Archive: ‘National News’
Friday, March 29th, 2013
The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 29, 2013
By Don Troop
As universities raise alarms about the potentially devastating effects of more than $1-billion in looming cuts in federal research 
spending, a leading credit-rating agency issued a report on Thursday that seemed to say: “Calm down. This will sting for just a moment.”
The vast majority of American universities and nonprofit organizations will “face only minimal effects” from the budget cuts in the 2013 fiscal year, according to the report by Moody’s Investors Service. Just 1 percent of institutions—”primarily stand-alone research institutes”—are at risk of losing more than 3 percent of revenue during the first year of the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration.
Moody’s issued a grim report in January on the general outlook for higher education, but Thursday’s report—part of a series about the effect of sequestration—was optimistic, if measured.
John Nelson, managing director of the health-care and higher-education rating teams at Moody’s, acknowledged that the new report may come as cold comfort for worried federal-grant administrators at research universities.
“There are a lot of careers on the line, a lot of disappointed young researchers and older researchers who were used to certain success rates on their grants,” he said. But “we don’t read this as any kind of major loss of faith in research universities. It’s more a function of the difficult choices that government faces.”
Moody’s assesses the risk of lending money, Mr. Nelson said, and universities remain a solid investment.
“We don’t make any statement about whether the government policy on funding is a good idea,” he said. “We’re just saying that universities have a lot of adaptive abilities, and from the perspective of ‘Are bondholders going to get their money back?,’ this is not a serious threat to them.”
For the full article click here.
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Category Chronicle of Higher Ed, National News | Tags: Tags: Higher Ed, Sequestration,
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Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By Rob Jenkins
March 18, 2013
According to a recent article in The Chronicle, a state senator in California has sponsored a bill that would establish “a statewide platform through which students who have trouble getting into certain low-level, high-demand classes could take approved online courses offered by providers outside the state’s higher-education system.”
In other words, students at California’s public colleges who are unable to enroll in regular classes due to overcrowding will instead be steered into MOOCs, or massive open online courses.That strikes me as a massively bad idea.
Admittedly, I’m an outsider. I don’t live in California, and I’ve never worked in that state’s higher-education system. Maybe I just don’t understand what’s going on.
Apparently nobody else does, either. According to The Chronicle, “right now SB 520 is just a two-page ‘spot bill,’ a legislative placeholder to be amended with details later.”
We know that community-college students, practically by definition, are some of the students least prepared for college work. Based on data compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse, we also know that they’re among the least likely to complete college and earn a degree.Lacking such “details,” let’s stick with what we do know. We know that community-college students are among those most affected by California’s shortage of classes—The Chronicle reports that “more than 472,000 … students enrolled in the California Community Colleges last fall were put on a waiting list for a course that was already full”—and thus they will be among those most affected by a move to MOOCs.
We know, because of extensive research by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University, among others, that community-college students who enroll in online courses tend to complete at an even lower rate than do students who enroll in face-to-face courses.
For the full article click here.
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Category Higher Education, National News | Tags: Tags: california, MOOCs, online classes, Online Education,
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Monday, March 18th, 2013
Finding a budget resolution for the rest of 2013 is crucial for higher ed. If not, federal work study programs, financial aid awards for the 2013-14 cycle and other education programs that prepare low-income students for college will be most impacted. The budget proposed by Rep Paul Ryan calls for a cap on Pell Grant’s growth and altering the need analysis formula for financial aid. While the Democrat’s version of the budget offers no increase for Federal Work-Study or Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Should our representatives be doing more for higher ed?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By Kelly Field
March 12, 2013
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled on Tuesday a budget blueprint for the 2014 fiscal year that would tighten eligibility for federal student aid, freeze the maximum Pell Grant at $5,645 for the ne
t decade, and consolidate federal job-training programs.x
The plan, which aims to balance the federal budget in 10 years, is unlikely to survive in the Senate, where Democrats are poised to release a budget that would increase taxes and expand spending on education and research. Still, the dueling proposals are likely to frame the debate over government spending and revenue in the months to come.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in both chambers are scrambling to meet a March 27 deadline to enact a spending measure for the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Last week House Republicans approved a bill that would extend spending at the current year’s levels, subject to across-the-board cuts that took effect on March 1. Thei
r measure would give the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs some flexibility in allocating those cuts, known as the sequester.
The Senate version of the spending bill for 2013 was introduced late Monday by the Appropriations Committee’s chairwoman, Barbara A. Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, and the committee’s top Republican, Richard C. Shelby of Alabama. The legislation would soften some of the cuts at the science agencies, increasing spending on the National Science Foundation by $221-million over 2012′s levels and providing an additional $71-million to the National Institutes of Health. But the NIH, one of the largest backers of university research, would still face more than $1-billion in budget cuts, forcing it to make hundreds fewer research grants.
The measure would provide no increase for Federal Work-Study or Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
For the full article click here.
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Category National News | Tags: Tags: Budget, Paul Ryan, Sequester,
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Monday, March 18th, 2013
Karin Kapsidelis, writing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
“In what is seen as the next major innovation in cutting college costs, Tidewater Community College will offer a textbook-free degree program in the fall that could reduce the price of earning an associate degree by about a third.
TCC says its associate of science degree in business administration will be the first in the nation by an accredited institution to entirely use open-source educational materials.
“I think we have a responsibility as a college to do what we can to help control the costs of textbooks because we know there are students who can’t afford them,” said Daniel T. DeMarte, TCC vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer. “We know there are students who are not successful because they can’t afford them.”
[...]
The college estimates a student who completes the degree will have saved about $2,000, although actual savings will be calculated when the pilot program is evaluated.”
[...]
“I think it’s one of the biggest rip-offs in this business,” DuBois said. “I say that not as a chancellor; I say it as a father who just had to give his daughter 600 bucks to buy this semester’s textbooks at a public university.”
Although the $2,000 is only if you make it into every textbook-free section I’m still really excited to see how popular this program is. Even having just a quarter of your degree in the pilot program will mean you save a considerable amount of money. Textbooks aren’t cheap these days.
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
Inside Higher Ed
By John Warner
March 11, 2013
Bill Gates has diagnosed what ails higher education, and the cure is all about technology, and also Yoda.
Speaking at the SXSW technology conference, as reported by CNN Money, “Gates’ main theme was personalized learning, which can be enhanced by new technology.”
And Yoda.
Again according to CNN Money, Gates maintains that, “Yoda was a great teacher because the Jedi master understood when Skywalker is losing interest.”
In Gates’ own words, “With this wave of software that’s being created that personalizes to the student … there’s real promise here that the kids can go back and engage in a way they couldn’t before.”
So Bill Gates and I, and just about everyone else I’m aware of, agree on two big things: 1. That large lecture classes are non-ideal atmospheres to engender learning. 2. The better alternative is personalized learning supervised by a mentor capable of nurturing student interest.
Gates’ answer to this problem is “personalized software.”
As I read this, I realized this software already exists, and in some cases (mine) it’s a little too soft, around the middle especially.
I’m talking about human beings, or in Yoda’s case, an indeterminate species of three-foot tall green things with oversized ears and gravelly Miss Piggy voices.
I like Gates’ Yoda analogy. Yoda is indeed a fine teacher. When Luke is coaxed by Obi-Wan’s ghost to the swamp planet Dagobah to learn under Yoda’s tutelage, rather than lecturing Luke Skywalker on how to harness the Force, Yoda encourages young Luke to search inside himself.
I have to say, I sometimes feel like Yoda in my job, every student a different young Jedi in need of the right words of encouragement.
Most of the time I’m communicating two things, that what I am asking them to do matters, and that they are indeed capable of doing it.
Or, as Yoda puts it, “Do or do not…there is no try.”
Apparently, Gates’ idea is to put Yoda on computer screens as part of the college of tomorrow, “in which students watch lessons online, delivered by the brightest minds in the field.”
As Gates says, “If you want the very best lectures, if you want the cost efficiency, you have to break down and say, you know, let’s take someone else’s material.”
I think about this, and I wonder, given a Jedi-master’s ability to project his thoughts across galaxies and star systems in an instant, why did Obi-Wan encourage Luke to seek out Yoda in person?
Maybe because software and humans are the same thing, not. Yes, hmmm.
Read the full article here.
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Category Higher Education, National News | Tags: Tags: Bill Gates, Higher Ed, Technology,
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Monday, March 11th, 2013
Congratulations to the Virginia colleges that were recognized by the Federal Government for their community service work this month. Virginia21 is so pleased to see college students across the Commonwealth giving back to their communities and being recognized for their good work. Well done all!
Top work too to Emory and Henry College, James and Madison University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Washington & Lee University for receiving Honor Roll with Distinction!
Virginia’s colleges that were recognized:
Blue Ridge Community College - Weyers Cave, VA
Blueield College - Blueield, VA
Bridgewater College - Bridgewater, VA
College of William and Mary - Williamsburg, VA
Hollins University - Roanoke, VA
Lynchburg College - Lynchburg, VA
Mary Baldwin College - Staunton, VA
Marymount University - Arlington, VA
Old Dominion University - Norfolk, VA
Radford University - Radford, VA
Randolph-Macon College - Ashland, VA
Roanoke College - Salem, VA
Shenandoah University - Winchester, VA
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Blacksburg, VA
University of Mary Washington - Fredericksburg, VA
University of Richmond - Burgess, VA
Virginia Tech - Blacksburg, VA
Virginia State University - Petersburg, VA
Virginia Union University - Richmond, VA
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Category Higher Education, National News, Virginia News | Tags: Tags: Awesome, HigherEd,
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Friday, March 8th, 2013
Ben Casselman, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
As student debt levels continue to rise, more college students are facing a critical decision: Borrow more or drop out? Men and women appear to be reaching different conclusions.
Moderate levels of debt can actually help students graduate by allowing them to work less and study more. But beyond a certain point, the relationship breaks down—wary of taking on too heavy a debt burden, students drop out.
That dynamic exists for all students, but not equally. According to a new paper in the journal Gender & Society, men are more likely than women to leave school rather than take on more loans. Women are more likely to finish their degrees, even if that means graduating with a higher debt burden. The research suggests that student debt may help explain a significant but poorly understood trend in recent years: Women are not only enrolling in college at higher rates than men, they’re also more likely to graduate.
That gender should affect student borrowing decisions might seem surprising, but the authors suggest there is a fairly simple explanation: Men without college degrees face better job prospects than equivalently educated women, at least in the short term. That makes the consequences of dropping out appear smaller for men.
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Category Higher Education, National News, Student Debt, Uncategorized | Tags:
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Thursday, March 7th, 2013
March 6th, 2013
This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University.
The amount being spent per student by public colleges and universities has fallen to its lowest level in at least 25 years, a result of state budget cuts a new report warns are rapidly eroding the nation’s educational edge over its international competitors.
The report, by the Boulder, Colorado-based State Higher Education Executive Officers, or SHEEO, shows that state and local financial support for public universities and colleges fell 7 percent last year, on top of a 9 percent drop the year before. And while enrollment also fell slightly—a result, the organization’s president said, not of lower demand, but of higher tuition—it’s still higher than in 2008, when the steep budget cuts began.
The result is that the amount being spent, per student, is $5,896, the lowest level in the 25 years since it’s been tracked by SHEEO. And a much higher proportion of that is being charged to families in the form of tuition than is being covered by states.
Nearly half of the cost of public higher education is now borne by students in the form of tuition, more than double the proportion of 25 years ago, SHEEO said.
“Students are paying more, while public institutions are receiving substantially less money to educate them,” said SHEEO President Paul Lingenfelter, who said the annual decreases in funding and increases in tuition were the biggest in his 41-year career in higher education.
To Read the Whole Article Click Here.
Thursday, March 7th, 2013
Forbes
Roger Dooley,
March 5, 2013
There are nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States. Somehow, almost all of these institutions have continued to attract enough students to stay in business year after year.
That’s about to change, and one of the key differences in who survives won’t be the academic output of the faculty or the amenities available to students. It will be a factor seemingly unrelated to the schools’ mission:branding.
Survival of… Everyone?
How do these thousands of schools stay in business? Most Americans would be hard-pressed to name more than a tiny fraction of them – big sports names, top academic institutions, and in-state and local colleges. The national brand schools tend to be popular choices for applicants, and they focus on attracting top students and selecting the most promising candidates from those who apply. Filling the seats isn’t an issue.
Some schools are specialty brands – not household names, but well-known in their niche. Like the big brands, they have no difficulty attracting applicants (say, Harvey Mudd for engineering). Similarly, some schools would be considered regional brands – popular in a particular state or geographic area, and drawing a surplus of applicants.
Local schools occupy a different niche. They may or may not have a distinct brand, but they appeal to the large segment of students who don’t want to (or can’t afford to) leave home to attend college. Often, the key criteria for a student selecting one of these are its short commute and modest admissions requirements.
Read more at Forbes.com
Friday, March 1st, 2013
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By Allie Bidwell
March 1, 2013
As the midnight-Thursday deadline came and went, steep federal spending cuts were set in motion, leaving college students, administrators, and researchers bracing for the effects of impending reductions in financial-aid, research, and job-training programs. Adding to the anxiety is the fact that no one is certain exactly how or when those effects will be seen.
Advocacy groups, colleges, and President Obama have all called on Congress numerous times to come to a compromise and avoid the across-the-board reduction in federal spending, which will take place through a process known as “sequestration.”
Though a handful of last-minute bills were introduced in the days leading up to the March 1 deadline, legislators failed to approve a plan to avert or postpone the cuts in time, and higher-education institutions across the country are now waiting to see exactly how they will be affected.
President Obama is expected to meet with Congressional leaders on Friday to discuss possible ways to avoid the sequester, but that meeting is not expected to halt the first phase of cuts from taking effect.
The White House has warned that there will be significant reductions in some student-aid programs, in federal funds that support university research, and in college-preparatory programs, but it is difficult to nail down the immediate effects, as program administrators are not sure of how and when the administration will put the cuts into effect.
The Student-Aid Recipient
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned that the reductions would have a significant impact on both the financing and delivery of federal financial aid for college students. Although the Pell Grant program is exempt from cuts for the first year of sequestration, programs like the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Federal Work-Study would be cut by millions of dollars, eliminating more than 100,000 students from participation.
To read the whole article click here.
