first time, the College Board said, more than half of all high school graduates — or 1.65 million students — took the exam. That was up from 47 percent in 2010. Test-takers were also more diverse than ever: Forty-four percent were minorities; 36 percent were the first in their family to go to college; and 27 percent did not speak English exclusively."

6. Students say: ‘Pressure? What pressure?’ by Jay Mathews - Class Struggle - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/students-say-pressure-what-pressure/2011/09/14/gIQAdFEaSK_blog.html via @washingtonpost - "My view is that although homework, tests and college admission can be too stressful for some students, the real failing of our high schools nationally is that they apply too little pressure, not too much. . . . U.S. high schools are not in trouble because they are too rigorous."

7. State schools chief sets higher bar for Youngstown board - http://www.vindy.com/news/2011/sep/16/state-schools-chief-sets-higher-bar-for-/?newswatch via Vindicator - "There is little to mistake in the message that Stan W. Heffner, Ohio superintendent of public instruction, brought to Youngstown Wednesday. Youngstown schools must make greater improvements in academic achievement. And if the Youngstown Board of Education and its administrators and teachers don’t show results, it is incumbent on the Academic Distress Commission to use the considerable power that it has under state law to effect change."

8. A+ Colleges For B Students, US News And World Report List - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/a-colleges-for-b-students_n_965837.html#s363405&title=Fordham_University_ - "US News and World Report recently compiled a list of the best schools for B students and options are a lot more plentiful than one might think when mired in the hyper-competitive college process."

9. Read The Joe Rottenborn Daily ▸ today's top stories about college access and success, via @rottenbornj ▸ http://t.co/x7cmxSo

228. Unstack the Odds--Success, Part 2

Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!

by

Joe Rottenborn

Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

14. Success, Part 2

A key factor in college academic success, at the micro level, appears to be how successful the student had been in high school. My study of both the college graduates and the non-degreed former MVCAP advisees from the high school Class of 2004 who were still enrolled in college during 2008 indicated as much. Indeed, for those 78 (of 568) students who had already earned their two- or four-year degree in 2008, the average [high school] GPA was 3.58; the average ACT composite score was 23.47. (In fact, for these graduates, only 5 had GPAs lower than 3.0 and but 9 had ACT composites lower than 20.) For those students who had not yet earned their two- or four year degree in 2008, but who were still enrolled in college, the average [high school] GPA was 3.08; the average ACT composite score was 20.68.

These findings suggested what might be viewed as a “common-sense” hypothesis: those high school graduates who matriculate and continue in pursuit of their degree will have been “good students” in high school; those who graduate from college in four years will have been even stronger students in high school. http://mvcap.blogspot.com/2009/11/9-results-from-class-of-2004.html

A related important factor in an individual’s academic success would seem to be that student’s ability to study and his or her study-habits. As preparation for college, however, surveys indicate that, on average, high school students do not study very much. Washington Post education writer Jay Mathews offered his findings in that regard: “I cited time diaries collected by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research showing that 15- to 17-year-olds in 2002 and 2003 devoted about 3 ½ hours a day to TV and other leisure while their average time spent studying was 42 minutes. I pointed out that the annual UCLA Higher Education Research Institute survey of college freshmen shows about two-thirds did an hour or less of homework a night in high school.” (Jay Mathews, “Why ‘Race to Nowhere’ documentary is wrong,” The Washington Post—Class Struggle, April 3, 2011.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-race-to-nowhere-documentary-is-wrong/2011/04/03/AFBt27VC_blog.html

Furthermore, college students aren’t studying as much as they once did. Indeed, in looking at hours spent studying over time, economists Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks from the University of California Santa Barbara concluded the following: “. . . full-time students at four-year colleges in the U.S. are investing much less time in academics than they once did. Full-time college students in 1961 allocated about 40 hours per week toward class and studying, whereas full-time students in 2003 invested about 27 hours per week. Decreased academic time investment is observable in a wide range of subsamples—across all observable demographic groups and all types of four-year colleges.” (Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks, “The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from Half a Century of Time Use Data,” March 24, 2010, p. 19.) http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~babcock/College_time_use_NBER.pdf

In addition, Babcock and Marks found that, with some exceptions –“ higher parental education, being female and not working are all associated with higher study times in 2003” (Ibid., p. 12)-- “. . . study times declined for students in all parental education categories. Similarly, study times declined for all race and gender categories, overall and within both sub-periods . . . . Study times fell for all choices of major, overall and within both sub-periods. Students at liberal arts colleges studied more than other students, but study times fell at all types of colleges, overall and within both sub-periods.” (Ibid., p. 15.)

“Interestingly,” the authors noted, “women used to study about the same amount as men, but study more than men in recent cohorts. Engineering students studied more than other students and the gap has widened.” (Ibid.)

If college students aren’t studying as much, what other factors might affect their chances of success? A study presented to the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) at its annual convention in March 2011 by Todd Wyatt, doctoral student at George Mason U., indicated the following: “Alongside time spent studying outside of class, alcohol consumption is the most significant predictor of a student's grade point average. It has more impact than working, watching television, online social networking — even attending class.” (Allie Greengrass, “Study: Spare time, drinking factors into school performance,” USA Today, March 30, 2011.) http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-30-spare-time-academics-drinking_N.htm

To enhance a student’s chances of success, Wyatt emphasized the importance of tutoring, stating “. . . The most important thing to take away from his research is the importance of effective tutoring.” Wyatt indicated: "Although tutoring has been proven time and time again," he said, "it's a really hard nut to crack, simply because students resist it almost like it's a sickness. They see it almost as a punishment." (Ibid.) Thus, at the risk of glibness, to improve a student’s likelihood of success at college, he or she should study more, party less, and take advantage of tutoring!

131. 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 Early Returns on Early Admission, by Jacques Steinberg http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/early-admission-2011/

‎"Among those colleges and universities with binding early-decision programs — in which those applying have consented in advance to attend if admitted — Northwestern is reporting that early applications increased by 24 percent, to about 2,100, when compared with last year; submissions to the University of Pennsylvania are up 18 percent, to 4,557; Duke and Johns Hopkins are each up by nearly 14 percent, having received 2,282 and 1,314 applications, respectively; and Rice is up about 15 percent, with about 1,000 early applications."

2. For-Profit College Recruiters Caught Giving False Info (WATCH) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/12/forprofit-college-recruit_n_782982.html

"After a Remington College professor was surprised to find two convicted felons on his class roster, ABC sent an undercover producer posing as a convicted felon to meet with a Remington recruiter. When the producer told the recruiter of his felony conviction, the recruiter assured him they would work with him and that he could find work in law enforcement or corrections. But according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, those convicted of felonies are barred from working in those areas. In another instance, a DeVry University recruiter grossly exaggerated the percentage of graduates who obtained jobs upon graduation."

3. 7 Most Affordable College Towns: Forbes List http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/12/most-affordable-college-towns_n_782341.html#s180096

‎"A new study by Coldwell Banker Real Estate reveals that many students and their families are opting to purchase houses in college towns rather than pay for dorms, reports Forbes. To determine rankings, Coldwell Banker looked at the list prices of houses in 120 college towns, which had at least 6 homes available for purchase between April and September of 2010. Forbes gives the fifteen most affordable college towns. Below, check out the top seven -- and why buying, rather than renting, might be a good idea."

4. College study abroad suffers its first decline, by Mary Beth Marklein - http://usat.ly/bPGX3z - RT @USATODAY

"Europe still attracted the largest share of U.S. students — more than 140,000 — but enrollments dropped 4%. They rose in Africa (16%), Asia (2%) and South America (13%). That growth was fueled in part "by new and sometimes more affordable" programs in developing countries, the report says."The economic situation around the world, not just the U.S., is clearly having an impact," says Peggy Blumenthal, executive vice president of the institute. Although the 2008-09 figures are the latest available, there are signs that the most recent year has begun to see an uptick in U.S. students going abroad."

5. Black Colleges Look To Increase Online Education Presence, by Kathy Matheson http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/14/black-colleges-look-to-in_n_783277.html

"Blacks comprised about 12 percent of total enrollment in higher education in 2007 but were 21 percent of students at for-profit institutions – many of which are online, according to an American Council on Education report released this year. Tom Joyner, a syndicated radio host with a largely black audience, also sees the market's potential. The longtime historical black college and unversity booster and philanthropist has invested about $7 million to start HBCUsOnline.com, an educational services venture run by his son."

6. Questionable Science Behind Academic Rankings, by D.D. Guttenplan - http://nyti.ms/d93SWh

"But researchers who looked behind the headlines noticed that the list also ranked Alexandria fourth in the world in a subcategory that weighed the impact of a university’s research — behind only Caltech, M.I.T. and Princeton, and ahead of both Harvard and Stanford. Like most university rankings, the list is made up of several different indicators, which are given weighted scores and combined to produce a final number or ranking. As Richard Holmes, who teaches at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia, wrote on his University Ranking Watch blog, according to the Webometrics ranking of World Universities, published by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Alexandria University is “not even the best university in Alexandria.” The overall result, he wrote, was skewed by “one indicator, citations, which accounted for 32.5% of the total weighting.”

7. China Surges Past India as Top Home of Foreign Students, by Tamar Lewin - http://nyti.ms/cZL6l9

"The report found that a record high of 690,923 international students came to the United States last year — nearly 128,000 of them, or more than 18 percent, from China. Over all, the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased 3 percent for the 2009-10 academic year. India, which in recent years had been in the top spot, increased its numbers only slightly, to 104,897 last academic year. “The number of students from China is booming, because of that booming Chinese economy,” said Peggy Blumenthal, executive vice president of the institute. “But India, which also has a booming economy, is only up 1.6 percent. I think one factor is the great number of Chinese families with disposable income, two working parents and only one child, and a determination to invest their money to make sure that child receives the best education possible.”

8. Pay of 30 Private-College Presidents Topped $1-Million in 2008, by Andrea Fuller http://chronicle.com/article/Compensation-of-30/125371/

"The Internal Revenue Service overhauled the way it instructed colleges to report compensation for 2008. Colleges were asked to report salaries according to the calendar year, not the fiscal year, as in years past, meaning that some dollar amounts overlap with what was reported the previous year. But one thing remained the same: As in years past, the top earners included presidents who received large payouts when they stepped down. John R. Brazil, who retired in January as president of Trinity University, in Texas, was the second-highest earner during 2008, receiving $2,777,653 in total compensation. More than $2-million of that amount included payout and interest on deferred compensation.The highest-paid sitting president was R. Gerald Turner, of Southern Methodist University, who earned $2,774,000 in total compensation. According to the university, Mr. Turner's compensation was unusually high because he cashed out a life-insurance policy and bought his own policy. . . ."

9. Top district lets average kids lag, by Jay Mathews - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2010/11/top_district_lets_average_kids.html

"Dan Stephens, who teaches math at Northwood High School, thinks he knows why. It is a reason I have never heard before from his renowned district. The most prevalent complaint, buttressed by the new documentary “Race to Nowhere” being shown in Montgomery County, is that teachers and principals put too much pressure on the kids. They are jittery, sleep-deprived, maybe suicidal. Stephens, who teaches Precalculus and Geometry to mostly average kids, thinks his students are the opposite of too stressed. They don’t try very hard and know they will still graduate, so no problem. “All I can do is beg my students to study. Ultimately, they know they don’t have to and don’t,” said Stephens, who has taught for 20 years. “I would guess fewer than a handful actually studied for their test last week. No joke.”

10. Black-White Differences in Oracy and Literacy: A Needed Conversation, by Tom Sticht - http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/opinions_on_education/102925.html

"Listening to adults speak in early childhood may, as suggested by Ferguson, produce differences in both oracy (listening to and comprehending speech) and literacy (reading). In research for the U. S. Department of Defense, colleagues and I found that there were significant differences between black and white young adults who were applicants for military service in the oracy skills involved in listening to and recalling information from spoken messages. Additionally, when simultaneously listening to and reading information from a 5th grade passage spoken at 100 words per minute, whites correctly identified 95 percent of mismatches between the spoken and written versions of the same message while blacks answered 85 percent correctly, a ten point gap. Surprisingly, however, when the spoken message was presented for listening at 250 words per minute, forcing examinees to listen and read at that rate, which is about the average rate for silent reading by college-oriented, high school graduates, whites got 60 percent of mismatches correct while blacks got only 30 percent correct, a 30 point gap. For some reason, accelerating the rate of speech from 100 to 250 words per minute tripled the gap between scores for whites and blacks. This suggests some differences in the internal brain processes involved in the fluency of processing oral and written language at rates of reading typical for entering college freshman."

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