380. 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. New book says elite black students don't try for high-paying jobs, by Allie Grasgreen Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/saSoWE via AddThis - "Yet, many of the students she interviewed socialized primarily with other black peers. “While black students may derive substantial value from these networks, there is also a considerable downside to their separation from the wider campus community. Racially integrated networks provide access to information otherwise unavailable to these students, including the existence of occupations they had never considered, the awareness of how to obtain training for them, and connections to professionals (white and nonwhite) who possess them.”

3. Poverty Matters, by Peter DeWitt - http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2011/11/poverty_matters.html via @educationweek - "On average, professional parents spoke over 2,000 words per hour to their children, working class parents spoke about 1,300, and welfare mothers spoke about 600. So by age 3, children of professionals had vocabularies that were nearly 50% greater than those of working-class children and twice as large as those of welfare children" (Rothstein, 2004, p. 28)."

4. On Long Island, SAT Cheating Was Hardly a Secret, by JENNY ANDERSON and PETER APPLEBOME: http://nyti.ms/vPRg6d - "In Great Neck, a place where the high-achieving schools are the center of public life, and where high-priced tutors and admissions consultants are routine advantages for the wealthy, educators and parents are mortified that the community’s reputation could be muddied by the SAT scandal. But while it is clear that only a tiny proportion of students at the schools cheated, the scheme came to light only because it was widespread and well known enough that officials at North got wind of it."

5. Consumer Advocate Says States Fall Short in Oversight of For-Profit Colleges, by Goldie Blumenstyk - http://chronicle.com/article/Consumer-Advocate-Says-States/129978/ - "While the federal government and some states have recently increased their regulation of the sector, "only a few states have devoted sufficient resources in recent years to challenge for-profit school abuses and provide relief for students," says the report from the National Consumer Law Center. "Regardless of their views on how best to deliver higher education, all regulators and policy makers should be against ripping off students."

6. What matters most in college admissions — money or merit? by Esther Quintero - The Answer Sheet - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/what-matters-most-in-college-admissions--money-or-merit/2011/11/30/gIQALNKEJO_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_twitter via @washingtonpost - "Money, not only merit, matters in college admissions. According to the survey of 462 directors and managers, in the face of generalized budget cuts, universities are favoring applicants who don’t need financial assistance to pay their tuition.About 22 percent agreed that “the financial downturn [had] forced them to pay more attention to an applicants’ ability to pay when [making] admissions decisions.” Directors acknowledged seeking more candidates who would not need financial aid, including out-of-state and international students. Furthermore, 10 percent of four-year colleges reported that the admitted students who could pay in full had lower grades than their peers who couldn’t."

7. Guest post: In defense of a liberal education, by Christopher Nelson - College, Inc. -http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/guest-post-in-defense-of-a-liberal-education/2011/12/02/gIQAj8plKO_blog.html?tid=sm_btn_twitter via @washingtonpost -"The best educated person today, just as yesterday, is one fully capable of adapting to or taking advantage of changing conditions, precisely because the well-educated adult has integrity of character, a rootedness in essentials, and a self-understanding that makes it possible to live well and consistently in an unpredictable world."

354. 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. Colleges start offering 'midnight classes' for offbeat needs, by Greg Toppo – http://usat.ly/tJVA6H via @USATODAY - "About two-thirds of community college students work full or part time, and colleges are finding that many of their students work late. Others simply do their best work at night, says Community College of Baltimore County (Md.) psychology instructor Joy Goodie."

2. Plan hopes to make student loans more forgiving, by Sandra Block – http://usat.ly/t0bw4p via @USATODAY - "The Obama plan doesn't provide any relief for borrowers who have private student loans, which are issued by private lenders and aren't backed by the federal government, Ryan says. Unlike federal student loans, private loans have variable interest rates that may shoot higher after the borrower graduates. They also lack many of the protections that come with federal loans. Borrowers who are having trouble repaying these loans have few options, other than seeking relief from the lender."

3. Trustees OK pact at YSU, by Virginia Shank - Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH: http://bit.ly/vUhave via AddThis - "Both unions, which represent the university's two largest groups of employees, had been working without contracts since their previous pacts expired in August. YSU-OEA had announced plans to strike in August but called it off in time for classes to start on time Aug. 27."

4. Robert J. Zimmer on the Value of a Liberal Arts Diploma, by Rebecca R. Ruiz: http://nyti.ms/u3PzmX - “There are arguments about the value of liberal arts education. Tuition costs are a major concern. There are financial and political pressures on institutions to show immediate value,” Mr. Zimmer conceded. But, ultimately, he said, such concerns should not obscure the mission of liberal arts institutions: “to help students lead fuller lives and be better citizens.”

5. That Merit-Based Aid Offer Is Final, Universities Insist, by Rebecca R. Ruiz: http://nyti.ms/uP6tYf - "At Purdue University, merit-based financial aid offers are final and nonnegotiable. “We put that on our Web site — in red,” said Pamela Horne, dean of admissions and associate vice provost for enrollment management at Purdue. . . . Ultimately, the panelists agreed that the purpose of merit aid was to help the institution “shape the class,” in Ms. Horne’s words. “People think merit aid is all about rewarding the student,” she said. “Let’s face it – it’s not.” Mr. Nondorf agreed. “Getting in is the reward for all that hard work,” he said."

6. The Student Loan Proposal: What It Might Mean for You, by Mark Kantrowitz: http://nyti.ms/sHTQaM - "To help students avoid borrowing too much, the Obama administration is introducing a standardized financial aid offer form as part of a new “Know Before You Owe” campaign. This form helps students understand how much a college will cost, including how much debt they will have accumulated by the time they’ve graduated."

7. College Prices Continue to Surge Higher, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/blog/college-solution/college-prices-continue-to-surge-higher/7039/ via @cbsmoneywatch - "Among states, California wins the dubious prize of boosting tuition by the greatest percentage. California residents watched helplessly as their tuition and fees jumped 21%. The states with the next highest rate hikes were Arizona (17%) and Washington (16%). States with low tuition increases included Connecticut and South Carolina that raised prices by 2.5%. Clearly, a major factor in mushrooming tuition at public universities is declining support from state governments."

8. College Costs Shifting to Families - http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/26/464787uscollegecostsnlysis_ap.html - "It was a transformation that was, by historical standards, remarkably swift: The decade of the 2000s saw a fundamental shift in how Americans answer the question "Who will pay for college?" More than ever, students and their families must foot the bill at public universities. And that bill is higher than ever.Realizing higher education would be essential to succeed in the emerging economy, Americans aspired and flocked to higher education as never before over the last 10 years. But over that same span, the 50 states did less—much less, factoring in the increased demand—and asked students and parents to do more."

9. Clearing Up Some Confusion About the New Federal Student Loan Rules,by Ron Lieber - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/your-money/student-loans/explaining-new-federal-student-loan-rules.html?_r=1&hpw - "Many questions had to do with whether private loans, the kind that come from banks and often have higher and variable interest rates, are part of these changes. Nothing is changing with those loans. This is crucial, since many of the people in the worst sort of trouble — the ones you’ve read about with six-figure balances — often have both private loans and federal loans. Instead, only those with different kinds of federal loans — an estimated 5.8 million borrowers — will be able to consolidate them into one loan under the new plan and also save themselves a bit of money."

10. Editorial: The Wrong Fix for No Child Left Behind - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/opinion/the-wrong-fix-for-no-child-left-behind.html?src=rechp - "The revised No Child Left Behind Act that passed out of the Senate education committee last week goes too far in relaxing state accountability and federal oversight of student achievement. The business community, civil rights groups and advocates of disabled children are rightly worried that the rewrite of the law would particularly hurt underprivileged children."

11. How Much Student-Loan Debt Is Too Much? by Jeff Selingo -http://chronicle.com/blogs/next/2011/10/26/how-much-student-loan-debt-is-too-much/ - "More than half of the students at public and private four-year colleges are now graduating with debt, according to the College Board. The average per borrower at public colleges is $22,000; at private colleges it’s $28,100. It has been reported that the financial payoff of a bachelor’s degree is $550,000 over a person’s lifetime, so the average level of debt still seems like a good investment."

12. Why College Tuition Should Be Regulated, by Steven Goodman - http://ti.me/uEmjTD via @TIMEIdeas - "Since loans now comprise 70% of financial aid packages, the growing tuition burden falls squarely on student-borrowers who may have saved for college but who still can’t meet the high cost of attendance. Two-thirds of American undergraduates are in debt. This year, student loan debt will grow to more than a trillion dollars, outpacing credit card debt for the first time."

300. 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. Column: Obama should tout fight for minority education, by DeWayne Wickham - http://t.co/8rdfOkq via @USATODAY - "We have launched more investigations than ever before. Much broader, bigger investigations" into whether school officials are unfairly disciplining black kids and shoving them "into the cradle-to-prison pipeline instead of the cradle-to-career pipeline," she told me."

2. Freedom at a Price, by Kevin Kiley - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/pE8Ljj via @AddThis - "While details of the Ohio plan will not be final until Thursday's presentation, a draft of the plan released July 18 calls for immediately freeing all universities from certain regulatory restrictions, such as state health and safety codes, and eliminating enrollment caps. The draft also calls for giving the universities complete control of the management of their employees and exempting them from the purview of the state personnel board of review.
The universities would then be measured annually on a set of metrics that include student outcomes, such as graduation and retention rates; degree production in science, technology, engineering, and math fields; and the percentage of students participating in internship programs, as well as financial measures such as endowment size, affordability measured as a percentage of the consumer price index, and the unallocated cash balance as a percentage of total operating expenses."

3. Value of the Liberal Arts, by Katharine Brooks - http://t.co/iitPEnE - "In today’s Academic Minute, Katharine Brooks of the University of Texas at Austin answers “the question” faced by many college students."

4. Education Management Corporation Accused of Widespread Fraud, by Tamar Lewin: http://nyti.ms/qsJS2E - "The Department of Justice and four states on Monday filed a multibillion-dollar fraud suit against the Education Management Corporation, the nation’s second-largest for-profit college company, charging that it was not eligible for the $11 billion in state and federal financial aid it had received from July 2003 through June 2011.Education Management, which is based in Pittsburgh and is 41 percent owned by Goldman Sachs, enrolls about 150,000 students in 105 schools operating under four names: Art Institute, Argosy University, Brown Mackie College and South University. In a statement Monday, the company denied any wrongdoing."

5. Kaplan Revenue Down 29% in Second Quarter - http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/kaplan-revenue-down-29-in-second-quarter/35148 - "The decline comes at a time when federal agencies and state legislators are more strictly regulating recruitment practices at for-profit colleges, and are increasingly holding them accountable for their graduates’ ability to find employment and repay their loans. As a result of those restrictions, as well as what the company calls “generally lower demand,” new enrollments dropped 47 percent from the second quarter last year."

6. Nonprofit Group Says CA Latinos Crucial to National Degree-Attainment Goals, by Molly Redden - http://chronicle.com/article/Nonprofit-Group-Says/128558/ - "Unless California is able to increase the number of its Latinos with college degrees, the United States will fall short of having the world's highest proportion of college graduates by 2020, according to the advocacy group Excelencia in Education. . . . Excelencia found that while first-time, full-time white college students complete degrees at a rate of about 47 percent, the same group of Latino students attain credentials at a rate of only about 35 percent."

7. #College101: Freshman year bucket list, by Jenna Johnson - Campus Overload - http://t.co/v7UEBbH via @washingtonpost - "Last week I shared a list of tips for surviving freshman year and asked you to share your tips for incoming freshmen . . . . The response was overwhelming. I combed through hundreds of tips and edited them into this 50-item “bucket list.” I suggest that you print it out, tape it to the back of your closet door and cross things off as you do them."

8. Top 10 Most Athletic Colleges - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/top-10-most-athletic-coll_n_921913.html#s325405&title=1_Stanford_Cardinals6615 - "Our friends at CampusSplash crunched the numbers to figure out the 25 most athletic colleges in the United States. They looked at everything from number of sports, to number of titles, program revenue and more. Below check out a slideshow of the top 10 schools . . . ."

255.Unstack the Odds--GO TO COLLEGE: LINKS

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

by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

20. GO TO COLLEGE: LINKS

Here are some more links to articles of interest, drawn from the Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP) blog, with the original posting number shown.

Miscellaneous (continued):

76. Higher-Education Data
What percentage of various groups in the U.S. graduates from high school? Goes to college? Earns a degree? This article by Erik W. Robelen for Education Week, posted on May 14, 2010, presents these data on higher education, at this link:http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/05/19/32census.h29.html?tkn=RTVF%2B%2BRyRRrQ8MnT0wDe%2F3UOs8Y%2Bn3KgCprJ&cmp=clp-edweek

77. Do You Need to Go to College?
Students sometimes inquire, "Do I need to go to college?" Or, put another way, they ask: "Can I get a good job without a college degree?" Jacques Steinberg, a writer for The New York Times, addresses these questions in his article, dated 5/14/10, at this link:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/weekinreview/16steinberg.html?pagewanted=1

79. Non-traditional College Students
Many college students today are not 18 year-olds, fresh out of high school; they're over 20, work (full- or part-time), and are often parents. For these non-traditional students, earning a college degree can mean overcoming many obstacles to graduate. Read an article from USA Today on non-traditional students at this link:http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/degrees-of-difficulty.htm

82. What to Take to College
Freshmen often wonder what to take to college. Some take too much, while others don't take enough. Like the three bears, aim for just right--because your space will be limited! To see an Off-to-College Checklist of The College Board, click this link:http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/college-success/9763.html

And don't forget: you may be able to save money on many items you'll need for your college dorm room by picking them up at yard & garage sales!

87. Retention Rate
According to the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences, a college's retention rate is "the percentage of first-time students who are seeking bachelor's degrees who return to the institution to continue their studies the following fall." Retention rate is regarded as an important statistic relating to student success in college. To discover the retention rate of a U.S. college or university, click the link below, then type in the school's name to search for it; finally, click on "retention and graduation rates."http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

To see the retention rates of students having differing ACT scores and admitted to colleges with varying rates of selectivity, consult the ACT report "National Collegiate Retention and Persistence to Degree Rates" at this link:http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2009.pdf

88. Is College the Key to Success?
In America, we hear that getting a good education--particularly, earning a college degree--will lead to career success. Today, more and more people are entering college; they are expecting an economic payoff. But is this expectation realistic? Ann Larson examines "the education gospel" in her post, dated June 3, 2010, for Inside Higher Ed entitled "Higher Education's Big Lie;" you can read her views at this link:http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/06/03/larson

89. World's Best Universities?
If you wonder which country has the highest-rated universities in the world, you're not alone. Apparently, others wonder, too. U.S. News & World Report ranked 400 of the "World's Best Universities" in 2010; to see its list, hit this link:http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-universities/2010/02/25/worlds-best-universities-top-400.html?PageNr=1

90. Graduation Rates in U.S.
To find out "Student Success Highlights" (i.e., retention rate, four-year graduation rate, five-year graduation rate, and six-year graduation rate) of any college or university in the United States, check out a website of The Education Trust called "College Results Online." (You can also compare success statistics for various schools.) Access the site at this link:http://www.collegeresults.org/

91. Value in a Liberal Arts Education?
During this challenging economic climate, students and parents expect college to aid one's career. Consequently, they often seek majors, programs, and degrees that will lead directly to a specific job--and a well-paying one, at that. Nonetheless, defenders of a liberal arts education still emphasize its value; to see why, read this post by Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University, entitled "Coming to the Defense of Liberal Education," at this link:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-roth/coming-to-the-defense-of_b_605899.html

92. Academic Progress Rate (APR)
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires member colleges and universities to submit information on all sports teams competing in Division I. These data indicate student-athletes' eligibility and retention during a previous four-year period; the most recent APR is based on statistics from the 2005-06 through 2008-09 school years. If a team's APR is less than 925 (of 1,000), it can face penalties, including loss of scholarships or limits on practice time. Teams having an APR lower than 900 for several years can be penalized by being banned from postseason play--including bowl games. To search the Academic Progress Rate for schools of interest, click this NCAA link: http://web1.ncaa.org/maps/aprRelease.jsp

93. Proportion of Adults, 25-34, with College Degrees
The U.S. national average for the proportion of adults (ages 25-34) holding college degrees is 37.8%; in Ohio, however, the figure is below that--at 36.4%. To see the percentage for any state, you can access an interactive map from The Chronicle of Higher Education at this link:http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Map-Proportion-of/65009/

94. U.S. Senate Hearings on For-Profit Higher Education
On June 24, 2010, Chairman Tom Harkin opened hearings by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on for-profit higher education. At the outset, a report was issued; to read this document, "Emerging Risk?: An Overview of Growth, Spending, Student Debt and Unanswered Questions in For-Profit Higher Education," copy and paste this link:http://harkin.senate.gov/documents/pdf/4c23515814dca.pdf

96. College Return on Investment (ROI)
With tuitions up and jobs scarce, it is understandable to question whether college is really worth it. To help quantify this decision, some have applied the concept of return on investment (ROI). According to The Huffington Post, "ROI takes the price of a school's degree and compares it to how much that school's graduates earn on average, producing perhaps the truest measure of a school's value." To see which U.S. colleges have the highest ROI, click this link:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/college-biggest-payoff_n_628127.html

To find out which college in each state has the highest ROI, click this link to Business Week:http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/06/0628_payscale1/index.htm

99. From Access to Success
Providing students access to higher education used to be the goal of many organizations. Today, however, emphasis is being placed on student success in college--that is, graduating. To read the report "From Access to Success," released by Grantmakers for Education on July 22, 2010, click this link:http://edfunders.org/downloads/GFEReports/GFE_FromAccessToSuccess_FundersGuide.pdf

172. 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. Report: First two years of college show small gains, by Mary Beth Marklein - http://usat.ly/eajgcx - RT @USATODAY

"After two years in college, 45% of students showed no significant gains in learning; after four years, 36% showed little change. Students also spent 50% less time studying compared with students a few decades ago, the research shows."

2. Can college students learn as well on iPads, e-books? by Mary Beth Marklein - http://usat.ly/cWw5WH - RT @USATODAY

"Compared with traditional textbooks, the iPad and other devices for reading digital bookshave the potential to save on textbook costs in the long term, to provide students with more and better information faster, and — no small matter — to lighten the typical college student's backpack."

3. Part 5: Answers to Readers' Questions on Financial Aid, by Mark Kantrowitz - http://nyti.ms/gCr1LA

"Most parent assets are sheltered by the need analysis formula, and the worst-case impact is a reduction of up to 5.64 percent of the asset. Money in the student’s name, on the other hand, reduces aid eligibility by 20 percent of the asset value."

4. Part 6: Answers to Readers’ Questions on Financial Aid, by Mark Kantrowitz - http://nyti.ms/eViPpM

"The asterisk next to your EFC means that your Fafsa has been selected for verification. The college will ask you for copies of the documents corresponding to the information submitted on the Fafsa, such as a copy of your federal income tax return and W-2 and 1099 statements. The purpose of verification is to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on the Fafsa. It is not the same as an audit."

5. Last of 7 Parts: Answers to Readers’ Questions on Financial Aid, by Mark Kantrowitz - http://nyti.ms/fZRh0O

"If a dependent student’s parent fails to file a required federal income tax return, the Fafsa will be rejected and the student will be ineligible for federal student aid until the parents file their tax returns. Likewise, if the parents provide some income figures on the Fafsa but are unable to supply a federal income tax return when the Fafsa is selected for verification, the student will be ineligible for federal student aid if their income is above the threshold at which a federal income tax return is required."

6. How Much Do College Students Learn, and Study? by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/ieTUIA

"They note, for example, that students “who spent more hours studying alone” had greater gains on the standardized exam being used as a benchmark, as did students who took courses requiring “significant” reading and writing."

7. The Growth of For-Profits, by Scott Jaschik - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/evB8sW

"The rise in the for-profit sector is not the only notable shift. Within the category of "undergraduate instructional program," the new edition shows the shift among institutions toward a greater pre-professional focus. There was an increase of 115 institutions -- or 17 percent -- in the grouping of institutions that (while having some liberal arts offerings) awarded more than 60 percent of their bachelor’s degrees in professional fields."

8. 'Academically Adrift,' by Scott Jaschik - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/f8Kc4j

‎"Students majoring in liberal arts fields see "significantly higher gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over time than students in other fields of study." Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the smallest gains."

9. 4 Hints to Avoid Missing Scholarship Deadlines, by Matt Konrad - The Scholarship Coach (usnews.com): http://t.co/63SymAr

"Virtually every scholarship has its own deadline, and it can seem like there's no rhyme or reason to when they fall—all of which makes keeping track of them turn into more work than applying. Fortunately, there are some good tools and useful rules of thumb that can help keep you on track:"

10. 9 Ways To Save On Textbooks - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/9-ways-to-save-on-textboo_n_809905.html#s224991&title=OpenSource_It

‎"There are ways to avoid the insanely expensive textbook trap. . . . here are nine things you can do to save money . . . ."

11. Study Suggests U.S. Colleges Fail to Challenge Undergrads, by Caralee Adams - http://t.co/cW8qr8E

"When freshman were interviewed for the study, they often said they were were surprised at how easy college was. They also were often driven more by getting a degree than by obtaining knowledge. "Students have become increasingly obsessed with the idea of a credential that can be traded for labor market success," Arum said. "They are finding ways to navigate the system with minimal effort."

12. Carnegie Class Update Shows Boom in For-Profit and Professional Ed, by Scott Carlson -http://chronicle.com/article/Carnegie-Classification-Update/125982/

"Since 2005, when the foundation last made major revisions in its classification system and updated its list, it has added 483 institutions, for a total of 4,633. Of those new institutions, 77 percent were private, for-profit entities, while 4 percent were public and 19 percent were private, nonprofit. (The vast majority of the new for-profit institutions were two-year colleges.)"

13. 'Trust Us' Won't Cut It Anymore, by Kevin Carey - http://chronicle.com/article/Trust-Us-Wont-Cut-It/125978/

"The results for black students were particularly sobering. It turns out that the racial achievement gaps that shock the conscience in K-12 education get worse when students go to college."

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124. 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 College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think, by Zac Bissonnette - http://nyti.ms/atSuAa

"A University of Texas at Austin professor, Daniel Hamermesh, researched career earnings data sorted by choice of major and concluded that: Perceptions of the variations in economic success among graduates in different majors are exaggerated. Our results imply that given a student’s ability, achievement and effort, his or her earnings do not vary all that greatly with the choice of undergraduate major. A study conducted by PayScale Inc. found that history majors who pursued careers in business ended up earning, on average, just as much as business majors."

2. Veterans, Less Engaged but Satisfied - Inside Higher Ed http://t.co/7N0QQKM

"The veterans are predominantly male and more likely than non-veterans to be "older, enrolled part-time, first-generation students, transfer students, and distance learners." Also, they are twice as likely as non-veterans to report "at least one disability." Finally, veterans are less likely to attend what the survey deems "baccalaureate arts and sciences colleges" and "the most research-intensive doctorate-granting universities" than their peers. Most enroll in medium and large master's degree-granting institutions. Despite the fact that they spend as much time studying as their non-veteran peers, veterans do not "participate equally in other forms of engagement," even when the surveyors statistically control for certain demographic traits and institutional characteristics. For instance, freshman and senior veterans reported that they are "less engaged with faculty" and perceive "less campus support" than non-veterans."

3. 11 Best-Value Liberal Arts Colleges: Kiplinger List http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/best-value-liberal-arts-kiplinger_n_777108.html

‎"Kiplinger relied on data from Peterson's, whittling down its final lists down from 600 schools and reviewing each for value based on quality, competitiveness and cost, among other factors.Below, check out the 11 best values in liberal arts colleges, and see the Kiplinger website for a sortable lis of schools, which includes a complete data profile for each college. Does your school rank? Share your thoughts and reactions below."

4. Internships: Opportunity or Obstacle for Low-Income Students? by Michael Laracy - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-laracy/internships-gateway-to-op_b_777951.html

"But many internships today create or perpetuate serious inequalities, especially for students from families of modest means. Because so many internships are unpaid, the current system favors students from wealthier families. Unpaid internships require students to forego wages and finance a living without a paycheck, putting them out of reach for many low-income students."

5. College Admission Cheat Sheet: 8 Things Seniors Need To Do Now, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/Ra1KDw0

"To help keep your sanity during these hectic weeks, here’s a college admission cheat sheet that includes eight things you should be be doing now:"

6. Tax-Credit Changes Could Broaden Access to College, by Caralee Adams - http://t.co/kdFoNFP

‎"Last year, the federal stimulus package gave families a welcome break with the creation of the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This temporarily replaced and expanded the Hope Credit from the 1990s. Now families can claim a $2,500 credit, instead of $1,800—and claim it for four years instead of two. The credit also applies to course-related expenses, such as books and supplies rather than just tuition and fees. The AOTC also made the credit partially refundable—allowing low- and moderate-income families to receive a credit of up to $1,000. This means that families could get an upfront payment, regardless of whether they had a tax liability. To expand access to more low-income students, Huelsman proposes the credit be fully refundable and allow families to use that money to invest in 529 college-savings plans when the child enters 8th grade. This way, families could seed accounts with tax credits and have four years to build up their balances before their child enters college."

7. Major & Veteran Status Affect Students' Experience in College, Survey Finds - by Sara Lipka http://chronicle.com/article/Choice-of-MajorVeteran/125254/

‎"The report examines what it calls educationally purposeful activities and high-impact practices, finding that they vary significantly by major. About half of all seniors, for example, participate in service learning, but three-quarters of nursing and physical-education majors do. One-third of students complete a senior project, whereas half of history and political-science majors do. And half of all seniors have held internships, compared with three in four education and journalism majors and two in five accounting and business-administration majors. Business-administration students, according to the report, do more class presentations and group projects but are less likely to discuss career plans with faculty than students in three other popular majors: biology, English, and psychology. English majors most often discuss ideas with professors outside class, and psychology majors are most likely to engage in "reflective learning. . . ."

8. As Late as April, Students Choosing a College Still Think of Stretching to Pay -http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/even-in-april-plans-to-stretch-to-pay-for-college/27664

"Richard A. Hesel, a principal of the Art & Science Group, said he was consistently surprised by how unrealistic students and families can be about college costs.That families are willing to stretch to pay for college can be a retention risk, Mr. Hesel said. “Institutions have to work much harder to monitor what’s going on with students and stay in touch.”The students who responded in April were more likely to have discussed the cost of college with their parents than those surveyed in the winter, and they were more likely to have considered net cost. But they still did not have a sense of what their education might cost in the long run: Nearly 40 percent said they had “no idea” what their likely monthly payment on student loans would be after graduation."

9. Bridge Programs for Underprepared Adults Could Improve College Completion, by Jennifer Gonzalez http://chronicle.com/article/Bridge-Programs-for/125260/

"Fifty-seven percent of adults in bridge programs possess educational skills below the 10th-grade level, with 19 percent having skills below the sixth-grade level. Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents said people who complete their programs are likely to enroll in further education or training within six months. Sixty percent of respondents report that they structure their programs in a "learning by doing" format. By 2018, the report said, two-thirds of the jobs in the American economy will require a postsecondary credential. At the same time, says the National Commission on Adult Literacy, 80 million to 90 million adult workers have low basic skills and are not prepared for those jobs because they lack a high-school degree or its equivalent. Low-skilled adults represent a huge potential reservoir of workers to meet the future work-force needs of employers, Mr. Alssid said."

10. Will John Boehner Be Good for Education? by Andrew J. Rotherham http://bit.ly/aLjB73

"As a result of his policy initiatives, Boehner is well regarded by many in the education community. Though he started his career as a bomb-thrower, he evolved into someone even Democrats describe as a sincere legislator interested in practical solutions to education problems. He's "very adult, in the sense that he's a tough negotiator, but he realized always where he needed to find middle ground and was willing to reach that middle ground after making his case," observes Charlie Barone, a former top education aide to George Miller, the current chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Boehner headed that committee from 2001 to 2006, and his rise to chairman highlights his formidable political skills and tenacity — he'd been booted out of the House leadership in the 1990s."

11. Read The Joe Rottenborn Daily for today's top stories on college admissions/financial aid in newsletter form - http://paper.li/rottenbornj

91. Value in a Liberal Arts Education?

During this challenging economic climate, students and parents expect college to aid one's career. Consequently, they often seek majors, programs, and degrees that will lead directly to a specific job--and a well-paying one, at that. Nonetheless, defenders of a liberal arts education still emphasize its value; to see why, read this post by Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University, entitled "Coming to the Defense of Liberal Education," at this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-roth/coming-to-the-defense-of_b_605899.html