165. 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. NCAA football: All dollars, no sense, by Frank Deford - http://bit.ly/dZyc3A /via @SI_24Seven

"Why should any of this be surprising? College football is a billion dollar enterprise now, and everybody involved is making money -- sometimes millions -- except the players themselves."

2. Presidents Plot Push for Aid Changes, by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/hZqEzI

"A 2008 study by the Institute for College Access and Success found that four-year colleges were distributing $3.3 billion in institutional aid to one group of students in excess of those students' proven financial need, while first-year students at those same institutions had $2.4 billion in unmet need over and above their grants, subsidized loans and work study funds."

3. Athletes and Students Graduate Comparably, by David Moltz - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/f4uleP

"Released Thursday by the NCAA, results from a representative, division-wide sample of 115 institutions show that 66 percent of athletes who enrolled as freshmen in 2003 graduated within six years. This is comparable to the 65 percent graduation rate for all students at the 444 Division III member institutions."

4. Verbal Commitments Challenged, by David Moltz - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/gaExv8

"Some coaches of high-profile sports teams occasionally make verbal scholarship offers to potential recruits as early as the eighth grade. For example, last February, a 13-year-old quarterback verbally committed to play football at the University of Southern California. The prospect would most likely not be able to enter college until 2015."

5. 6 Great College Resolutions for the New Year, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/1Z7EwRU

"Many parents focus on getting their teens into college rather than making sure that their children are well prepared to succeed in college. The latter is far more important."

6. Georgia Facing a Hard Choice on Free Tuition, by Kim Severson - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/us/07hope.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

"Part of it is the program’s popularity. A majority of freshmen in Georgia have grades good enough to qualify for Hope, which covers tuition, some books and fees — but not housing costs — at any Georgia university or technical school."

7. Do Legacy Preferences Count More Than Race? by Richard Kahlenberg - http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/do-legacy-preferences-count-more-than-race/28294

‎"How does the 45-percentage-point increase given to primary legacies compare with other preferences such as those for under-represented minorities? Hurwitz’s study doesn’t say. But Bowen and colleagues (using earlier data, from a smaller set of schools and controlling just for SAT scores) found that being an under-represented minority increased one’s chances by 27.7 percentage points."

8. Pittsburgh mentors, money fuel education, by Mary Beth Marklein - http://usat.ly/gv4iIb RT @USATODAY

"It centers on the Pittsburgh Promise, a 3-year-old scholarship — worth up to $40,000 over four years — for public school graduates. Students can use the scholarship at just about any college or trade school in the state. Their only requirements: attend class regularly and maintain a 2.5 grade point average."

9. A Tough Job Outlook, by Scott Jaschik - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/gIjYqu

"For those seeking jobs teaching English or foreign languages, the job market remains bleak -- but what passes for good news may be that the number of openings is flat this year, and isn't dropping further after dramatic declines in the previous two years."

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133. 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. Your Comments on ‘Clicking’ in Class, by Jacques Steinberg http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/clicking-comment/#more-25011

‎"We’ve received a range of responses from readers — particularly teachers and students — on the growing use of remote-control-style “clickers” in classrooms, particularly lecture halls but in smaller classrooms, too. Many of the nearly 100 comments we’ve posted contained strong opinions, but no perspective was dominant."

2. Community Colleges Push Back - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/axW9cy

"The primary difference between the two sectors, the brief says, is oversight. Whereas community colleges are governed by publicly elected or appointed boards of trustees, for-profit institutions are owned “either by individuals, partnerships, or collaboratives or are corporations that may be publicly traded.” Publicly traded for-profit institutions, the brief continues, “have grown in size and prominence and begun to dominate the sector.” For example, in the fall of 2008, 10 of the largest publicly traded institutions enrolled about half of all students in the for-profit sector.The two sectors also serve different populations in different ways. For instance, community colleges have long enrolled the largest number of students of any sector in higher education. In fall 2008, community colleges enrolled 44 percent of all undergraduates in higher education — about 7.3 million students.By comparison, enrollment at for-profit institutions is much lower, but has grown substantially. . . ."

3. Can Less Mean More In College Application Race? by Eric Gorski http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/16/college-admissions-2010_n_784485.html

"As acceptance rates go lower, families feel like they have to make it up with quantity," said Michael Acquilano, college counselor at Staten Island Academy, a private college prep school in New York. "They throw 15 applications out there and see what goes in. "The growth of the Common Application – which makes it possible to apply to more schools with a touch of a button – plus easy online applications and some colleges' aggressive marketing of free "fast apps" that arrive unsolicited in students' mailboxes are all contributing to the rise in applications.Colleges want to boast about how sought-after and selective they are – and possibly move up the U.S. News and World Report rankings that hold sway over so many families. Admissions officers that don't keep numbers up run the risk of unemployment and lower bond ratings for their schools.The result: 23 percent of high school seniors applied to six or more colleges last year, a huge jump from 13 percent in 2000 . . . ."

4. Kicking Unpopular College Majors to the Curb, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/s09UpZR

"We’re talking about a heap of languages such as Italian, Portuguese, Latin, French, and college majors like the Classics and Philosophy. I was reminded of this sad phenomenon this morning when I heard a National Public Radio segment on SUNY Albany, which has decided to axe some of its foreign language offerings."

5. California Court Backs Illegal Immigrant Students, by Ian Lovett http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/us/16immig.html?_r=1&hpw

“This law makes higher education affordable for so many students who have the added difficulty of not being eligible for federal financial aid,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “If they are both ineligible for aid and then face higher tuition rates, it becomes virtually impossible for students to go on to higher education.”

6. Online Enrollment Increases at Highest Rate Ever http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/enrollment-in-online-courses-increases-at-the-highest-rate-ever/28204

"In fall 2009, colleges—including public, nonprofit private, and for-profit private institutions—reported that one million more students were enrolled in at least one Web-based course, bringing the total number of online students to 5.6 million. That unexpected increase—which topped the previous year’s 17-percent rise—may have been helped by higher demand for education in a rocky economy and an uptick in the number of colleges adopting online courses.Although the survey found sustained interest in online courses across all sectors, there was a spike in the number of for-profit institutions—a 20-percent increase over last year—that said online education is critical to their long-term strategies. However, more public colleges than private for-profits—74.9 percent versus 60.5 percent—say it’s part of their long-term plans."

7. Kaplan's CEO Faces Tough Questions From Public-University Leaders, by Paul Fain - http://chronicle.com/article/Kaplans-CEO-Faces-Tough/125405/

"He acknowledged problems had occurred at for-profits, saying he was "personally appalled and embarrassed" by a recent Government Accountability Office investigation that found deceptive recruiting practices on two Kaplan campuses, as well as at other for-profit institutions. Kaplan later suspended enrollments on those campuses. However, Mr. Rosen took issue with the Education Department's proposed "gainful employment" rule, which would cut off federal student aid to programs whose graduates have high debt-to-income ratios and low loan-repayment rates. Mr. Rosen said that the rule would unfairly penalize lower-income students, and that the current proposal had a 99-percent correlation between repayment rates and the percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students at an institution."

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