Saturday, November 14, 2009

Changing Majors



Shawn Roberts

Many students change their college majors more than once before they graduate. The average college student changes their major 3-5 times according to career.berkeley.edu. The truth is that most students have no idea what they want to be when they go into college. The reason for this is that today’s high schools do not prepare students for this; high schools prepare students for college. When a student leaves high school they have no previous experience to base what they want to be on except classes they liked.

Basing a college major off of whether someone likes math class or english class more is unrealistic. Just because a student liked calculus class does not mean that they should become an engineer. Likewise, if a student likes to write that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re meant to be writing books. The only way to find out is through knowledge of exactly which major’s lead to which jobs and what it’s like to have those jobs.

Schools expect the students to research this which is unfair to them. The reason that people attend school is to get a job and learn what they want to be so they can become a contributing citizen to society. Schools need to make courses more career related earlier on. Students don’t get into courses that apply their information to real life situations until too late in their educational career. By the time they get to these courses there’s no turning back because they’ve already worked so hard to get there. High schools and colleges need to find a way to make it so that students know what they’re getting into.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Overachievers v/s High Achievers: An Evaluation on What is Necessary in College

Hunter Hammond


According to Maria Pasucci of the Buffalo News, it is uniquely important for entering college students to understand and grasp the difference behind what it means to be a "high achiever" and an "overachiever." In the article, Pasucci reveals that students are encouraged by society to not do THEIR best, but be THE BEST. Pasucci expresses that this mentality is responsible for the breeding of overachieving, perfectionist, students. She goes further to say that students who transition into college with a perfectionist attitude are in for a rude awakening.

The article explains that the unhealthy overachievers will be disappointed because it is fairly difficult to maintain the coveted 4.0; however, one aspect which Pasucci did not evaluate is what happens to the healthy high achiever who suffers. According Alexandra Robbins (author of The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids), there are healthy students who aim to do their best rather than the best. These are the students who expect to put everything they have in to something and expect to get a result that is somewhat similar to what they put in. What happens to the student who gives college everything he (or she) has and it still does not seem to be enough? The overachiever is berated for being such a perfectionist, while the high achiever is told to try harder.

Robbins reveals that students should enjoy college and do what they can; however, what about when the high achiever is destined to barely scrap by in college? What can this student do? The answer is a difficult one, but is one that both Robbins and Pasucci agree upon: buckle up for the ride. It might be tough; however, it must be done. Pasucci illustrates that students become more unhealthy (both physically and mentally) when they focus too much on what is happening to them. With this being the case, the most widely accepted approach is to simply do what you can, when you can; or else suffer from serious detriments.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Game on



Brandon Carter

While some may believe that video games have little or no impact on how a student performs in college, few have considered to what extent video games actually impact students. According to a study by Steve Jones, a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago, “Fully 65% of college students [surveyed] reported being regular or occasional game players.” Although the number of college students actively involved in video games might come as no surprise, the extent to which the games affect students may. The same study showed that, “Close to half (48%) of college student gamers agreed that gaming keeps them from studying “some” or “a lot.” In addition, about one in ten (9%) admitted that their main motivation for playing games was to avoid studying.” Considering how much studying can affect grades, it becomes more evident as to how much video games can affect how a student performs in school.

Also, video games tend to affect a student’s sleeping habits. According to an article on MSNBC, “About 41 percent of college gamers play after 9 p.m.” Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, especially in college. By playing these games so late, students are postponing their bed time and losing possible hours of sleep. Take for example my roommate, recently when a game was released that he really liked he stayed up for hours every night playing it. He routinely went to bed around 4 a.m. and skipped his classes during the day. Because of this he is now doing poorly is several of his classes. Sleep is something the body can’t go without and still function properly. Therefore, video games by affecting you sleep habits influence how students perform in college.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Who Should Be Allowed To Attend College

David Diaz

Jaques Steinberg in a New York Times article called “Are Too Many Students Going to College?” summarizes a debate hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Steinberg gives the opinions stated by the experts chosen by the Chronicle, but he leaves it open for the reader’s opinion.

Steinberg’s article is merely a summarization of a debate hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle posed the question “Are Too Many Students Going to College?” to several experts. The general argument of those that said yes was that only 10 to 15 percent of potential students have the talent to succeed academically in a traditional college program. It is the belief of some people who support this argument that these students should not be allowed to attend college or at least not be subsidized by the government or university. On the other side, it has been argued that everyone deserves to further his or her education should be able to do so. Furthermore, these individuals should be able to do so without cost being an “insurmountable barrier.” Finally, Steinberg concludes by leaving his article open to further debate.

My argument on the subject is that college should be available to everyone who wants to further his or her education. However, entry requirements must be met in order to allow the college to screen out the individuals who do not possess the ability to succeed. In this way, colleges known for rigorous criteria may continue to offer extremely challenging and cutting edge education to those students capable of handling it. Other colleges, and two year universities can either prepare those who aren’t quite ready for a rigorous program to enter into a rigorous program, or can offer degrees worth less than those of a rigorous program. Everyone should be able to attend college, regardless of price, because the more education our nation has the stronger we will be. However, some colleges will be better than others and stronger students should be able to attend these colleges over weaker students. In conclusion, all should be allowed to further their studies, but only those capable of handling a specific college’s curriculum should be allowed to do so.

Steinberg summarizes an interesting debate hosted by the Chronicle. The Chronicle posed the question “Are Too Many Students Going to College?” The experts offered varying views saying either only certain students can handle a college curriculum and only these should attend or everyone should be allowed to further his or her education. Steinberg’s article was left open to further debate and so I offer the idea that anyone should be allowed to further his or her education, but only those capable of handling a specific college’s curriculum should be allowed to do so.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Freedom of Speech?

Jamie Signorile

Many people have praised professors for their large contributions, not only to schools, but to their fields of study as well. Professors research topics and perfect and find out new things involved within their fields. However, many people have not noticed how restricted professors are in their speech.

In a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the AAUP (American Association of University Professors) has started a push for the protection of teacher's rights. The AAUP wants universities to adopt policies to help professors not be afraid to speak their minds. The organization is doing this through a program titled: "Speak Up, Speak: Protect the Faculty Voice on Campus". The AAUP has motivation from various sources on this issue. For example, the Supreme Court case Garcetti v. Caballos. The AAUP has released a report that accurately depicts the issue of the court case and its involvement with public employees such as professors. The plaintiff felt that he was passed up on a job promotion for contrary statements he had made pertaining to a warrant. The court made a decision stating that public employees who make statements pursuant to their official duties are not protected by the first amendment from employee discipline.

In addition, much of the fight was triggered by a case involving a University of Wisconsin professor. Professor Kevin J. Renken spoke out against administrators from the National Science Foundation who, he felt, where mishandling a grant given to him. The University punished him by reducing his pay.

I feel that this whole situation is not right. Professors should be able to voice their opinions because they hold such high grounds within their fields. There should absolutely be no restriction on anybody to uphold their first amendment right and hopefully the AAUP can help the cause.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Dangers of Dropping out

Richard Zhang


With the amount of students who apply for college every year, one forgets their purpose for going to college. Although students might go to college for various reasons however, in the end the only motivation for a student to work through college is a job or possibly a career. According to a recent article in the NYTimes more than 40 % of college students do not graduate within 6 years or just don't graduate at all. These students might drop out of college for various reasons; financial, family difficulties, starting a family, or putting more effort in to a job they currently have. Whatever the reason, when these students lost their jobs to the recession, finding new jobs is difficult, even though they know they can do the job efficiently. Their reason for getting reject? Not having a diploma and a degree. Nowadays, a degree is just a requirement. It used to be a degree gets you over the top, but now however, a degree is just a basic need for a job like a home address.


To a student currently in college, this would mean that taking your time is not an option. Dropping out would mean that in the future, there wouldn't be any good jobs available. That means the only way to obtain a decent job would be through networking. It is surprising how much a piece of paper can do to the life of an individual. College is a place where one should discover his or her own calling. However, now it turn into a place where students need to stay afloat for a degree and just obtain a job. But really, how important is a degree when there is no skills? Or the better question is how important are skills with no degree?

Friday, November 6, 2009

Under the Curve...

Hunter Hammond

According to an article in the Daily Pennsylvanian, grade inflation has had an undesirable effect upon the academic world. Students are making good grades left and right and the Department of Education points out statistical evidence saying that grades of students in college are exceptionally high. The article goes further to say that in an attempt to balance grade inflation it has become standard at many colleges to curve grading in a way that only a certain percentage receive each letter grade. This stance poses many ethical, academic, and efficiency related problems for students and faculty in higher education.

The Pennsylvanian questions the ethics behind the curve; however, the article fails to look into whether or not the curve is sound academically. The article reveals that students resort to back stabbing, cheating, and other unhealthy actions in order to "beat the curve." This mindset instilled in undergrads poses a significant problem as to what type of adults enter our society; beyond the societal and ethical complaints, the curve for grade inflation poses a problem in regards to academic integrity.

The curving policy, while made in an attempt to balance the inflation of grades, is in actuality hindering the academic reputation of many institutions and their programs. For example, the Pennsylvanian evaluates how Princeton is on the tract to lower grades so that only 35 percents of students receive an A. This means that even if students deserve an A for their work and effort, they may not be awarded what they earned. This grade manipulation is affecting the overall perception and performance of the schools in question. The grades do not illustrate if the school is rigorous, or even if a percentage is being met, the curve is not a good thing on any level.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

For-profit



Brandon Carter

Although many will say that universities exist only to assist in educating the public, they may have not considered that more for-profit colleges are starting to appear and hurt the education sector. According to Christopher Lucas in his book American Higher Education, he points out that for much of the early years colleges existed in order to provide an education and nothing else. However he also points out that there are certain universities that began to appear in the late twentieth century that are solely for-profit. For example, according to Kim Strosnider, at trade attorney, for-profit universities make up a 3.5 billion dollar-a-year industry that is mostly run by national corporations.

In addition, colleges like these hurt the education system in general more than they claim to help. One such way they hurt the college sector is by taking up more than their appropriated share of funding. While they may help to keep a competitive market in the college sector, these college are built to earn a profit. They take as much money as they can get from government handouts, which a majority of the time is greater than what community colleges receive, and lessen the amount of aid available to other colleges. In turn, other colleges have less money to offer as aid to students. Also, these for-profit colleges aren’t always the most honest ones. Several former and current students are starting to bring class action law suits against some of the colleges for the misrepresentation of job placement. One student is suing due to landing a job in retail after piling up $80,000 in student debt.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tuition Hurts Colleges Too

David Diaz

According to Jack Kadden in his New York Times ariticle “Bleak News for Colleges, Too”, colleges are being hurt just as bad by the increase in tuition as students. However, Kadden claims that colleges are offering more discounts and because of that enticing more students to attend college. Although, Kadden only shows that these increases in discounts are actually helping colleges. He does not show how increasing tuition is actually hurting colleges.

Kadden begins by saying that over 58 colleges are charging over $50,000 in tuition a year. He goes on to say that colleges offer more discounts to allow students to attend. He does point out the fact that these colleges expect less revenue because they have to offer more discounts to students. However, he doesn’t point out how increasing tuition hurts colleges.

With tuition prices sky high, colleges can’t expect to get the number of students that they have in the past. This is because students can’t afford the increased tuition price. Some colleges have created a compromise in that they discount the tuition to most students, but that cannot be said of all colleges. Also, these particular colleges expect to receive less revenue because of the discounts and must make due without it. However for the other colleges that don’t offer tuition discounts, they make due with receiving fewer students or in the case of particularly good schools, receive the same number of students because of their reputation. The interesting relationship here is that a college receiving fewer students can survive on a smaller budget and so these colleges aren’t hurt by the increased tuition price. Likewise, schools with a great reputation that can get away with increasing tuition receive the expected number of students and the revenue to provide for these students. The only schools hurt by increasing tuition are those that offer discounts and must make due with less revenue. Schools that don’t offer any tuition discounts expect to receive fewer students, but receive the revenue to provide for these students. One could argue that these schools are hurting because they receive fewer students, but financially they aren’t nearly as bad off as those offering discounts. Schools that have great reputations aren’t hurt at all because they receive the number of students at the price that they ask for.

Kadden is correct in that colleges are hurting due to the high tuition prices in that some must discount tuition and make due with less revenue. However, other colleges that don’t offer discounts make due with fewer students or make due based on a reputation.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The University C.E.0

Jamie Signorile

Researchers have always put such high emphasis on the money that is earned from institutions. However, a small amount of researchers give attention to the amount of money Universities grant to their employees. College presidents receive great payment while students at college barely afford to attend.

Recently, in an executive compensation survey, researchers have discovered alarming statistics. The president's of the top private research universities are receiving ridiculous salaries. It is noted that the average salary is approximately $ 627,750. This is a large amount of money, and this is similar to that of a large company's C.E.O. According to The New York Times, 23 presidents have salaries exceeding 1 million dollars.

These presidents are receiving large payment packages, yet all that is mentioned in the media is the constant increase in tuition. Every year it becomes more difficult for students to afford school. College costs increase every year. However, it seems like presidential salary is increasing. It is noted that the average salary increased by 5.5%. This argument, I believe, has strong parallels to that of our current economic situation. Many companies have C.E.O.s who are receiving enormous pay while their companies disintegrate and beg for mercy from the government. It has gotten so bad that the president had to put a cap on salary. The whole deal just seems wrong. College students in many ways are like the workers at these failing companies. Many cannot catch any breaks and simply are not given the opportunities to be successful, however, those at the top are receiving all of the awards. Presidential pay, and other employee pay can be adjusted to reasonable amounts and maybe the difference can be given to students who desperately need the help.

Monday, November 2, 2009

2-year community colleges on the rise

Richard Zhang


In a recent article in the NYTimes, Tamar Lewin discovers that enrollment in 2008 is at a record high. What drove this record was the increasing amount of high school graduates going to 2-year community colleges. These students, who usually would have been high school drop outs, are believed to go to school fueled by the inaccessibility of jobs and the negativity of being branded as a high school drop out. Although the changes in dropout rates between 2007 and 2008 is small, only about 1%, the recent trend is on the decrease. However enrollment in 4 year colleges remains flat at 8 million. This is good in terms of higher education because the more and more citizens are receiving a secondary education.


However, this would mean that there will be more competition for regular college students. With enrollment numbers sharply on the rise, the competition is intense. 2008 hits a record mark in college enrollment rate. A number of national university reported record number of applications. Students are having a harder time entering the college of their dreams. Many students are taking record AP's from their high school in hoping that it will give them an edge when applying for college. It used to be that 1 or 2 AP's is considered adventurous and 3-5 AP's is considered overachieving. Now, however, 8-9 is not out of the norm, some even reaches 15 or above in the number of AP's. Yet many still attend state funded schools that cost less, and avoiding lower ranking colleges to obtain the best education in this economy. d

Saturday, October 31, 2009

College Location

Shawn Roberts

A large part of choosing a college for students is the location of the school. This doesn’t just apply to how far a student wants to live from home either. There are many different kinds of locations a school can be in. There’s college towns which are basically a small city that is built around a college like Eugene, Oregon and the University of Oregon (a commonly used definition is a city with under 250,000 residents). Colleges can also be nearly intertwined with the city such as the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A third kind are rural colleges that seem to be placed in the middle of nowhere and seem to be the entire city like Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.

Which of these is the best location for a college though? In her article “The Best places in the U.S. for college students" Mariah Brill addresses what factors should be considered. Some of these factors include cost of living of the surrounding area, the job market in the city, diversity, and of course social activities. One of the points made in the article is that no matter how good of a college someone goes to, their job opportunities just won’t be the same if they go to a rural college. She also says that living in a city with high costs of living usually translates into a higher starting salary for the newly graduated students.

In the end it comes down to what one wants to do with their lives upon graduating from college. If the job that you plan on working tends to be urban based, an urban college is probably a good choice.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Is Studying Enough?

Hunter Hammond

According to USA Today, in a survey of 33,000 first year college students about 70% of students reported drinking alcohol on a weekly basis; of that 70% another 49.4% reported spending more time drinking than studying during the academic week. This data puts a new perspective on how many hours students spend on studying for classes.

Many students spend the recommended time working and studying in college and do well; however, at the same time many other students are not so fortunate. Some students go above and beyond what is recommended and do not fare well at all; whereas, some students (such as the students cited to drink more than study) are able to handle the work load despite the strained time commitment.


This poses the question: Is studying enough? Do students succeed in college by merely studying, or is there something that has been overlooked. Historically, and in the poll by USA Today, it is assumed that drinking and lack of hours spent studying leads to failure (or lack of success) in college. CollegeBoard, a student resource site, quotes that college is comparable to a full time job and that it takes at least 40 hours of concentrated work in order to succeed.

What makes students succeed in college? What is the key? If students are able to spend so much time drinking, then where does the study time come in?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Too big



Brandon Carter

Although many believe that large classes are the best way to get the most students in front of the best teachers, this isn’t the case. According to Carl Wieman, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize as a physicist at Colorado, such successes are rare. Many students end up distracted by someone around them or get bored by the teacher.

For example, in classes of this size, it is difficult to hold the attention of students due to the fact that there are so many students. When you get a large number of students in one place it makes it much more difficult for the professor to keep his audience engaged in what he is teaching. Most of the time professors end up teaching to only a small portion of the class.

In addition in the USA Today an article by Justin Pope of the Associated Press discussed what some teachers are doing to try and help students. Some teachers try to depend solely upon technology to help them focus their student’s attention upon the lecture. While many times this technique ends up with students who are more distracted by the technology than helped by it, sometimes students are helped. For example, some teachers at the University of Colorado are finding that by incorporating technologies such as a clicker, a remote used to answer multiple choice questions posed during the lecture, they can now know when students grasp the concept and when they need additional teaching. Large classes may not be the best answer at this point and time, but with effort by colleges and teachers, this may one day change.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

College Costs Keep Rising

David Diaz


An article by Tamar Lewin in the New York Times called “College Costs Keep Rising, Reports Said” gives various reasons for the exponential increase in college tuition. The main culprit for this increase, according to Lewin, is the current state of the economy. However, Lewin does not account for the increase in college tuition during economic prosperity in the early part of this century.

Lewin states that the government, particularly the state government, subsidizes colleges. This works great when the government has the money to put into the education system, but when the government is in debt, funding for education is one of the first items that is cut. This forces colleges to find money elsewhere in order to satisfy their budget, and the only other place to find money is the students. In other words, colleges are forced to increase the cost of tuition in order to compensate for the lack of funding provided by the government.

Lewin makes a valid point, except that college tuition has continued to increase through both economic recession and prosperity. If Lewin’s model were completely correct, than tuition should have either remained the same or decreased during economic prosperity. On the contrary, tuition continued to rise through both recession and prosperity, meaning that Lewin did not account for some factors. The factors that Lewin left out were inflation and the growth of colleges. First, inflation has been present in the United States during both recession and prosperity. It causes the price of living to increase. This basically means that inflation causes the price of everything to increase including a college education. Second, more people attend colleges every year. This implies that colleges must expand to accommodate more people. Basically, colleges have to build new buildings every year to provide enough housing, food, and education as well as hire more faculty to service the new buildings and teach the new students. Essentially, colleges must spend more money every year to provide enough space for the influx of students. The extra spending each year is then multiplied by the increase of cost due to inflation. Because of inflation and need for colleges to increase spending every year, the cost of colleges increases every year and the debt is passed on to the students.

Although Lewin makes an extremely valid point in that the poor economy has caused governments to reduce funding for education. This causes colleges to pass the cost of education on to the students by means of increasing tuition. However, Lewin does not mention that colleges spend more money each year due to inflation and the need to expand. With the cost of colleges increasing and the government’s capacity to subsidize colleges decreasing, tuition increases can be expected for a long time to come.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Teachers Need Teaching

Jamie Signorile

Many Universities today are motivated by many different things. Many need to uphold the research aspect of their institutions. This results in schools recruiting great researchers. Yet, many people have not seen the trouble in recruiting good researchers, not all of them can teach.

According to a New York Times article, the government is noticing the quality of teaching has been below average lately. Many teachers say that they have not received the right training they need to deal with students. This might be due to the fact that when research institutions recruit teachers, they require them to research a certain amount of time and usually teach for a small amount of time. Most professors are not told to concentrate on teaching. The stress on each is for research. According to Richard M. Felder, a professor at North Carolina State University, he states that professors do not need much preparation to teach courses. In fact, he says that most do not receive teaching preparation and teach according to his or her knowledge of the course and required text. He argues that teachers are not just born, yet they must all acquire the skills they need to accurately present information to students.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says that most of the universities in this country are doing a below par job in preparing their professors for teaching in classrooms. This is alarming and it is effecting the way students are experience their education. Research is wonderful ,yet not every professor can have the skills to deliver vital information to students.

Monday, October 26, 2009

mediocre college education

Richard Zhang

College is supposed to prepare a student for a future career in his or her chosen field. However, some schools such as the school of Education in various universities does not prepare future teachers for the 21st Century classrooms. A NYTimes article presents that even the College of Education in the prestigious Columbia University produce mediocre teachers. “hundreds of teachers who complained that they did not get enough practical training with classroom behaviors, particularly with poor students.” Many Universities uses the College of Education as a “cash cow” the College of Education is cheap and easy to run with high enrollments. There are certain teaching programs that help prepare the teachers such as Teach for America. However only a fraction of the teachers participate.

The goal of a secondary education is to produce young men and women for a role in society. What use is a secondary education that you wouldn't even be able to use to hold down a job? The point of a secondary education is so that it will help a graduate to hold down a job. Not to give money to Universities. This should be especially true for the college of education where they spark the interests of our children. Universities are a place for exploration of learning and providing society with alumni that will help society progress. Not to steal its students' money.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

What kind of college makes the happiest students?



College can be one of the happiest times of a person’s life. What makes a happy college student though? Is it the type of college that they go to, or maybe the major that a student chooses? The Princeton review rated the ten happiest schools in the country. There was no common theme to these schools, the list included public schools as well as private, and Ivy League schools as well as party schools.

The Princeton review also has a list of the unhappiest students, in 2001 Georgia Tech was rated the second unhappiest in the country. The first thought that comes to mind is maybe because it is a Technical schools that is majority male population the students are unhappy. However, very similar demographics are represented at the Franklin W. Olin college of Engineering and that school is ranked sixth on the happiest college students list in the country. That shows that it can’t be the major that a student chooses or the type of college.

The common denominator among schools ranked on the happiest list is the campus life. Students attending the top ten colleges have mostly said that with a high priority on academic excellence at their school there is also a lot more to it. Tradition plays a big part in this happiness as well. The average year of establishment for these colleges is 1856 so it is obvious that tradition is something that all of these colleges have. So what it comes down to when looking for the college that has the happiest students has nothing to do with what major one chooses or the type of college they a person attends. What it really comes down to is the college tradition. This is something that every college needs.

Friday, October 23, 2009

The Key to College: Building Strong and Lasting Relationships

Hunter Hammond


College is a completely different experience from high school; the dynamics of life, relationships, school, and personal life all are changed or modified. Students are changed in college and tested in ways maybe never thought possible. Many students struggle with this change and face the possibility of failing in college due to the level of unfamiliarity.

Kansas State published a comprehensive list which illustrates the signs of well adjusted and mal-adjusted students. Among the mal-adjusted students, it can be observed that an abundance of stress, too much partying, isolation, poor attendance and frequent visits back home are all evident. For well adjusted students, the reverse is seen and strong relationships are cited as the reasoning behind the well adjusting. With this being stated, it can be inferred that a key to success in college stems from having a strong, reliable, group of friends.

Once a student leaves home (for the most part) a steady support system is lost; family, old friends, community, and more are taken away from the equation. The student enters a new world by him/herself with no idea of what to expect. It is imperative for that student to become adjusted to this new life and to find a way to establish a support system, or else it can be easy to slip into despair.



An article from the University of Michigan goes into detail about relationships between students and their roommates. It is cited in the article that students who become friends with their roommates show an increase in confidence and involvement. This is the first step in becoming well adjusted to a college social life and in turn a collegiate life.

For clarification purposes, imagine a student who is struggling with a certain class. This student does not act social, does not leave his room, does not talk to his roommate, does not care about anything outside his sphere of influence. If this student was to do poorly in school or feel upset for being away from home, then who does he have to turn to? Who can this student rely on when things are going rough? The answer is no one.

On the other hand, if there is a student who does have a strong network of "good" (as in not questionable for their integrity) friends, then this student is likely to have a support system to fall back on when life gets hard. This is the key to tackling college life: make relationships, be sociable, enjoy life and the people in your life.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Over stressed

Brandon Carter

Although many students are able to find methods to cope and help them handle stress, there are others that struggle to find the balance between college life and relaxation. Sometimes these struggles cause students to turn to self-destructive things such thoughts of suicide. According to an article by USA Today, over fifty-percent of students in the study admitted to having contemplated committing suicide. Although many times these thoughts are simply brief thoughts with no real value, there are other times where this can be a dangerous problem.

Even though most colleges have strategies for support in place, such as counselors to offer support and guidance to students, they help only if they are willing to come forward with their problems. The lack of prevalence in advertising of these support programs, along with the negative association that comes along with someone needing counseling may push someone away from admitting their need for help. More often than not, students are unwilling to admit they need help. This can lead to the stresses and situations which would lead them to consider suicide or other self destructive actions. This eventually may lead to the student following through with their thoughts. Stress is an ordinary part of life, especially in college, but if it allowed to grow unrestrained, it may lead to harmful consequences. The consequences can be avoided if the proper attention is given to stress.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Online Colleges: A Lack of Innovation

David Diaz

In “Online Programs: Profits are There, Technological Innovation Is Not” by Marc Parry, online college programs are critiqued as being profit earning but not necessarily creative. Parry says that all online studies are either making money or breaking even. He also says that the pedagogical model, or the model used to teach students, hasn’t been changed over the last ten years. However, Parry does not give any reasons why these methods are not the best. In other words, what does an online program lack?

Parry presents many facts about the increasingly popular online college programs. He begins by saying that these programs revolve around text, making it no different than an ordinary class that is based upon a textbook. Next, Parry goes into the financial aspect of online colleges. He says that according to recent studies all for profit colleges have made profit, and nonprofit colleges have either broken even or made profit. Parry concludes by implying that the profit and incentive exist for online programs, but the innovation of the programs is lacking.

Traditionally school is based upon a teacher or lecturing a class on a specific topic from a textbook. Students may use the textbook as a reference for learning the material. Students’ performance is determined by a test. However, this proves to be an inefficient system, as students may not retain information past a test. Online colleges have a unique opportunity to create an extremely innovative and effective new way of teaching by means of modern technology. Some would argue that it is the responsibility of an online program to offer that type of innovation since it cannot offer a teacher or classmates. Although, most online colleges resort to giving students various texts and testing them as opposed to doing anything innovative. If anything online programs have devolved by removing the teacher and the class. The technology exists and the incentive for a strong online program exists, there is no reason for an online program to adapt a variation of a pedagogical model that has proven to be ineffective in the classroom when such an opportunity for innovation exists.

Parry presents various facts about the online college system. Most interestingly, Parry points out that all online programs studied have either made profit or broken even. Parry, however, does not go into detail about the lack of innovation in the pedagogical techniques used by online programs. Essentially online programs give students text and test them. This is a shame considering the opportunity that an online program has to invent new pedagogical methods by using the internet, video, pictures, computer programs, and any number of resources that a computer provides.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Cost Goes Up, Help Goes Down

Jamie Signorile

It is evident to most researchers and the general public that the cost of college is increasing rapidly. However, many people have over-looked the sudden decrease in financial aid. Banks are loaning less money at a time when students need it the most.

According to the Collegeboard, there has been increases in both in-state and out of state tuition fees. From last year they are both up around 6 percent. This is an obvious signal that students have to pay more for college. With this increase, students turn towards financial aid. Ironically, banks are not loaning out vital money that students need. According to The Chronicle for Higher Education, there has been a decrease in the amount of private loans. This, like many things, is due to our economy. The credit markets are dysfunctional and private loans cannot be met. How can our economy get better if our future work force cannot make it through college? This has a large amount of money being left behind. About 11.9 billion dollars could have been supplied to students, according to two distinct college board studies.

There are some resources out there that students can utilize. The money that can be given to students is vital for their success. In these turbulent economic times, students need as much help as they can get. Education is noted as one of the most vital contributions to success in society today. Achieving this goal requires aid that, in this case, is being severely ignored. Mark Kantrowitz understands this problem and on his site, www.finaid.org he provides many resources to help students and family get the help they need. His organization provides great help that offers students options and alternatives, especially when college costs goes way up.

Monday, October 19, 2009

3 year education?

Richard Zhang

3- year college is an increasing trend in recent American Higher Education. In an recent article in Newsweek titled “The 3 year solution” explores this trend. Some small colleges are beginning to offer 3 year degree programs. This is especially attractive to prospect students because they are able to save a full semester of tuition. However, this deprives the students of a full 4 years of fun, sports, and the college experience. Students who participates in the 3 year program would have to take a bit more courses per year than regular college students. This is a play for colleges to adept to changing times. However with age rules and tenure programs this makes college flowing with changing times difficult.



What does this mean for college students? This suggests that college is now more affordable then ever. With more choices on how college life should be like. The 3 year college system seems to be just like an intensified version of a Georgia Tech education; just with less time to explore area of interest. Both educations aims at educating a students one specific area usually their major and not a general education offered by many other schools. It seems that every college is now attempting to offer a Georgia Tech education. They offer specification of an area or major resulting in a specialist rather than a jack of all trades. As more and more college jump on this bandwagon, this means that future college graduates will be more job or major specific. For example, even within Computer Science majors here at Georgia Tech there are 8 different threads where students can choose 2 focuses to combine into a major. This aims at becoming more diversity of education even though it is only one major. This also suggests that colleges will offer more and more specific programs as a counter measure to the changing times.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Ivory Tower: An Evaluation of Writing in the Academic World

Hunter Hammond

According to numerous college professors across the country it is felt that writing should take on a purely academic heir with little or no attempt to reach the general public. Gail Hornstein, professor of psychology and author of Prune that Prose, articulates that it is more important to learn how to write in a way that is both pleasurable for the audience and informative. Dr. Hornstein goes further to explain that too many scholars realize this truth late in life and miss out on many of the opportunities that are contingent upon writing.

By evaluating writing, it is possible to look upon the entire institution of higher learning and evaluate if in fact academia has become too academic. A concept known as the "Ivory Tower" has been coined to describe a sense of academic elitism among those in higher education. This concept is not a new one; however, its relation with academics is slightly different than its usual usage. Empirically, an "Ivory Tower" is used to denote when a society or aspect of society has become elite in their thinking and arrogant in their actions. In context to higher education, the "Ivory Tower" represents a certain mindset.

This is evidenced by looking at writing among academics. According to Dr. Hornstein, the academic community has taken on the mentality that only those who are "proven" to be experts in their field have anything worthy to say. Hornstein believes that it is imperative to always write from the heart and write in a way that reaches across the intellectual spectrum.

While Dr. Hornstein points out a valid and essential argument, it is also important to know that a balance is necessary in all disciplines. Writing academically is important and is something that must be learned (especially for people involved in higher education); it is equally true that people know how to reach a general populace in order to spread knowledge and resources.

The concept and fear behind the "Ivory Tower" is an important thing to recognize; however, it is also necessary to incorporate the "Ivory Tower" into society.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

I'll do it tomorrow...



Brandon Carter

Although procrastination is commonly seen as something that affects mostly grades, it affects much more.By definition, procrastination is a behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Students feel that as long as the task is done by the due time, they have done a good job but this is not the case. By procrastinating they put more pressure on themselves as more and more work piles up. In a paper by David Glenn, he stated that college students who procrastinate in their academic work are also likely to have unhealthy sleep, diet, and exercise patterns, according to one of several studies presented by scholars at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. According to Marsha Weinberg, a licensed clinical social worker at Counseling and Psychological Services at San Diego State students who procrastinate often experience a lot of stress, worry and fear.

Not only does it affect students in this manner but it also affects their personal life too. Procrastination may cause students to put off talking to their family if they live far from home, saying that they will call them later but then never getting around to it. It can also cause students to strain personal relationships. For example, if a student keeps telling friends or family that they will do things, but then put them off for a long period of time or all together, it may cause the friend or family member to trust them less or hurt their relationship. Stress can not only affect grades, but can be detrimental to other aspects of a student’s life.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Increase In Criminal Activity Amongst Dropouts

David Diaz



An article by Sam Dillon called "Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts" says that on a given day one in ten high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention. He compares this to one in 35 high school graduates who are in jail. Dillon continues to cite all sorts of statistics, each showing that the crime rate is significantly greater in high school dropouts than high school graduates. However, Dillon doesn’t give any causes for this influx in criminal activity, nor the specific crimes that these dropout students commit.

Dillon informs the reader about several studies done in the past comparing dropout students to graduates. These studies show that one in ten high school dropouts is currently incarcerated. Minorities tend to have a greater number incarcerated, especially African-Americans. Another study showed that 54 percent of dropouts were jobless compared to 32 percent of high school graduates being jobless and only 13 percent of college graduates being jobless. Again, African Americans had a higher unemployment rate and Hispanics had a lower unemployment rate. Dillon presents substantial evidence to prove that on average a high school dropout makes significantly less money than a graduate, and is more likely to go to jail than a graduate. However, Dillon doesn’t give reasons for these statistics.

Dropout students are more likely to be arrested than a high school graduate or a college graduate simply because the dropout is less likely to have a job. Dropouts on average have a significantly a higher unemployment rate and almost always make less money than graduates. In fact, Dillon actually describes a study that found that the average dropout costs the nation $292,000 in lost tax revenue, jail costs, food stamps, and other aid. Because dropouts make no money or very little money, they have to find other means to survive. In this society one cannot survive without money, meaning that these dropouts who have no money or else very little must resort to crime in order to gain money. Unfortunately the economy just can’t provide dropouts with jobs or means to survive, so they have to survive however they can. For many the only option left is to resort to crime.

Dillon presents interesting studies that have found that a high school dropout is much more likely to go to jail than a graduate. However, he doesn’t give any reasons for this increase in criminal activity amongst dropouts. The reason for this increase in crime is because a dropout doesn’t normally have the money required to survive and must resort to crime in order to survive.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Virtual Teacher





Jamie Signorile

Technology in education is advancing extremely fast. Many Professors decide to broadcast their lectures. However, many students are using these videos as their alternate forms of education sometimes avoiding the very education they are paying for.

According to The Chronicle of Higher education, there are many students who are taking advantage of the many databases of online lectures. An article by Jeffrey Young specifically cites 3 students who all used online lectures. One student chose this method of studying simply because she did not feel her own professor could teach adequately. Another, simply needed more help in the subject. Basically, Universities that are affiliated with programs have large selections of lectures that are pre-recorded. Each lecture is broken up by subjected matter that can be easily navigated by students. One of the most popular of these databases is iTunes U. short for iTunes University. iTunes is one of the most popular music management programs out. With its online store, one can browse various schools and see what lectures have been posted. The best part of all, it is all free. This has users smiling because it is such a broad database of knowledge that can be accessed for nothing.

Also, the most groundbreaking is the open courseware. Open courseware is an enhanced experience that includes lecture videos, notes, and exams. This draws the most controversy because many students are favoring these over their own courses they pay for at school. This is also rather beneficial. Students who need help can simply go to one of these open courseware resources and watch lectures. Then study the notes and practice with exams. This is truly a revolutionary technological advancement in education.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Thinking Big

Richard Zhang

Research has always been a big part of college. There are an array of different research. Undergraduate, Graduate, Post-graduate, etc. Billions of dollars are poured in to colleges to churn out bright ambitious young men and women who push the limit even further. According to a NYTimes article, in recent years, however, big information technology corporations has complained that college has not prepared students to think big. Students have been thinking too small due to the lack of capacity of the college equipments. For example, Facebook handles data amounts up to 1 petabyte which is about 1000 terabyte. Due to this shortage of capacity, more money has been poured in to rebuilding the computer science facilities so that the college can manage the industry's needs.



Being a student at a research facility as well as a Computer Science major, I am deeply affected by this trend. This means that a college student must think above and beyond what the major teaches them. It is up to the student to expand his or her learning to a higher level. This also means that the future will be exhausting albeit exciting. A college student must now leave college with a big dream they want to realize and come true. However, these facilities are just tools, it is up to the students to use them to learn at full potential. This is also an hint that research will be even more intense than ever, involving more and more data.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Athlete Privileges


Shawn Roberts


Collegiate athletics are a large part of the college experience. Most schools have some kind of athletic program in which students become involved in or get recruited for. These athletes, in many cases, are put on an athletic scholarship to help pay for their education, but are they too pampered? Almost every school has athlete perks that they use to persuade athletes to attend their institution. Many people believe it is unfair to allow athletes to have this kind of special treatment while others disagree. The former argues that they’re students just like everyone else and that being an athlete is an extracurricular activity that should not set them apart. Those for the special treatment conversely say that they should because they bring in large amounts of money to the school and are a major way of advertising a schools prestige.


One of the issues brought up in this argument is that student athletes receive early registration for classes and that this is unfair for all other students. In his article on college athlete privileges Jimmy Young states that this is not the case. College athletes are often unable to take certain classes because of the schedule conflict that their athletic obligations present. In actuality a study showed that even given the early registration, only 81% of athletes had a full schedule at the end of early registration as opposed to the 84% of students who had full schedules after the first day of registration. For now there are only a few rules to limit the extent of which athletes can be aided which are set in place by the NCAA, and as it looks it may not change for quite some time.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Are Scholarships Becoming Extinct?

Hunter Hammond



According to a recent article by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, colleges across the state are losing funding for scholarships. The article explains that most academic scholarships given by state colleges and universities are funded through endowments from third parties. The article cites various institutions across the state which show an obvious decline in available scholarship funds. For example, the University of Georgia lost $163 million in scholarship funding this year. This sharp decline can be attributed to a perfect storm of sorts; the economy is in a recession, the recession causes the donors to withdraw their endowments, and students are in more need of scholarship in the status quo more than ever.

To make matters worse for students entering college, even state funded programs are on the decline. HOPE, Georgia's premier source of scholarship, which provided any student with a B average in high school to receive full-paid tuition to a local university or community college has been on the chopping block for state support. Jamie Signorile points out in his blog that the state has decided to put a cap on the HOPE scholarship. This illustrates how even state funding has been impacted by an ever dwindling economy.

Still worse, independent scholarships (scholarships which are funded through corporations, the government, philanthropies, and other third parties) are being rescinded and cut altogether. The money simply is no longer available. Xinhua News Agency has reported through Istockanalyst that independent third party scholarships are on the decline because of the economy. This means that students are left with an unimpressive pool for scholarship opportunity.

Are scholarships becoming extinct? Yes! Yes, they are. Students need the assistance of scholarships now more than ever; unfortunately, scholarship opportunities are slowly drying up. Hopefully, this is only a temporary trend; however, if a turnaround in scholarships is not looming on the horizon, then an alternative for students will be desperately needed.

Simple financial aid for the poor?



Brandon Carter

While there are many complex programs and scholarships designed for the poor, few may have considered that it is the simplistic programs that have the most impact. A paper entitled “Into College, Out of Poverty? Policies to Increase the Postsecondary Attainment of the Poor” by the National Bureau of Economic Research, looked at the effectiveness of an array of programs, including common federal and private scholarships, grants and subsidized student loans. The paper concluded that the simpler it is for a student to apply, the more likely he or she will apply. This is critical because the scholarships that are applied for and received, the more likely he or she will go to college as they wouldn’t have the funding to do so without applying.

In addition, in paper the author brings to attention that programs like the Pell Grant sometimes fall short because they require so much paper work. While the program is effective in targeting low-income students who may not have had the opportunity to attend college otherwise, the amount of paperwork required to receive the award could possibly make the program less accessible to those it was designed for. Also cited in the paper was the HOPE scholarship. The author and many others believe that this is one of the more effective forms of financial aid because it is so straightforward. This scholarship is also effective in part because individuals who have a desire to succeed and want to go to college can easily acquire it by keeping their grades up. Helping low income students get into college is the aim of many forms of financial aid and in order to reach the greatest number the application method, as the paper states, needs to be simplified.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

College: For The Students or Of The Students

David Diaz

“The most subversive question about higher education has always been whether the college makes the student or the student makes the college,” writes David Leonhardt of the New York Times in his article "The College Calculation". Leonhardt then continues in a different direction and proves that the cost of college on average is worth the average salaries earned by college graduates. Leonhardt does not, however, answer the question of whether colleges create the students or whether students create the college.

Leonhardt observes the monetary aspect of attending colleges and concludes that the average debt is worth it when one considers the increased wage that a college graduate receives. Also, Leonhardt says that in this economic depression many people are going back to college because they either have nothing else to do or have lost their jobs. Furthermore, Leonhardt shows that the dropout rate of colleges is roughly fifty percent, which raises the question, are colleges doing their job. However, apart from all of this Leonhardt fails to tackle the question does a college make it’s students or is a college made by its students?

To answer this question, one may use the fact that the nationwide average dropout rate in colleges is fifty percent. With a half of the students not graduating, a college doesn’t create its students or at least one may say that it only does half of the job because only half graduate. At the same time, a college that can drive away half of its students is certainly not made by its students. Because neither of these answers the question, one must remember that a college is a business, it exists to teach, to further knowledge, and most importantly to make money. One may certainly argue that both of these must be present in college and that the relationship between a college and its students is a symbiotic one. That the college does mold the student by education and by placing the student in the culture of the college, but at the same time the body of students define the culture of the college from which they benefit. This is certainly true, but to say that a college is either made by the students or makes the students is ludicrous because money makes the college and money is the motive of the college. Interestingly enough, money is also the motive of many of the students that attend college. The student hopes that by attending college he or she may get a job with better pay than had they not attended college.

The question of whether a college should make a student or a student make the college is an interesting one. Although, both sides must be present in a symbiotic setting for college to have any purpose. However, the question seems ridiculous when one realizes that on average both the college and the student are acting only to make money.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Google Library

Jamie Signorile
In the past many reaserchers have paid much attention to the increase in the amount of textbooks being placed online. However, few researchers have considered the large expansion of library resource books being implemented into online systems.

Google has been noted as one of the most popular search engines. Also, it has acquired a large amount of books that can be viewed digitally. Recently, many universities are working hand in hand with google in assembling one of the largest collections of online volumes of text. Many Universities donate their texts and in return, receive digital copies of the database. This will help students find any information they need. It is also making the google book search much more advanced. Many of googles books are not present because of copyright issues, however if the Universities use their texts to assist google, it can make this hurdle a lot easier to conquer. Currently only sixteen percent of books are available in full text due to copyright issues. This project is called Hathi Trust. The project has already accumulated 3,960,034 volumes. If more universities participate in this, there can be a massive compilation of texts. Students would easily find information by searching google. This will ensure more chances of students getting the correct information that are on point to what they are searching for. There are currently twenty five schools in the program, ten of them being associated with then University of California system. Hopefully, with the addition of more schools the project can fulfill its long term goals.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Adimission and Economy

Richard Zhang

It's that time of the year again. No, it isn't February 14th, its the time where massive college fairs take place. Recruiters from around the country “sell” their college or university to prospect students and their parents. However, with the our economy slowly rising out of the recession and still rising unemployment rates, many are fearful. A recent article in the NYTimes reports that parents are fearful of the steep increases of college tuition. But recruiters are also fearful, there is just not enough students who will apply. Many students are settling for community colleges and state colleges due to financial reasons. Less students are applying for college yet, more are asking for financial aid and scholarships. Rather than looking at what SAT average score is this college accepting, parents are looking at the price tags and asking themselves whether or not they can afford it.



Sometimes, students who normally would end up in a prestigious school have to settle for a low ranked state university. It is truly a shame that his abilities and skills are not being challenged by the state university. It is a waste of human resource. Of course not everyone deserves to go to an Ivy League school. But some students who has the ability to prosper under a better education system cannot reach their full potential because they just don't have the means to pay for it. Even with generous financial aid and scholarships many students who go to private institutions have to pay up to $35,000 a year compare that with the $7,000 of a state university, many students really don't have a choice

Saturday, September 26, 2009

ADHD in college students



Shawn Roberts


Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a learning disability that affects many college students. The problem with ADHD is that there is very little concrete data to study from. The most doctors can do is diagnose someone with the disability and prescribe a medical treatment such as Adderall or Ritalin. These pills have extreme side effects though such as high blood pressure, loss of appetite, stunting of growth, and difficulty sleeping. These side effects cause many of the afflicted to choose not to take the pill as a safety precaution for other conditions. It is, however, something that should not be overlooked as it affects between 2-4% of college students as found by studies given on News-medical.net. Students with ADHD have shown difficulty paying attention, following instructions, completing tasks, procrastination, disorganization, and much more. They have also shown to struggle in their overall grades, largely due to the inability focus. This inability to focus has made it so that some students cannot multi task with things such as note taking and class participations.


Some colleges have started to take action and help those with this problem by offering services such as note takers, and recording devices. This has become a controversial issue in some schools though. There are some schools that only offer this service to student athletes which leads many to complain. ADHD is a learning disability so why do schools only help some of the disabled? Shouldn’t all of the handicapped be given the opportunity to negate their disability?

Hybrid Classes



Brandon Carter

Although some researchers have found that students in a hybrid class, one that is taught in part by lecture and also online learning, can do as well as students in a more traditional class, this might not be the case all the time. According to James N. Gregory, an associate professor of history at the University of Washington, "The devil is in the details" of how such courses are done. According to Mr. Gregory, "A course that is taught by an involved instructor and meets some of the time in person and uses various tools and enhancements by computers could be wonderful," he says. Or it could be "a disaster."

In order for the classes to be effective students need a certain set of skills. For example, when there are few time constraints other than deadlines, students who take online course are fully responsible for sticking to their own schedule. If the student is the kind of person who procrastinates too much and has trouble managing time, the online part could end up being much harder than necessary. In addition while students don’t necessarily need to know everything about computers, understanding of how to interact with the online section of the class is a must. Plus the fact that some students have higher computer literacy than other students may put the lesser equipped students at a disadvantage. In addition there is also the problem of lack of direction. In the hybrid setup, students have a lectures one class and online learning the next, but in between the lectures all the students have is the online resources the professor gave them. While this may some times be sufficient there are other times where a student could be left in the dark so to speak. If the student can’t ask the professor questions on which direction to head in, the student could end up in completely the opposite direction the professor intended.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Is American Higher Education Better than the Rest?

Hunter Hammond

According to Christopher J. Lucas, author of American Higher Education: A History, Second Edition, at one point in our nation's history we possessed a unique opportunity. Lucas quotes David Robson (author of College Founding in the New Republic) to say, "had funds expended on higher education been concentrated in a select few institutions, it has been argued, the United States soon would have developed a system of education unsurpassed by any other in the world." In other words, it has been debated that America could be even more of a giant (in academia) than it already is. The question now becomes, (in the status quo) is American Higher Education better than the rest? Can other cultures' systems of learning compete with our own?

Given the current state of the economy, this question is more pressing and meaningful than ever. According to Thomas J. Tierney (director of eBay), America used to hold an understood position of power. Tierney evaluates this based off of a solely economic aspect, which falls within his realm of expertise, and correlates the economic condition of the country to our higher education. Empirically, the scattering of local colleges has paid homage to the phrase "more is better;" however, as of late the new outlook on American Higher Education is that fewer colleges releasing higher quality students would better serve our current economic plight. This vantage from Tierney constitutes an answer to our question. American Higher Education is not better than the rest; we are being out competed!

In response to being outcompeted, a grant foundation (Lumina), as well as the federal government, have set initiatives to increase the level of high-quality college degrees by a certain margin and by a certain date. These initiatives are testaments to the real fears we are now living with: American Higher Education is in jeopardy. The Lumina Foundation has been cited stating that expansion of the college system could cause more harm than good. Specifically, expansion cannot occur if dilution of the system occurs along with it. This means that institutions of higher learning must be of a high caliber. This evidence stands in direct confirmation of the quote from David Robson. This is important because we are now living in a time where our "more is better" mind frame is not able to help us; on the contrary, it is hurting us.

Our higher education system has served us well in the past. We have made leaps and bounds as a country; however, can our old system survive? The answer is no.. In the status quo, American Higher Education is not better than the rest. Given consideration to the current economic state, Robson and Lucas were correct in their assumption that a more focused system would be more effective. However, this does not mean our current system is bad; it merely needs to be reinvigorated.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Government Funding For Childcare

David Diaz

A bill that passed the house last week aimed to raise the standards of education from birth until the age of 5, according to “Initiative Focuses on Early Learning Programs” by Sam Dillon. Dillon informs the reader of the need for government funded early childcare programs and the current state of early childcare. However, Dillon doesn’t mention anything about the impact this will have on education, particularly higher education.

Dillon describes the current early childcare system as a group of daycares funded by private organizations, churches, and in some cases the local or federal government. He continues to say that these care programs vary between a well planned schedule of activities and no group activities of any kind. Obviously, the children who attend the better daycare facilities will be better prepared for kindergarten than those who don’t. Also, daycares are in great demand currently because in many families both parents have jobs. Many people are demanding government-funded and government regulated day care programs for their young children while they are at work. There is a great demand for daycares in this country, but how will daycares affect education in general.

Although daycares may better prepare some children for kindergarten and allow children to learn how to deal with being away from their parents, they don’t affect higher education. According to Dillon, many people complain that children entering kindergarten aren’t on the same level, but one must remember that kindergarten serves as a method for equally preparing children for school. Kindergarten specifically plays this role because it is the minimum age when all children can begin to acquire the skills to be successful in school. Also, one must remember that accomplishments and grades in elementary school no longer matter at the high school level. Likewise, high school grades don’t matter at the college level. Because kindergarten serves as a way to equally prepare all students for school, improving young childcare, will have no affect for students performing at the high school or college level. Improving childcare simply serves as a way to provide much needed childcare to working parents.

Dillon introduces a bill that was passed by the House of Representatives in congress that includes a section in which the government will provide funding for early childcare. Although there is a great need for government funded young childcare, due to the recent increase in both parents working, young childcare will not have any substantial affects on student performance in high school or in college.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Losing HOPE



Jamie Signorile

College is one of the most expensive things a family has to pay for. Many have depended on financial aid, typically given through scholarship. However, it is now clear that many of these forms of financial aid may come to a halt.
In this economy, State budgets have been forced to cut to prevent worse economic downturn. Sadly, this causes States to cut some of the most important parts of their budgets. Many scholarships are funded directly from the state. An article in The Chronicle For Higher Education states that many states are cutting their funding for scholarships because they are just too expensive.
Many students need state scholarships. These scholarships handle a huge part of college costs, and many students are only attending college because of the aid. The HOPE scholarship in Georgia is a blueprint that many States use in their programs for aid. Students must have certain credentials and maintain certain grades in college to keep this scholarship. Many students can attend Universities because their HOPE scholarship covers the cost. However, the program is funded by state lottery and the growth for student scholarships is growing faster than the revenue can handle. This now leads to the government reforming the programs. In Florida there is a similar program. It used to pay for 100% of student tuition, yet the State had to cut back and limit the amount of money given due to budget cuts. Similarly, in Georgia, the State is going to cap the amount that is given to qualifying students. It is amazing to see how much of an impact economy has on education. As the economy trends lower and lower, there seems to be less and less opportunities for students to succeed in higher education. Hopefully, States can figure out a way to allocate money and help students to succeed.