293. 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. Colleges boost student fees to fill gaps in state funding, by Mary Beth Marklein - http://t.co/a1pYDOo via @USATODAY - "Colleges are tacking on mandatory student fees at a time when state funding is dwindling and public universities are trying to hold the line on tuition."

2. Pell as a Paycheck, by Libby A. Nelson - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/pHk5gG - "Many students use the check to pay for their books, or to buy a laptop or other equipment to use during their studies. For others, it covers living expenses while they are enrolled. A new project from the Institute for College Access and Success and MDRC, a policy research organization, wants to use the leftover money in a different way: as a biweekly paycheck for students."

3. Promoting Educational Opportunity: The Pell Grant Program at Community Colleges - http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Pages/pb07212011.aspx - "In this brief, we examine the historical and programmatic nature of the Pell Grant program and investigate how it has come to form trends over time. Underlying the examination is the use and importance of the program to college students, with a focus on those attending community colleges."

4. Obscure Colleges That Produce Highly Paid Graduates, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/rhG743d via @cbsmoneywatch - "If you look at the schools producing the highest paid graduates, many of them are earning diplomas from places that you’ve never heard of. . . . You don’t have to attend a top university to earn a great salary. What you major in can be even more important than where you get that degree."

5. Debt Ceiling Victims: Colleges Could Be Forced to Close, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/flG1YFb via @cbsmoneywatch - “If Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling, the government will not be able to make new federal education loans and it is very likely that all other federal student aid programs, including the Pell Grant, will be eliminated. Most colleges would be forced to lay off some faculty and staff and many colleges would be forced to close. It would be nothing short of a national disaster, and one of man-made origin.”

6. A Sleepaway Camp Where Math Is the Main Sport, by Rachel Cromidas - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/nyregion/a-sleepaway-camp-for-low-income-ny-math-whizzes.html?_r=1&hpw - "She and 16 other adolescents are spending three weeks at Bard College here in a free, new camp for low-income students gifted in mathematics. All are entering eighth grade at New York City public middle schools where at least 75 percent of the student body is eligible for free lunches. And all love math."

7. Summer learning program seeks to close opportunity gap, by Emma Brown -http://t.co/P9F7muI via @washingtonpost - “There’s a real disconnect between how much we know about the negative impact of summer learning loss and what is actually being done in terms of policy and programming,” he said. “We spend nine months, from September through May or June, devoting enormous amounts of time and energy — not to mention resources — to promoting student achievement and learning. And then we step away for three months and allow a good portion of those gains to be lost.”

8. The 13 Worst-Paying College Majors: PayScale List - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/28/the-13-worst-paying-colle_n_911809.html#s317428&title=Children_and_Family - "Salary data site PayScale calculated the dirt on the best and worst-paying college degrees in their annual salary survey and, according to its findings, the latter career paths include things having to do with art, children and social services."

9. Common App available Aug 1st, by Jolyn Brand - http://t.co/o2kWjJj - "This year, the Common Application will be available on Aug 1st for students applying to college admissions Fall 2012. The most obvious change is the addition of a word requirement to the personal statements. Students will now be limited to 500 words.Other changes include questions about language proficiency, parents' marital status will now have an option for 'civil unions", and revised language on disciplinary problems.The Common App will also be avaiable via smartphone!"

292. 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. The Problem With In-State Tuition, by Roger Pielke Jr. - http://chronicle.com/article/The-Problem-With-In-State/128371/ - ". . . Of Colorado-Boulder's approximately 26,000 undergraduates, two-thirds are Colorado residents who will pay about $7,700 in tuition for the 2011-12 school year. The other third—out-of-state residents—will pay about $29,000 per year. The result is that almost two-thirds of the university's total tuition revenue comes from one-third of its students. Thus, the financial viability of the institution depends upon securing a large proportion of nonresidents, which creates incentives to favor their admission. That is contrary to the very purpose of in-state tuition, which is to favor Colorado residents."

2. Calif. law opens private aid to illegal students - http://t.co/ULwe67B via @USATODAY -"Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a bill that will let students who entered the country illegally receive private financial aid at California's public colleges, even as debate continues over a more contentious bill that would allow access to public funding."

3. Top Chef Dreams: Are Cooking Schools a Rip-Off? by Kayla Webley - http://t.co/HiruKHW via @TIME - "And the students flocking to attend culinary schools are paying a pretty penny. According to data recently released by the Department of Education, tuition at a culinary school can run students upward of $30,000. For example, the Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) branch in Orlando charges $35,130 for its 21-month associates degree in Culinary Arts. Thanks in part to that hefty price tag, LCB's parent company, the aforementioned Career Education Corporation, has seen their profits balloon. Last year the company reported a revenue of $1.84 billion, a 63% increase from 2007.
But the numbers aren't as good for students at culinary schools. Many enroll sold on the idea of being a chef, but wake up to the harsh reality of low-paying line cook jobs and mountains of debt upon graduation."

4. Where private foundations award education cash, by Valerie Strauss - The Answer Sheet - http://t.co/PjIIjmD via @washingtonpost - "If the foundations were supporting policies that were known to be successful, there would likely be a lot less angst at their unprecedented — and in some cases, hands-on — involvement in federal education policy, but they aren’t. That they are pursuing strategies that are not helpful and are in some areas harmful makes their questionable involvement even worse."

5. The Most Insane Cut, by Jose Cruz - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jose-cruz/pell-grant-cuts_b_906529.html - "I call it the most insane cut. Why? By age 24, the children of the wealthy are 10 times more likely to have a college degree than the children of the poor. Over the past three decades, college tuition and fees have grown at four times the rate of inflation. Against that alarming backdrop, Pell remains an essential ladder for hard-working students of modest means who seek a degree, a better life, and a chance to contribute to their communities."

6. An Introduction To Student Loans And The FAFSA, by Ross Williams - http://t.co/FX6FEqC via @sfgate - "In the United States the federal government acts as a central point in accessing financial aid for education. Therefore, for any type of financial aid (loans, grants, work-study or even parental loans) you must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) . . . . You must also fill out an FAFSA form if you wish to apply for most state and school funded programs including college loans, state-funded grants and tuition assistance initiatives."

291. Summer College News

Here are some links to today's stories
about college access and success.
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

290. 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. Separate but Equal? by Scott Jaschik - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/p7xxKG - "But part of Peace College's announcement was quite different from the pattern: the college announced that once it admits men, some courses will remain single sex. The official announcement said that "the new coeducational institution will continue to be student-centered. One way is ... to offer select single-gender courses in targeted disciplines where research shows that women and men learn differently and that each benefit from a single-gender classroom. As a coeducational institution, all classes will be accessible to all students."

2. Does Performance Funding Work? by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/qg9Cur - "Based on that premise, several states -- including Ohio and Indiana -- have altered their formulas for allocating state funds in recent years, but those programs are too new to offer any evidence of their efficacy. But several other states have had performance-funding programs in place for much longer, and in a paper released this spring at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, two scholars studied Tennessee's -- the country's "oldest and most stable performance funding program" -- for insights into how such programs affect retention and graduation rates. Not very much, the authors report."

3. 20 Things High School Seniors Should Be Doing Now, by Lynn O'Shaughnessy - http://t.co/pogJ1cX via @cbsmoneywatch - "Time is running out for high school seniors, who will soon be overwhelmed with college applications. Teenagers will be less stressed if they take advantage of the last month of summer to get a jump on the college admission process. Here are 20 things they can be doing now:"

4. College Bound: Efforts to Save Pell Grants From Cuts Ramp Up, by Caralee Adams - http://t.co/8L2sC2j via @educationweek - "Advocates have dubbed July 25 "Save Pell Day" to draw attention to potential reductions in the federal program that gives grants to needy students to attend college. A website dedicated to the cause encourages supporters to send elected officials tweets and emails asking them to fund the $5,550 maximum Pell Grant. The site also asks students to use blogs and Facebook to share information on the potential impact of Pell cuts."

5. South Korea to Replace All Paper Textbooks With Digital Content http://t.co/VKOLwHd via @educationweek - "France, Singapore, Japan and others are racing to create classrooms where touch-screens provide instant access to millions of pieces of information. But South Korea—Asia's fourth-largest economy—believes it enjoys an advantage over these countries, with kids who are considered the world's savviest navigators of the digital universe."

6. Amazon to Start Renting Out Electronic College Textbooks, by Christopher F. Schuetze - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25iht-EDUCBRIEFS25.html?src=recg - "The company announced last week that electronic versions of textbooks would be available for rent for periods of between 30 and 360 days. Once books are rented, the lending period can be extended by as little as a day. “Tens of thousands of textbooks are available for the 2011 school year,” according to a press release from Amazon, from publishers including John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. Amazon claims that rentals can save students up to 80 percent compared with the original price.

7. R.O.I., By Cecilia Capuzzi Simon - http://nyti.ms/pmJSnr - "So as a strictly financial calculation, does the investment pay off? . . . But if schools of applied learning aren’t asking the tough questions about the financials of a degree, potential students should, says Anthony P. Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. “No one’s telling them what it’s worth. Certainly the colleges aren’t.”

8. Web restrictions draw ire of some educators, by Greg Toppo - http://usat.ly/olF2kS via @USATODAY - "Filtering software and school rules designed to keep out violence and pornography are also blocking key educational and otherwise useful sites, teachers say, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — not to mention Google and National Geographic."

9. Why ‘no excuses’ makes no sense: Revisiting the Coleman report, by Gary Ravani - The Answer Sheet - http://t.co/07F3tn0 via @washingtonpost - "Perhaps the single best-known piece of social science research ever done in this country is the study produced by sociologist James Coleman in 1966 under the authority of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, commonly called “the Coleman Report.” Coleman’s work is the second largest social science research project in history, covering 600,000 children in 4,000 schools nationally. Coleman concluded that school-based poverty concentrations were negatively impacting school achievement for the minority poor."

10. Action steps can close racial gap, by Donna Y. Ford http://t.co/xeTRwIr via @Tennessean"The pervasive achievement gap is the greatest problem facing schools."

11. Racial gap hinders academic progress, by Dwight Lewis http://t.co/tUiz7Wn via @Tennessean - “Some individuals in this country still believe that the achievement gap exists because children of certain backgrounds — namely, low-income or minority children — are inherently less capable than others,” Jason Kamras, the 2005 National Teacher of the Year, has written. “Nothing could be more false.”

12. Consumer Corner: What's a college degree worth? Plenty. by Marcella S. Kreiter - http://t.co/cjjbQIc via @upi_top - "The bottom line is that getting a degree matters, but what you take matters more," said Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce. Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney of The Hamilton Project agree. "Higher education is a much better investment than almost any other alternative, even for the 'Class of the Great Recession' (young adults ages 23-24)," they said on the project's Web site. "In today's tough labor market, a college degree dramatically boosts the odds of finding a job and making more money. . . ."

289. 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. Numbers to Say No, by Kevin Kiley - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/mSiquY - "By tracking data related to financial aid appeals, the financial aid office at Nazareth College found that students enrolled at the same rates (or even slightly higher rates) when their appeals were denied as when the appeals were accepted. That finding has emboldened the office to reject certain appeals and reallocate money to students whose decisions really do hinge on financial questions. It also highlights a trend of "frivolous" appeals by families who don't actually need the money."

2. For-Profit Debate Redux, by Libby A. Nelson - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/oT9zsp - "But in the Senate, debate about the for-profit sector marches on, driven by Senator Tom Harkin. The Iowa Democrat held a roundtable discussion with some for-profit college critics -- and the leaders of two private-sector colleges, including DeVry Inc.-- on Thursday, a three-hour forum that seemed to indicate that he would pursue additional legislative regulation of for-profit colleges."

3. College-going inches up from Chicago high schools, by Sarah Karp - http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/index.php/entry/1199/College-going_inches_up_from_Chicago_high_schools - "The move also shined a bright light on the stark reality of how few graduates went straight to college. In 2004, only 43.5 percent of graduates enrolled in college the following fall. Since then, the percentage has gone up each year. Of 2010 graduates, 55.7 percent enrolled, up from 54.4 percent in 2009."

4. Politics K-12: New Initiative Targets 'School-to-Prison' Pipeline, by Nirvi Shah - http://t.co/UDpeoNU via @educationweek - "A new undertaking from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education targets school discipline policies that end up pushing children into the juvenile-justice system for crimes and rule-breaking on campus—and keeping them from pursuing their education."

5. The Case Against Law School - Room for Debate, The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/07/21/the-case-against-law-school?hp - "Law school tuition is rising four times as fast as the cost of an undergraduate degree, which itself is soaring. Despite the high price, students are still flocking to law schools, even if it means going into heavy debt to enter a tight job market with few top-paying openings."

6. For-Profit Allies and Critics Discuss Ideas for Improving the Sector, by Kelly Field - http://chronicle.com/article/For-Profit-AlliesCritics/128364/ - "The proposal met with support from Holly Petraeus, director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs in the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who said for-profits often view veterans and service members as "dollar signs wearing a uniform." ". . . . The sad truth is that a lot of them are signing up based on advertising and word of mouth," she said. If the colleges "wrap themselves in the flag and say they cater to the military, they get picked."

7. College presidents, students lobby to keep Pell Grant funding, by Jenna Johnson - Campus Overload - http://t.co/1ynP8OW via @washingtonpost - "This week, dozens of university presidents, students and education advocates are on the Hill to persuade lawmakers to protect Pell Grants. Monday has been designated as “Save Pell Day” by the Education Trust, a nonprofit focused on closing education achievement gaps."

8. Hechinger Report New efforts to raise U.S. college graduation rates, by Jon Marcus: http://bit.ly/pqDTba - "The graduation problem isn’t generally evident at elite colleges and universities, both private and public, whose graduation rates are comparatively high. It’s concentrated at community colleges and lower-tier public universities, which enroll most of America’s students. Such institutions increasingly serve the fastest-growing segment of American college enrollment: low-income, nonwhite, non-native-English-speaking students who are the first in their families to go to college. Community colleges enroll much higher percentages of students who work full or part time and are considered at risk for dropping out—and who are also more likely to have children at home and have interrupted their education, in some cases for years. In addition, the vast majority arrive unprepared for college-level work, with 60 percent or more steered into remedial education, according to Thomas Bailey, director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University."

9. Schools’ equity efforts are promising, by Ruth Adkins - http://www.portlandtribune.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=131119485031541300 -"However, with the new Cradle to Career coalition, an unprecedented collaborative effort is under way among schools, local governments, nonprofits and the business community. The goal is that by aligning existing city, county, and private programs and resources, we can, as a community, help give Portland’s children the best possible chance for success."

288. 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. The Next Gate, by Jacques Steinberg - http://nyti.ms/oyZSoM - "As students contemplate graduate school, their frame of reference is likely the only admissions process most have ever known: the jagged maze they followed to college as high school seniors. There are some fundamental differences between the two processes — the weeding out of grad school applicants is largely the responsibility of faculty, for example, not a centralized admissions office; and there is nothing like the Common Application (except for law school, which has a universal form). But students should take comfort in the many parallels with college admissions."

2. In College, Without a Home, by Libby A. Nelson - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/oIFMmW - "The population is also growing, she said. The number of homeless youth has increased 69 percent in the past two years, to 1.6 million. Some are runaways; others are from chaotic family situations, maintaining contact with parents and siblings but spending the majority of nights on friends’ couches or in cars or mobile homes."

3. Paths to the Bachelor's Degree, by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/ouCqN3 - "Bachelor's degree recipients in 2007-8 who began their postsecondary educations at a community college took almost 20 percent longer to complete their degrees than did those who started out at a four-year institution, those who began at four-year private colleges finished faster than did those at four-year public and for-profit institutions, and those who delayed entry into college by more than a year out of high school took almost 60 percent longer to complete their degrees than did those who went directly to college."

4. 5 Myths of Remedial Education, by Jane V. Wellman and Bruce Vandal - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/qtNqzl - "And everyone admits that remedial education is not working, with just 25 percent of community college students who receive it going on to complete a college credential. Recognizing that increasing college attainment is a linchpin in creating more jobs and growing the economy, what to do about remedial education is an issue that would benefit from clear thinking. Here are five powerful myths shared by policy makers and educators alike that clearly hinder our pursuit of college success."

5. What Are Some Mistakes to Avoid in the College Admissions Process? by Unigo - http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-experts/2011/07/20/what-are-some-mistakes-to-avoid-in-the-college-admissions-process - "For those of you who don't have older siblings, hearing about mistakes other college-bound students have made can be a huge time saver. Take a look at some of these mistakes that are completely avoidable, and if you have some of your own, share them in the comment section below!"

6. Report finds 2 of 4 tests in ACT poor predictors of college success, by Jay Mathews-Class Struggle - http://t.co/gnCRVfY via @washingtonpost - "An independent analysis of results in Ohio has concluded that two of the ACT’s four subject tests — Reading and Science — are lousy predictors of college success and should be ignored by admissions officers . . . . “Our model predicts that a student who gets an ACT composite score of 24 by getting a 26 on the Reading and Science tests and a 22 each on the Mathematics and English tests is 59 percent more likely to be a first-year dropout and 43 percent more likely to drop out by the third year of college, relative to a student who gets the same ACT composite of 24, but with a 26 each on the Mathematics and English tests and a 22 each on the Reading and Science tests,” the report said."

7. Learning to Feel Lucky to be in College, by Julia Bumke - http://t.co/hnc6JcL via @voastudentu - "One of the lessons that has really hit home for me is how many American students dismiss college because they cannot see how to navigate it financially. I came from a high school background where students who did not attend college were exceptions to the rule, but that ratio is entirely inverted with the students at ACCESS. The majority of the students working with nonprofits like ACCESS were on the fence about attending college before they met an advisor at their high school or community group."

287. 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. College budget cutbacks go outside the box, by Oliver St. John - http://usat.ly/mSPGrt via @USATODAY - "It may be hard to swallow, but budget-cutting is the new normal at the nation's 6,700-plus post-secondary schools. Creative cuts don't save much money, but they symbolize deep overall cuts. With funding down and enrollment up, state support per student hit a 25-year low last year, says Paul Lingenfelter, president of State Higher Education Executive Officers. "The current year will be lower yet."

2. A Numbers Game? by Kevin Kiley - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/q7uFc8 - "And that is what some people worry has been happening at Edison State College, in Florida, where an internal investigation found that about 75 percent of students in three particular programs were allowed to substitute elective credits for required courses -- with many of the substitutions approved in the week before graduation -- so that students could graduate on time and enroll in baccalaureate degree programs. Awarding degrees to students who don’t meet the set requirements would violate state law and accrediting standards, as well as raise questions about the value and integrity of the degrees."

3. Stepping Out, by Doug Lederman - Inside Higher Ed: http://bit.ly/pM6ij3 - "But all of a sudden, groups of career colleges are rushing to team up to align themselves as accountable, transparent and all the other things that consumer advocates and critical policy makers have been accusing the worst of them of not being. The latest to emerge is a collection of 20 regionally accredited for-profit institutions that have adopted a "pledge of public accountability," under which they will publish information about themselves (prices, curriculums, and faculty qualifications) and their students (debt levels, loan repayment, and employment outcomes), with the goal of making the institutions "more transparent to students before they enroll."

4. Save Pell Day (July 25) website: http://www.savepell.org/ - "Stand up for students. Take action on July 25."

5. When Student-Loan Payments Are Due: A Borrower Shares His Experience, by Beckie Supiano - http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/when-student-loan-payments-are-due-a-borrower-shares-his-experience/28473 - "The borrower, Terron Austin, graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2008 with a degree in journalism. Mr. Austin lived at home during much of his college career to cut down his costs, and he had a job lined up at graduation. So, when his grace period ended six months after college, and his first bill was due, Mr. Austin was able to manage the payments.But then, Mr. Austin was laid off."

6. 'Report card' finds most students weak in geography, by Douglas Stanglin - http://usat.ly/nAPjuA via @USATODAY - "Less than one-third of the nation's students achieved at or above the proficient level in geography, according to the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the s0-called Nation's Report Card. Although fourth-graders made gains in achievement since 2001, The Nation's Report Card: Geography 2010 shows that performance by eighth-graders remained flat, and achievement by 12th-graders declined from 1994."

7. The Fiske Guide's Most Interesting Colleges - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/19/the-fiske-guides-most-int_n_902401.html#s311311&title=Cooper_Union_New - "The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2012 made a special effort to include a good selection of four types of institutions that seem to be enjoying special popularity at present: engineering and technical schools, those with a religious emphasis, those with an environmental focus, and those located along the Sunbelt."

8. 10 CHEAPEST Public Colleges For Out-Of-State Students - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/24/10-cheapest-public-colleg_n_883762.html#s297444&title=New_Mexico_Highlands - "US News and World Report rated the cheapest public colleges for out-of-state students on Tuesday and apparently, the more snow there is, the cheaper the school. 8 out of the 10 schools in the list were located in North Dakota, South Dakota or Minnesota."