394. 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. Is it OK for Someone to Proofread Your College Application Essay? - College Admissions Q&As (http://t.co/YL8VAMpm) http://bit.ly/sXOnvK

3. Do colleges with test-optional admissions inflate ratings? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/admissions-101-do-colleges-with-test-optional-admissions-inflate-their-us-news-ratings/2011/12/20/gIQApEvD7O_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_tw - "A growing number of colleges do not require SAT or ACT tests. Does that help, hurt or do nothing for a school’s U.S. News ranking?"

4. The Hazards of Being a Stealth Applicant, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-hazards-of-being-a-stealth-applicant#.TvKffx58XNU.twitter via AddThis - "You could reduce your chances of getting accepted into college if you are a stealth applicant, who never contacts the university before you apply."

5. Tweet-like College Admission Essays Spark Debate: http://www.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/tweet-like-college-admission-essays-spark-debate-5487866.html#.TvKf4o5Y2aY.twitter via ArticlesBase - "The new format integrated in the college admission essays that asks students to respond in as brief as a tweet, has triggered debates participated by students, parents and even school administrators."

6. Action teams tackle St. Paul achievement gap, recommend other big changes at SPPS Twin Cities Daily Planet http://bit.ly/swqoDm - "Slide is one of a series of recommendations from nine District Action Teams — see pdf at end of article for full PowerPoint presentation."

7. Will $60 Million For Early Learning Help Close The Achievement Gap? http://shar.es/WHwd2 - "Last week Washington state won a $60 million federal grant for early learning. We take a closer look with leading experts on early childhood education in Washington and other states. How will the state spend the money? Will it help close the achievement gap for low–income kids?"

8. Cost vs. benefit steers debate over future of integration aid http://t.co/wy2UiQMB http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/135974858.html

9. 'Financial Aid Offers in Florida' - http://EzineArticles.com/6762362 - "There are several financial-aid programs given to students. Each of the programs has different requirements and qualifications. Every university and college in the United States of America have scholarship offerings to students . . . ."

10. Autopsy: FAMU band member died within an hour of beatings, by Douglas Stanglin - http://usat.ly/tZJ8Ho via @USATODAY - "CNN reports that some band members have said Champion died after taking part in a rite of passage called "crossing Bus C." One member, who CNN says spoke on condition of anonymity, described the ordeal in which students "walk from the front of the bus to the back of the bus backward while the bus is full of other band members, and you get beaten until you get to the back."

11. Ohio State gets bowl ban, other penalties - Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH: http://bit.ly/s53koq via AddThis - "The NCAA also issued a public reprimand and censure, put the Buckeyes on probation through Dec. 19, 2014, and reduced football scholarships from 85 to 82 through the 2014-15 academic year."

12. Study Links Winning Football and Declining Grades, by Mary Pilon: http://nyti.ms/tBcKoJ - “Our results support the concern that big-time sports are a threat to American higher education,” the paper’s authors — Jason M. Lindo, Isaac D. Swensen and Glen R. Waddell — wrote. They said their work was among the first to take a look at the “nonmonetary costs” of college sports."

392. 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. Most bizarre essay questions - http://m.golocalprov.com/70548/show/7acfb5cb851c6ca4865138c70d1503a9/ - "According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), the importance that colleges place on student essays has been steadily increasing. While the Common Application provides standard essay prompts, individual colleges often ask additional essay and short answer questions . . . ."

3. College Early Admission Is Tougher Than Ever http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/19/college-early-admission-is-tougher-than-ever.html via @thedailybeast - "This year’s early admission applicants had it tougher than ever, reports Steve Cohen."

4. Startup raises $2.5M to put college admissions on Apple's iPad http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2011/12/19/college-admissions-ipad-app-raises-25m.html?ana=twt via @BBJNewsroom

5. Your College Advisor - End-of-the-year checklist for high school seniors - http://northjersey.com/ http://shar.es/Wmcjm

6. Teen musician, 17, graduates from UWM - JSOnline http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/teen-musician-17-graduates-from-uwm-ll3g3or-135835833.html - And a guitarist, at that!

7. Sample College Admissions Essays on a Fictional Character http://collegeapps.about.com/b/2011/12/18/new-sample-college-admissions-essay-on-a-fictional-character.htm?r=twitter - "Common Application Sample Essay - An essay for option #4 on a fictional character"

8. Achievement gap among Seattle black students Education News - The News Tribune http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/19/1951412/achievement-gap-among-seattle.html via @thenewstribune - "A new look at test scores by Seattle Public Schools shows American-born black students lag behind black immigrants in academic achievement."

9. The Poverty of School Reform -- In These Times: http://bit.ly/vWbuHR via AddThis

10. The Financial Aid That You Didn't Know Existed http://www.educationfact.com/blog/financial-aid-didnt-existed/ - "A blog post offering information regarding the some of the often-overlooked financial aid options to investigate"

391. 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. 'Good-enough’ university http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/setting-our-sights-on-a-good-enough-college/2011/12/16/gIQAyCK8yO_story.html?tid=sm_btn_tw - "Help high schoolers keep perspective."

3. High seniors receive college scholarships Los Angeles Wave - Community News, Sports & Entertainment Lynwood Press http://www.wavenewspapers.com/news/local/lynwood-press/Three-Firebaugh-High-seniors-receive-colege-scholarships-135757023.html -"LYNWOOD — Three seniors from Firebaugh High School here have been given full four-year scholarships through the QuestBridge National College Match program.QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with scholarship opportunities. . . ."

4. Reducing the black-white achievement gap by reducing black unemployment Economic Policy Institute http://shar.es/WnCTW

5. RT @fremonttribune It's time to starting gathering financial aid information http://bit.ly/tTu13Y - "If you or your child will be heading to college next fall, now is the time to prepare for applying for financial aid."

6. Toys wear out, gift of education lasts a lifetime - Chicago Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/9482631-452/toys-wear-out-gift-of-education-lasts-a-lifetime.html#.Tu1e9TBpeN8.twitter via AddThis

7. Inconvenient Income Inequality: http://nyti.ms/uLWvcn - "Some recent surveys seem to suggest that many Americans are in denial about the seriousness of the gap between the rich and poor."

8. Florida A&M death puts focus on traditions – http://usatoday.com/ http://usat.ly/tTaX5N via @USATODAY

9. Half of U.S. schools fail federal standards – http://usatoday.com/ http://usat.ly/roQv42 via USATODAY

10. College prep: All I want for Christmas is acceptance http://t.co/2BUIIe1S http://shar.es/W1Yo4

11. Yale early admissions - http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/dec/17/early-admit-rate-increases-slightly/ - "Yale sent acceptance letters to 15.7 percent of its early action applicants for the class of 2016 on Thursday evening."

12. Lori Sturdevant: Achievement gap -- a disaster in slow motion http://t.co/wy2UiQMB http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/135762243.html

13. UC Berkeley Extends Financial Aid To Middle-Class Students Neon Tommy: http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/12/uc-berkeley-extends-financial-aid-middle-class-students#.Tu5Vpi1z0Us.twitter via AddThis - "Robert Birgeneau, UC Berkeley chancellor, announced Wednesday that the Berkeley Middle Class Access Plan (Berkeley MCAP) is aimed at families with an annual gross income between $80,000 and $140,000."

14. College savings made simple [The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa]: http://t.co/uemxeGeW via @AddThis

15. College students face shorter Pell Grants - http://shar.es/W1d7p - "As Congress passes a 2012 budget, student loans will get pinched next fall. Changes to Pell Grant program would hit African-American students hard."

388. 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. NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap in D.C. Still Wide Education News - http://shar.es/oTbKI

3. More on the D.C. Achievement Gap and Michelle Rhee's Legacy - http://bit.ly/u20rqW

4. Chicago Teachers Union Organizes Parents Against CPS ‘School Actions’ -http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/school-news/29530-chicago-teachers-union-organizes-parents-against-cps-school-actions-.html

5. Maya Cole: Why I will vote against Madison Prep http://bit.ly/uBtOk3

6. Researchers Probe 'Myths' Around Math Gender Gap, by Sarah D. Sparks - http://t.co/cMCj6Ybx via @educationweek

7. Start the scholarship search with fact-finding http://t.co/nxBiwOEU & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper: http://t.co/8g9wlTX2 via @AddThis

8. Vanderbilt, Duke are South's most selective colleges - http://t.co/nq2Xv3VW via @nashvillebiz

9. Rice is most selective college for admissions in Texas - http://t.co/4F4i0JrT via @HOUBizjournal

10. On College: What struggles do you reveal on your college application? - San Jose Mercury News http://t.co/WSInAjqR

384. 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 for articles on college access and success ▸ today http://paper.li/rottenbornj

2. State budget cuts make completion goals difficult for community colleges, by Paul Fain Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/vprqvR via AddThis - "Community colleges are the portal of entry into higher education for millions of academically talented minority, low income, first-generation and adult students,” the report said. These student populations are growing relative to those of wealthier, more prepared students, but community colleges lack the money to handle enrollment increases, according to the survey."

3. GAO Finds Lagging Student Outcomes at For-Profits Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/t4DMM5 via AddThis - "The new GAO report, which leaned heavily on a research study examined in an Inside Higher Ed article Wednesday, finds that the colleges lag other institutions in student unemployment, borrowing rates, debt loads, loan default rates and licensing exam pass rates, but performed better on certificate program completion rates and had similar outcomes in associate degree graduation rates and student earnings. The GAO report acknowledged that it is difficult to compare the performance of for-profits with public and private nonprofit institutions, because the industry enrolls a "higher proportion of low-income, minority and nontraditional students who face challenges that can affect their educational outcomes. . . ."

4. Bad Online Behavior Jeopardizes Students, by Robin L. Flanigan - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/12/08/14collegeadmit.h31.html?tkn=UUXFhkEe6N8%2BF%2FMoNjy%2B04aF8rkvzH61wuY%2B&cmp=clp-edweek - "In the company’s 2011 survey of admissions officers from the top 500 colleges and universities, 24 percent said they have viewed publicly available pages to get a clearer picture of an applicant, while 20 percent turned to Google. Twelve percent reported that their discoveries, including photos showing underage drinking, vulgarities in blogs, and plagiarism in essays, negatively affected the chance of admission."

5. Study: Middle-Class Students Are Better at Asking for Academic Help, by Sarah D. Sparks - http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2011/12/study_middle-class_students_ar.html via @educationweek - "In a study released today in the American Sociological Review, University of Pennsylvania sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco found that while working-class students were more likely to wait for help, middle-class students approached or called for help on their own, and more frequently. "Unlike their working-class counterparts, middle-class parents explicitly encourage children to feel comfortable asking for help from teachers, and also deliberately coach children on the language and strategies to use in making these requests," Calarco said of the study. "What that means is that middle-class kids' help-seeking skills and strategies effectively become a form of 'cultural capital' in the classroom—by activating those resources, middle-class kids can secure their own advantages in the classroom."

6. Some New York City Scores Dip in NAEP Tests, by Winnie Hu: http://nyti.ms/vRRt2p -"But New York City showed significant improvement in narrowing the achievement gap for poor students over a decade. Eighth-grade students eligible for free and reduced lunch scored 14 points lower on reading than those who were not eligible in 2011, compared with 30 points lower in 2003. The achievement gap for blacks also appeared to shrink slightly in the city. In 2011, black students averaged 26 points lower than white students on reading tests in fourth-grade, compared with 29 points lower in 2002. In math, they averaged 22 points lower in fourth-grade and 30 points lower in eighth grade, compared with 25 points and 36 points lower in 2003."

7. Demographics Do Not Explain For-Profit Colleges' Shortcomings on Student-Success Measures, GAO Says, by Kelly Field - http://chronicle.com/article/Demographics-Do-Not-Explain/130040/ - "For-profit institutions perform worse than public and private colleges on most measures of quality, even when student demographics are taken into account, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office."

8. Was Gingrich Right About Putting Kids to Work? by Andrew J. Rotherham - http://ideas.time.com/2011/12/08/newt-gingrich-education-prophet/ via @TIMEIdeas - "The trend runs from micro (from kids keeping shirts tucked in to properly introducing themselves to adults) to macro: at the Washington-based SEED schools, students live at these public boarding schools five days a week. SEED is pretty extreme, but most of the new-paternalism schools have a school day that is extended beyond what’s typical now. And the most successful ones also promote intense teacher-student relationships and put a lot of thought and effort into creating a college-going culture even even the youngest students."

9. NAEP results suggest long march, not quick turnaround, by Bill Turque - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/naep-results-suggest-long-march-not-turnaround/2011/12/07/gIQAK6BKdO_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_tw - "The results align closely with the latest DC CAS results, which also showed stagnant reading scores, marginal improvements in some math results and vast divides between schools in low and high-income communities. . . . That makes NAEP one more piece of evidence that there will be no quick “turnaround” of DCPS. This will be a slow march, filled with what Chancellor Kaya Henderson has called “hard, non-sexy work” of fixing curricula and coaching up teachers to meet the needs of children who come to school every day with enormous deficits."

10. Guest post: Federal student aid, by Jay Lemons - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/guest-post-in-defense-of-federal-student-aid/2011/12/07/gIQA5KVVcO_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_tw - "However, one aspect of the explosion in PELL costs that bears much greater scrutiny is the increase in program dollars going to for-profit schools in our country. Some of these schools do fine work and are introducing change and innovations that are positive for higher education. But some of these schools are of questionable value for students and are, in my opinion, not a good investment of federal tax dollars."

383. 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. Column: Yes, college is worth the costs, by Rodney K. Smith – http://usat.ly/soYrAn via @USATODAY - "Concerns regarding student indebtedness and educational quality are legitimate, but we are losing our appreciation for education as an investment and stewardship."

3. Number of students attending charter schools soars - Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH: http://bit.ly/vr0mPY via AddThis - "The growth represents the largest increase in enrollment over a single year since charter schools were founded nearly two decades ago. In all, more than 500 new charter schools were opened in the 2011-12 school year. And about 200,000 more students are enrolled now than a year before, an increase of 13 percent nationwide. . . . But their performance so far has been mixed; a 2009 Stanford University study found only 17 percent performed better than regular public schools while more than twice as many - 37 percent - performed worse. Another 46 percent were about the same."

4. For-profits lag behind other colleges in student outcomes, by Paul Fain Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/vNNUb5 via @AddThis - "The research found that for-profits have some competitive strengths, such as in first-year student retention rates compared to community colleges. But the adjusted data showed for-profits lagging behind other types of colleges in areas such as employment outcomes, student satisfaction with academic offerings, debt levels and loan default rates -- gaps that probably cannot be fully explained, the researchers say, by the greater propensity of students at the colleges to have prior risk factors."

5. “The For-Profit Postsecondary School Sector: Nimble Critters or Agile Predators?” by David J. Deming, et al - http://www.frbatlanta.org/documents/news/conferences/11employment_education_demming.pdf

"In this article, we describe the schools, students, and programs in this sector, its phenomenal growth in the past decade, and its relationship to the federal and state governments. The for-profits seem to have forged a highly successful business model. They appear to be nimble critters that train non-traditional learners for jobs in the fast growing areas, such as health care and information technology. But there is a potential dark side. Default rates on the loans taken out by their students vastly exceed those of other institutions of higher education and audit studies have shown that some for-profits have highly aggressive and even fraudulent recruiting techniques. Are the for-profits “nimble critters” or “agile predators”?"

6. What's the matter with high school counselors? by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-57332594/whats-the-matter-with-high-school-counselors/?tag=mncol;lst;7 - "The new national survey, which was released by the College Board, detected a huge divide between educational goals and what is actually occurring in the schools. For instance, 85 percent of surveyed counselors agreed that schools should work to ensure that all students complete high school and are ready to succeed in college and careers, but only 30 percent said that this was the mission of their own schools. Among those surveyed, 55 percent believe schools require either a complete overhaul or major changes to improve student success."

7. Dual Enrollment Improves College Going, Under the Right Circumstances, Studies Find - http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/dual-enrollment-improves-college-going-under-the-right-circumstances-studies-find/38887 - "Dual enrollment, in which students take college courses while they’re still in high school, can increase college enrollment and completion, but its effectiveness depends on which classes students take and where they take them, according to two new studies from the National Center for Postsecondary Research. The research, which echoes previous studies, found strong positive effects for students who took the classes on college campuses, but not those who took them at their high schools. It also found similar completion rates between students who took dual-enrollment classes and those who took Advanced Placement ones."

8. Penn State analyzes football program, by Kevin Johnson and Kelly Whiteside – http://usat.ly/rPeYMb via USATODAY - "In his first extensive interview since taking office last month, Penn State President Rodney Erickson said Tuesday that he seeks to transform the university's public face from a football factory to a "world class research institution."

9. Paterno’s Payback? Penn State Football is No. 1 in Academic Bowlsays @kaylawebley - http://ideas.time.com/2011/12/07/paternos-revenge-penn-state-football-is-no-1-in-academic-bowl/ via @TIMEIdeas - "But the more ironic news is that the team that topped the list is Penn State, whose football program coached by the legendary Joe Paterno was recently rocked by a sex-abuse scandal. According to the analysis, Penn State graduates 80% of its football players in six years or less and also shows no achievement gap between its black and white players, which NAF says is extremely rare for Division I football teams. (At LSU, by comparison, the team’s black players are 32% less likely to graduate than their white counterparts.) Winning the top honors in the academic bowl further proves the success of Paterno’s “grand experiment,” which was his idea that major-college athletes could contend for national championships while excelling in the classroom."

10. D.C. schools have largest black-white achievement gap in federal study - by Lyndsey Layton - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-schools-have-largest-black-white-achievement-gap-in-federal-study/2011/12/06/gIQArNnMcO_story.html?tid=sm_btn_twitter via @washingtonpost - "D.C. public schools have the largest achievement gap between black and white students among the nation’s major urban school systems, a distinction laid bare in a federal study released Wednesday. The District also has the widest achievement gap between white and Hispanic students, the study found, compared with results from other large systems and the national average."

11. Keeping Score When It Counts: Assessing the 2011-12 Bowl-bound College Football Teams - http://tidesport.org/RGRC/2011/2011_FBS_Bowl_Study[FINAL].pdf - "Lapchick said, “Notre Dame and Northwestern would have played for the National Championship if there was a national championship game for Graduation Success Rates among bowl teams. Both teams graduated at least 94 percent of all football student-athletes and at least 92 percent of African-American football student-athletes. Notre Dame graduated 100 percent of their African-American footballstudent-athletes."

375. 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. Financial Aid Help: http://t.co/eV0mVNlE - "Seniors and Senior Parents: It’s a great time to sign up for your pin #’s from FAFSA.ED.GOV (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). A parent needs a pin # and a student needs a separate pin # in order to file. Go to fafsa.ed.gov and click “Get Pin #” to proceed."

3. 'Evaluating, Understanding And Comparing Financial Aid Offers' http://t.co/9SmcutMC - "So you have been accepted at several colleges that you applied to. You filed your FAFSA and other financial aid forms. You have been waiting for the numbers to arrive and finally they start filling you mailbox. Now what?"

4. Counselors Urge Applicants to Hit Aid Deadlines http://t.co/DkQaiIT7 via @townnews - "High school officials are urging parents to pay attention to deadlines so there are no missed opportunities while applying for student loans and financial aid for high school seniors."

5. North Star Financial Advisor Gives Back http://t.co/dEUXTXC4 via @sfgate - "Clarisa Hernandez of North Star Resource Group works to help create a better future for underprivileged children."

6. Minnesota Early Childhood Education Achievement Gap http://t.co/EFKnJgLk via @ABC6NEWS

7. Are black students lacking basic skills? http://t.co/mNyf0AtQ - "OPINION - Across the country, the achievement gap between white students and black students persists. . . ."

8. Minorities’ ISAT scores on rise in D300 - Elgin Courier News: http://t.co/gCVAZ0xb via @AddThis - "ALGONQUIN — Elementary and middle school students who are Hispanic and black are closing achievement gaps in Community Unit School District 300."

9. Frenzy over SATs - http://t.co/cUcqeSZC - "In my work with families I encounter a great deal of anxiety about the college application process. Much of this anxiety occurs when parents and kids come late to the tasks at hand. In a panic, they desperately try to play catch-up in order to get through everything that needs to be done . . . ."

10. Mexicans in New York City Lag in Education, by Kirk Semple: http://nyti.ms/tt9mlb - "Mexicans, the fastest-growing major immigrant group in the city, have the highest dropout rate: about 41 percent of Mexicans ages 16 to 19 have dropped out of school. . . . This crisis endures at the college level. Among Mexican immigrants 19 to 23 who do not have a college degree, only 6 percent are enrolled. That is a fraction of the rates among other major immigrant groups and the native-born population."

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."

362. 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. Curriculum Matters: What It All Means: Analysis of NAEP Results Pours In, by Erik Robelen http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/11/more_analysis_rolling_in_on_ne.html via @educationweek - "With a fresh round of national test data released last week for reading and math, a variety of analysts have sought to weigh in. I'll highlight a few examples I've come across."

3. National Journal -- Parsing the Nation's Report Card, by Sandy Kress #2109245#2109245#2109245#2109245#2109245 http://bit.ly/rK3gfT via @AddThis

"The gains I will discuss below are significant, but they do not yet extend much to postsecondary readiness and success in completion after high school. The movement toward greater rigor and accountability in high school and postsecondary options must be accelerated and intensified."

4. College Bound: Designing Policies to Encourage Early High School Graduation, by Caralee Adams http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2011/11/designing_policies_to_encourage_early_high_school_graduation.html via @educationweek - "There is a lot of money to be saved when high school students graduate early, so many states are offering incentives for high-achieving students who take this route. But as states craft policies, researchers at Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based national nonprofit, looked into the best way to encourage this education fast-track."

5. INCENTIVES FOR EARLY GRADUATION - http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/IncentivesForEarlyGraduation_PolicyBrief_080311.pdf

"Research has found that the most reliable predictor of college successis the quality and intensity of the high school curriculum(Adelman 2006)."

6. Lumina Foundation Will Provide $7-Million to Help More Latino Students Graduate,by Jennifer Gonzalezhttp://chronicle.com/article/Lumina-Foundation-Will-Provide/129674/

"The Lumina Foundation for Education is turning its attention to a segment of the population projected to be a key driver in meeting the nation's college-completion goals: Latino students. . . . The project is part of Lumina's Goal 2025 effort, which aims to increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025."

7. Obama will mandate Head Start competition, by David Jackson and Richard Wolf – http://usat.ly/sxC9Ed via @USATODAY - "Nationally, there are nearly 1,600 Head Start and Early Head Start programs providing early learning services to nearly 1 million low-income children."

8. What does being "college and career ready" mean? by Valerie Strauss - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/no-child-left-behind/what-is-being-college-and-care.html -“ACT defines college readiness as acquisition of the knowledge and skills a student needs to enroll and succeed in credit-bearing, first-year courses at a postsecondary institution, such as a two- or four-year college, trade school, or technical school,” she said. “Simply stated, readiness for college means not needing to take remedial courses in postsecondary education or training programs.”

9. Things to think about as students begin applying to colleges http://t.co/KqofhQY7 via @everettherald

10. N.J. must address achievement gap between rich, poor students http://t.co/VyzyxGfU http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2011/11/njersey_must_address_achieveme.html

11. Q&A: Student loan concerns for parents - JSOnline http://t.co/1C09p9M4

357. 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. Public Universities Seeking Out-of-State Students, by Rebecca R. Ruiz: http://nyti.ms/vlYca7 - "In an article published on Sunday in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Eric Hoover and Josh Keller reported that public universities are escalating their recruitment of out-of-state students – students who not only bring geographic diversity to campus, but also pay higher tuition rates and improve a school’s bottom line."

3. Advocate for students chides colleges for policies on low-income students, by Doug Lederman Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/11/01/advocate-students-chides-colleges-policies-low-income-students#.TrAGpcyFo4w.twitter - "Haycock and her group, which focuses on ensuring equitable education for students regardless of their race or socioeconomic status, have issued a series of reports criticizing college policies (overemphasis on standardized test scores, merit-based financial aid, etc.) that tend to benefit wealthy and white students over others. . . . Haycock (at left) did not hold back, painting a picture of increasing inequality in higher education in which, among other things, students from families in the highest quartile of family income are now 10 times likelier than those in the lowest quartile to have a bachelor's degree."

4. Emphasize the Ambitious: Q&A With Kati Haycock, by Joan Richardson - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/11/01/kappan_haycock.html via @educationweek - "That goal took over my life. What animated me was how we could turn around the performance of the groups of kids who were behind. I came to believe that what was happening in K-12 was important to making that change. I think of our work as helping to make our country better. When you consider the ideals upon which we were created, and you look at what the data tell us about inequality, it’s clear that our narrative as a country is far away from where we really are."

5. 12 Best and Worst 529 College Savings Plans, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/blog/college-solution/12-best-and-worst-529-college-savings-plans/7058/ via @cbsmoneywatch - "But, you may be wondering, how do you pick the best 529 plans and avoid the worst? Morningstar, the investment research firm, has made the task easier for you. In its new industry survey of 529 plans, Morningstar has selected the top five 529 plans, as well as the seven worst. Here is your 529 cheat sheet:"

6. New NAEP, Same Results: Math Up, Reading Mostly Flat, by Erik W. Robelen - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/11/01/11naep.h31.html via @educationweek - "One area of long-standing concern is the large achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups, especially when comparing African-American and Hispanic students with white students. Although all groups have made academic progress over the past two decades, the achievement gaps have proved difficult to close.The 2011 reading and math results produced no statistically significant changes in the black-white achievement gap from 2009."

7. More States Flag Potential Dropouts With Warning Data, by Sarah D. Sparks - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/11/01/11earlywarning_ep.h31.html via @educationweek - "At minimum, researchers found that most existing systems flag what Robert Balfanz, a co-author of the study and the director of the Everyone Graduates Center, calls “the ABCs” of such systems:

• Attendance: Students who have missed either 10 percent of school days or 20 days total;

• Behavior: Students who receive two or more mild or more-serious behavior citations, which in most schools means detentions or suspensions; and

• Course performance: Students who struggle to keep up in key classes at different grades."

8. The Wrong Inequality, by David Brooks in The New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/opinion/brooks-the-wrong-inequality.html?_r=1&hp - "In these places, the crucial inequality is not between the top 1 percent and the bottom 99 percent. It’s between those with a college degree and those without. Over the past several decades, the economic benefits of education have steadily risen. In 1979, the average college graduate made 38 percent more than the average high school graduate, according to the Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke. Now the average college graduate makes more than 75 percent more. Moreover, college graduates have become good at passing down advantages to their children. If you are born with parents who are college graduates, your odds of getting through college are excellent. If you are born to high school grads, your odds are terrible."

9. In a Standardized Era, a Creative School Is Forced to Be More So, by Michael Winerip - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/education/no-child-left-behind-catches-up-with-new-hampshire-school.html?src=recg - "The intent of No Child Left Behind was to provide quality education for poor children, mainly in urban areas, but it has taken over everything. By next spring, 90 percent of New Hampshire schools are expected to be labeled as failing."

10. School Suspensions Among Boys May Be Linked to Lower College Attendance, by Dan Berrett -http://chronicle.com/article/School-Suspensions-Among-Boys/129593/ - "As the likelihood of suspensions increases, students' chances of making it to college decrease. Citing previous research, the authors note that one suspension lowers the chance of attending college by 16 percentage points, and of graduating from college by 9 percentage points. "We suggest that boys' higher tendency to act out, and develop conduct problems, might be particularly relevant to their relative absence in colleges," the authors write."

352. 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)

(I'm just back from Portland, OR.)

1. Facebook's Impact on Student Grades, by Rebecca R. Ruiz - http://nyti.ms/nMA4mn -"While overall time spent on Facebook negatively affected G.P.A., the results were not clear-cut. As it turned out, those who frequently shared links on Facebook or checked the site to see what friends were up to tended to have higher grades. Those students who posted status updates tended to have lower grades. . . . Meanwhile — contradicting the zero-sum logic of some who might believe that a minute spent social networking is a minute spent not attending to schoolwork — the study found no substantive link between time spent on Facebook and time spent studying."

2. Online students might feel less accountable to honor codes, by Steve Kolowich Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/rRjY7Q via AddThis - "In a series of experiments, researchers at Ohio University found that students in fully online psychology courses who signed an honor code promising not to cheat broke that pledge at a significantly higher rate than did students in a “blended” course that took place primarily in a classroom. “The more distant students are, the more disconnected they feel, and the more likely it is that they’ll rationalize cheating,” Frank M. LoSchiavo, one of the authors, conjectured in an interview with Inside Higher Ed."

3. College Admissions: What Do Schools Really Care About? by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/blog/college-solution/college-admissions-what-do-schools-really-care-about/6985/ via @cbsmoneywatch - "A new college admission study by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which represents many colleges and universities, provides a handy cheat sheet on what schools do value when they review applications. . . . Clearly the best things that teenagers can do to increase their chances of getting accepted is to perform well in college prep courses and to make sure they include some rigorous classes in their schedule."

4. How Student Loan Borrowers Are Getting Into Trouble, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/blog/college-solution/how-student-loan-borrowers-are-getting-into-trouble/6903/ via @cbsmoneywatch - "Private student loans don’t provide the protections that federal students loans offer and yet a new federal study suggests that an alarming number of college students are turning to private lenders before they’ve taken full advantage of their federal options."

5. Hechinger More, better early education could help close California’s achievement gap, by Sarah Garland: http://hechingerreport.org/content/more-better-early-education-could-help-close-californias-achievement-gap_6653/#.TqbKtAVPJkM.twitter via AddThis - "In California, the state with the largest population of Hispanic students in the country, the achievement gap starts early—long before children enter school.Hispanic children are much less likely to enroll in preschool than white or black children, and begin kindergarten more than half a year behind their white counterparts. First-generation immigrant students, many who speak only Spanish, start out more than a year behind. One way to combat this problem, educators argue, is enrolling more Hispanic children in preschool, where they can learn to count, say the alphabet and practice the other pre-reading and math skills they will need later on."

6. Push Is On to Add Time to School, by Nora Fleming - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/26/09elt_ep.h31.html via @educationweek - "But while policymakers and recently proposed federal legislation promote expanded learning time as a strategy for school turnaround, some worry that it may be gaining steam too rapidly as a fix for schools that lack the know-how, resources, or research to implement it effectively."

7. NAEP's Odd Definition of Proficiency, by James Harvey - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/26/09harvey.h31.html via @educationweek - "Joanne Weiss [is] the chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. According to an article in the Aug. 24 issue of Education Week, Weiss said the practice of permitting each state to set its own proficiency standards amounts to “lying to parents, lying to children, lying to teachers and principals about the work they’re doing.” . . . The No Child Left Behind Act, passed by Congress in 2001 as the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, permitted states to develop their own assessments and set their own proficiency standards to measure student achievement. Most states, for their purposes, quite sensibly defined proficiency as performance at grade level.What about NAEP? Oddly, NAEP’s proficient standard has little to do with grade-level performance or even proficiency as most people understand the term."

8. Screen Time Higher Than Ever for Children, by Tamar Lewin - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/us/screen-time-higher-than-ever-for-children-study-finds.html?_r=1&hpw - "Despite the American Academy of Pediatricians’ longstanding recommendations to the contrary, children under 8 are spending more time than ever in front of screens, according to a study scheduled for release Tuesday. The report also documents for the first time an emerging “app gap” in which affluent children are likely to use mobile educational games while those in low-income families are the most likely to have televisions in their bedrooms."

9. College Readiness Is Lacking, City Reports Show, by Fernanda Santos - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/education/25progress.html?src=recg - "Only one in four students who enter high school in New York City are ready for college after four years, and less than half enroll, according to the A-through-F high school report cards released on Monday."

10. When the Answer to 'Access or Excellence?' Has to Be 'Both' by Beckie Supiano - http://chronicle.com/article/When-the-Answer-to-Access-or/129423/ - "Pursuing both excellence and access is something most colleges try to do, and it's never easy. Top faculty and state-of-the-art facilities cost money, but raising tuition can shut some students out. If the college makes scholarships to attract high-performing students a priority, it might not be able to support those with financial need."

11. Business leaders inject themselves in school reform, by Valerie Strauss - The Answer Sheet - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/business-leaders-inject-themselves-in-school-reform/2011/10/24/gIQArm5mFM_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_twitter via @washingtonpost - "This news release was issued in regard to the bill that the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions passed last week revamping NCLB. The bill reduces the federal role in public education that has become so prominent in the NCLB era, and it eliminates a key accountability provision of the law that wound up declaring thousands of schools failing, even when they weren’t. It turns back to the states the right to create their own accountability systems for schools, a move opposed by the Obama administration — and, apparently, leading businessmen. . . . Here’s the statement, which shows that the coalition doesn’t think the bill is tough enough:"

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

351. 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)

(I am traveling in Portland, OR; below are links I've located this past weekend.)

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

2. News: Kent State Implements Forever Buckeyes Program for Ohio High School Graduates http://t.co/nx9taM15 via @AddToAny

3. Don't fear the FAFSA - http://t.co/7IG7lsat: http://t.co/bTSXVdU1 via @AddThis

4. Educators, advocates, legislators target gaps in No Child Left Behind law http://t.co/gRl948rd via @Tennessean

5. The State of College Admissions http://t.co/edAEAVHm

6. College websites lack important info, review finds http://t.co/kFFc3wGn via @azcentral

7. The Value of Higher Education http://t.co/hiZGhT8N via @tweetmeme

8. Check out colleges in person, not just online - http://t.co/7IG7lsat: http://t.co/foW8QjYm via @AddThis

9. Private colleges getting boost from budget woes at public universities - http://t.co/A5PBTZOQ: http://t.co/qHstmgmL via @AddThis

10. College price calculator provides a new tool for prospective students http://t.co/VvskbgyT via @AddThis

11. The Importance of Focusing on Achievement Gaps http://t.co/Y2bRr9LT

12. More College Applicants, More Students Waitlisted http://t.co/nYWvgjCn (@GOOD stuff)

13. Private college enrollment drops at many Ohio institutions http://t.co/TcepystW http://t.co/FjA1fzxO

345. 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. College Recruiting: Blacks Squeezed Out - http://www.theroot.com/views/recruiting-trend-squeezes-out-black-students

2. How to Pay for College When Your Financial Aid is Exhausted - http://t.co/egR0ks4l via @AddThis

3. Popularity of Online Education Spurs Financial Aid Fraud - http://nyti.ms/ndhsjJ

4. Quality pre-k programs are a big part of narrowing the achievement gap in schools - http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2011/10/our_view_quality_prekindergart.html

5. UW-Madison professor will examine ‘fallacies’ of achievement gap during Oct. 20 talk at NIU - http://bit.ly/n3KSeS

6. Report identifies ways Burlington schools can better serve minorities - http://t.co/upeLg67L via @bfp_news

7. More fodder around questions of diversity and the achievement gap - http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/politics/2011/10/12/more-fodder-around-questions-of-diversity-and-the-achivement-gap/

8. The Role of A.D.H.D. Diagnoses in College Admissions - Room for Debate - http://nyti.ms/qtkmjL

9. Racism and Sexism in Diagnosing A.D.H.D. - Room for Debate - http://nyti.ms/obZvIw

10. Read The Joe Rottenborn Daily ▸ today's top stories on college access and success via @rottenbornj ▸ http://paper.li/rottenbornj

335. 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. Educators, Financial Literacy Advocates Respond to Growing Student Debt - Southern Maryland Headline News: http://t.co/OxtpdgLD via @AddThis

3. Dream Act: Brown's Nightmare? NBC Los Angeles - http://t.co/sxRw2Zkz via @propzero

4. Test scores reveal Ky. educational challenges - http://www.kentucky.com/2011/09/29/1901496/test-scores-reveal-ky-educational.html

5. Why Achievement Gap Mania Isn’t Cost-Free - http://bit.ly/oR1O90

6. Better Literacy Will Close the Achievement Gap @PolicyMic Matthew Clair - http://www.policymic.com/articles/better-literacy-will-close-the-achievement-gap

7. Dispelling myths about college admissions - NeXt - The Buffalo News - http://t.co/b3KUfGi2 via @TheBuffaloNews

8. SAT Cheaters: College Admissions Exam Has History of Fraud - http://t.co/1toTvo1O via @thedailybeast

9. SAT cheating scandal: Are stakes getting too high for college admission? - Yahoo! News - http://t.co/Oq3XxVzr via @YahooNews

330. 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. Could No Child Left Behind be history? by Lesa Jansen – http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/22/could-no-child-left-behind-be-history/ via CNN - "Friday, President Obama will announce that his administration will begin reviewing state's applications to waive the No Child Left Behind requirements in return for tangible commitments to close achievement gaps."

2. Obama rolling back Bush-era education law – http://usat.ly/o6QD75 via @USATODAY -"Under the plan Obama was to outline Friday, states would be allowed to ask the Education Department to be exempted from some of the law's requirements if they meet certain conditions. That includes enacting standards to prepare students for college and careers and setting evaluation standards for teachers and principals."

3. Serving Soldiers? by Paul Fain - Inside Higher Ed http://bit.ly/pLSXLQ via AddThis - "At issue is the $4.4 billion in Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits distributed last year by the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as tuition assistance for service members. For-profit colleges received about $1.6 billion, or 37 percent, of that amount, according to a report released Thursday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Eight of the 10 institutions receiving the largest amounts are for-profits, and they raked in a combined total of more than $1 billion."

4. The Secret College Advantage: Money Talks, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/blog/college-solution/the-secret-college-advantage-money-talks/6671/ via @cbsmoneywatch - "According to Inside Higher Ed, some schools are so eager to attract students who can pay full price that they admit them despite lower grades and test scores. The interest in full-pay students is so strong that 10 percent of four-year colleges report that the full-pay students they are admitting have lower grades and test scores than do other admitted applicants."

5. Obama Administration Sets Rules for NCLB Waivers, by Alyson Klein - http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k%2012/2011/09/obama_administration_sets_rule.html via @educationweek - "The waiver plan also appears to back off on a specific deadline for bringing all students to proficiency, a key facet of the current law. The blueprint would also have called for states to set a goal of having all students be proficient on state tests by 2020, as opposed to the 2013-14 school year in current law. But the waiver plan doesn't set a particular end date. Instead, states would still disaggregate data and set performance targets for every school and every student subgroup, and then set "ambitious but achieveable goals". They could set goals, for instance, to cut the achievement gap in half in six years."

6. Colleges Try to Unlock Secrets to Student Retention, by Caralee J. Adams - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/09/21/04college_ep.h31.html via @educationweek -"The gap between access and completion has put a new focus on ramping up retention—the percentage of freshmen who return to the same institution for a second year of college. And that’s a task, observers say, for precollegiate educators as well as their college counterparts. . . . Students’ lack of academic preparation in K-12 and lack of commitment to earning a degree were among the top reasons for attrition, according to the ACT retention survey."

7. No Child Left Behind Waivers for States, by Sam Dillon: http://nyti.ms/nup3sc -"Under the new policy, only those states that have adopted new academic standards that the administration calls “college and career ready” will be eligible to receive the waivers, according to White House documents distributed on Thursday."

8. Single-Sex Education Is Assailed in Report, by Tamar Lewin - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/education/23single.html?src=recg - "It asserts that “sex-segregated education is deeply misguided and often justified by weak, cherry-picked or misconstrued scientific claims rather than by valid scientific evidence.” But the strongest argument against single-sex education, the article said, is that it reduces boys’ and girls’ opportunities to work together, and reinforces sex stereotypes. “Boys who spend more time with other boys become increasingly aggressive,” the article said. “Similarly, girls who spend more time with other girls become more sex-typed.”

9. Highlighting Flow of Military Benefits to For-Profits, Senators Seek Changes in Key Rule, by Kelly Field -http://chronicle.com/article/Senators-Put-Spotlight-on/129127/ - "Under the 90/10 rule, for-profit colleges must receive at least 10 percent of their revenue from nonfederal sources to be eligible to receive federal student aid. But military benefits aren't counted as part of the federal share, so some colleges have courted veterans as a way to ensure their compliance with the rule. To discourage this practice, Democrats—and many veterans groups—want to include military money on the federal side of the formula."

10. Don Quixote, College Choice, and the Myth of Fit, by Mark Moody -http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/don-quixote-college-choice-and-the-myth-of-fit/28781 - "There is a popular slogan posted in many college counseling offices: “College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.” This statement has become a mantra we repeat to families as an antidote to the media-driven obsession with rank, reputation, and prestige. . . . Our colleague Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions and financial aid at Kenyon College, once captured the frustration of a conversation about the whole business of Fit when she exclaimed, “Fit happens!” Happily, this tongue-in-cheek phrase nails it. We hope it can become the new counseling office motto, opening our kids to unexpected possibilities and a more authentic, empowering and reflective transition to the next phase of their lives."

11. A New ‘Poor Students Need Not Apply’ Policy at College? by Brad Tuttle - http://ti.me/oMI8Yd via @TIMEMoneyland - "Many American universities admit that they are actively trying to recruit students who don’t need financial aid and will pay full, non-discounted tuition. Sometimes, these students aren’t as qualified as other applicants, but they get in anyway because they’re willing to pay up."

12. Top 10 myths of college admissions, by Steve Cohen - The Answer Sheet - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/top-10-myths-of-college-admissions/2011/09/22/gIQAEn8XoK_blog.html via Washingtonpost.com -"Unfortunately, many parents are navigating this world wearing blinders. They’re operating on rumor, wishful thinking, or outdated notions of how the system worked when they applied. Let’s address the top 10 myths."

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

7.