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How to Measure a College's Commitment to Low-Income Students - Until recently, it has been very difficult to assess how well individual colleges are serving low-income students. Policymakers, researchers, and journalists have mostly had to rely on a single measure to do so: the proportion of Pell Grant recipients each college enrolls.

While this dataset provides a useful tool for comparing colleges based on their record of admitting low-income students, it does not tell us anything about the schools’ commitment to making college affordable for these individuals. For example, if a college enrolls a large number of Pell Grant recipients but doesn’t come close to meeting their remaining financial need, it may be setting them up for failure.

In 2008, Congress recognized the need for policymakers to get better information about how colleges are spending their institutional aid dollars — financial aid they provide students from their own resources. As part of legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, lawmakers required colleges to report to the U.S. Department of Education the average net price they charge first-time, full-time students, broken down by income for those individuals who receive federal financial aid. The net price is the amount of money that students and their families have to pay after all grant and scholarship aid is taken into account.

The net price data provide a clear picture of the financial hurdles that low-income students face at individual campuses, and they open a window on how colleges are spending their institutional aid dollars. But the view is far from complete, as the data include only those students who receive federal Title IV grants or loans. Wealthy students who receive only merit aid from their schools are not captured in these data. As a consequence, we remain in the dark about the extent to which colleges are using their aid to help those without financial need.

Higher education lobbyists have repeatedly beaten back efforts by policymakers to force colleges to reveal more about their financial aid practices. In 2008, for example, they fought a proposal included in the original House reauthorization bill that would have required colleges to report to the Education Department the average amount of institutional grant aid that they provide to their students and the average net price they charge, with each disaggregated by students’ family income. These data were to reflect the experiences of all students at a school, including those with family incomes of $140,000 a year or more.

College lobbyists opposed the provision, arguing that colleges don’t have any way of knowing how much students and their families make if they haven’t applied for federal aid. It’s unclear, however, why schools can’t at least report the disaggregated data for all students on their campuses receiving institutional aid.

Despite the data’s limitations, the net price information is extremely helpful in showing the real prices that low-income students must pay. That’s because the vast majority of the neediest undergraduates receive federal financial aid.

According to a report that the research and advocacy group Education Trust published in 2011, titled “Priced Out: How the Wrong Financial-Aid Policies Hurt Low-Income Students,” 82 percent of full-time students with family incomes of $30,000 or less obtain federal grants and/or loans. In contrast, only about a third of students with family incomes over $110,000 receive federal aid.

As a result, the net price data provide a much more accurate measurement for judging how well different colleges are serving low-income students than just the Pell Grant data alone. For example, the University of Cincinnati has repeatedly earned a top spot in rankings that The Chronicle of Higher Education has published comparing wealthy colleges based on the proportion of low-income students they enroll — with Pell Grant recipients making up 27 percent of the university’s students. But the net price data (which wasn’t available when the Chronicle last conducted its rankings) show that the school’s lowest-income students must pay a hefty price: an average of nearly $15,000 after all grant and scholarship aid is taken into account.

Similarly, Syracuse University has appropriately received a lot of praise for the substantial efforts it has made to admit low-income students. After all, 27 percent of Syracuse’s students receive Pell Grants — a figure that is largely unmatched by peer institutions in the private college sector. Still, the net price data reveal that the university’s neediest students must come up with an average of over $18,000 to attend.

Why do low-income students at these wealthy universities have to face such high prices? Is it because schools simply can’t afford to meet their financial need? Or is it because the institutions are redirecting a large share of their aid dollars to helping more-affluent students? We won’t know for sure until colleges are required to lift the veil off their institutional aid practices, once and for all.

Source : inthetank.newamerica.net

Update List College Names Finalists for President's Post 2013 - Alamance Community College has

The full Board of Trustees will begin meeting with the finalists with hopes of finding a successor for retiring president Martin Nadelman by July. Nadelman, who has been with ACC since 1999, will retire effective Oct. 1.

ACC staff, faculty and the community will have a chance to meet all the finalists in a series of informal meetings.

Source : www.thetimesnews.com

Durham-Based Squord Scores with TechStars - Coleman Greene is a really nice guy. He's the kind of guy who phones you back immediately when your call is dropped.

I spoke with him over the weekend — earlier than I usually use my professional voice on Saturdays. I was in my bedroom still wearing my pajamas and silently pleading with AT&T's unreliable service to not cut out again, please, damn it. My phone rang, and he bushed off my apologies with an understanding laugh. Maybe he has AT&T, too.

Coleman Greene is also a really smart guy. A Vanderbilt graduate who got his MBA at UNC, he cofounded Sqord, which celebrates its two-year anniversary in June. Haven't heard of Squord yet? You will: The company recently was accepted by Chicago's TechStars, a highly competitive three-month mentorship program that nurtures and funds companies in the early stages of development.

Self-described as a “one part game platform, one part social media, and one part fitness tracker,” Squord encourages kids to lead healthy lives through active playtime.

Using its hardware and software platforms, kids can track their movement and upload activities to their social media accounts. Whether they're running, skateboarding, riding bikes, or even taking out the trash, when they swipe their PowerBands over a Sqord SyncStation (located at home and in schools), they score points, get medals, win competitions, and can, basically, brag online to their friends about all the cool, active stuff they're doing. High five, kids. I should probably hit the gym.

Squord's inclusion in TechStars gives the company access to an impressive network of mentors and investors that can really push it from the “early seed stages” into the next, more mature phase.

“We're using this as an opportunity to polish the rough edges,” Coleman says in a subtly southern accent, his own children clamoring in the background. “We want to build a platform and a brand that is a leader in health and fitness.”

Located in American Tobacco, Squord is in good company, as that downtown destination has become pretty popular among hip Durham start-ups. But a program in Chicago, Coleman explains, makes a lot of sense for them, because they do a lot of work with BlueCross BlueShield and the YMCA, both of which are headquartered in the Windy City. (Plus, his wife grew up there.)

Colman originally reached out to TechStars in 2011 but was turned down. However, he got some good feedback. They encouraged him to keep in contact, so, throughout the year, he'd send the investors updates on the company's progress.

With four full-time employees and one heavily involved contractor on board, he reapplied — and, this time, luck was on his side. TechStars has accelerated companies like Distil, and Ubooly, putting them into the big leagues by helping them raise millions of dollars. What start-up wouldn't want that?

Keep your eye on Squord and the interesting things they're doing in the digital arena. And, if you haven't already, tell your kids to sign up.

Debt a drag on UK youth - Hard times - Young adults are finding it almost impossible to break free from their parents, both emotionally and financially, as they struggle to become independent, a British study has revealed.

A survey of 1500 people aged between 18 and 30 by The Co-operative Group found that debt had become the "new normality" for their generation.

Student loans, credit cards, loans and overdrafts were the main sources of debt, with almost a third admitting they are hiding the state of their finances from their parents.

More than four out of five of those questioned are receiving financial support from their parents, needing help to buy food or repay debts.(see HERE)

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Most also turned to their parents to help find a job, give them lifts, or do household chores, the report says.

The study also revealed that 18 to 30-year-olds were earning over £7000 ($A10,645) a year less than they thought they would in relation to their age and education, while one in 10 did not feel their job matched their qualifications.

Two-fifths of those surveyed were dissatisfied with their lives, believing they should have achieved more.

Martyn Wates, deputy group chief executive at The Co-operative Group, said: "It should not be forgotten that it is these young adults who are ultimately going to shape the future of Britain for years to come, so they need support and encouragement to thrive which, in turn, will only be positive for the future of the country.

"Whilst it is positive to see that young people believe that they will one day earn a healthy salary, the survey has signposted that the earnings of 18 to 30-year-olds do not currently live up to expectations which highlights that, for now at least, this ambitious group may have to re-evaluate their ideals."

The research also revealed that one in four young adults had never climbed a tree or played the traditional British game of conkers and one in eight had never ridden a bike.

Interest Rates on College Loans on Way Up - Putting her self through school, Shayna Stevens relies heavily on student loans to pursue a degree in secondary education at Northern Arizona University.

Currently a sophomore, Stevens said she is already $40,000 in debt. She works part time during the school year and plans to take two jobs over the summer to keep that amount as manageable as possible.

"If I didn't have to take out these loans then I wouldn't have to work all these extra jobs on the side and I could focus more on my studies and actually getting the education that I'm paying for," Stevens said.

Things won't be getting any easier next year. Unless Congress acts before July 1, interest rates on subsidized student loans, for which students must demonstrate financial need, will rise from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Students don't have to pay interest on subsidized loans while in school. Unsubsidized loans, which currently have a 6.8 percent interest rate, require students to pay interest on loans from the start.

Stevens, who has both types of loans, said she plans to finish her education but has concerns about her peers. She said she already has seen friends drop out of NAU after realizing that the financial burden would be too much.

"I think there's definitely going to be a huge drop out from students who just can't afford to take on these loans anymore," Stevens said.

Serena Unrein, public-interest advocate with the Arizona Public Interest Research Group, said the average Arizona student borrower will pay $1,000 more in interest if the rates double. (see HERE)

Jennifer Johnson, a senior at Arizona State University who took out subsidized loans throughout college, said that with the current interest rates she will be paying close to $2,000 in interest over a 10-year period.

"Doubling it to $4,000, I just can't even imagine," Johnson said.

Tucsonan Ann-Eve Pedersen, president of the Arizona Education Parent Association, said she has talked with parents who won't be able to send their children to college because of the rising cost not just of loans but tuition.

"We're just making higher education unaffordable, but we know that all of the quality jobs now and definitely in the future are going to require higher education, so we're moving in the absolute wrong direction as a state," Pedersen said.

Unrein said that the increased interest rates could also influence the decisions students make after college. She said that those with a lot of debt may choose to not go into lower-paying careers such as teaching or working for nonprofits.

"We need people to go into careers as teachers, as first responders, and if we're saddling people with the kind of debt that makes it impossible to go into those careers then that leaves our state in a world of harm," Unrein said.

The interest rates on subsidized loans were set to double last year as well. Just before the deadline, Congress passed a one-year extension of the 3.4 percent interest rates.

Megan McClean, director of policy and federal regulations with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said that another one-year extension is unlikely.

"Last year, extending it for one additional year cost $1 billion, and I'm sure you know that that money is hard to come by in these particular times that we're in," she said.

McClean said that Congress and President Obama are looking for long-term solutions. In Obama's fiscal 2014 budget, he called for student-loan interest rates to be set each year based on the current market rate.

"I think from a broader standpoint … we need to find a long-term sustainable solution versus these quick fixes," McClean said.

Amid national discussions on college affordability, Sheila Shelton decided to return to college after 30 years. She took out subsidized loans to pay for an education degree at Phoenix College. (see HERE)

"If it doubles, I don't know if I'll be able to pay it all back," Shelton said. "It'll be a lifetime. I'm already over the age of the average student."

However, Shelton said that she won't let the increase postpone her dream of being a special-education teacher.

"It's going to be a challenge, but at this point I'm up for the challenge," she said.

Loan types

Subsidized

• Recipients must demonstrate need.

• The U.S. Department of Education pays interest: while a recipient is in school; during the six months after the recipient leaves school (only applies to loans disbursed before July 1, 2012); or during a period of deferment.

• Currently have an interest rate of 3.4 percent.

Unsubsidized

• No financial need necessary.

• Students are responsible for paying interest from the outset.

• Currently have an interest rate of 6.8 percent.

Source: Federal Student Aid Office of the U.S. Department of Education

Telling ‘Advantage’ for Chinese Applicants - Wake Forest University is launching a new programme for
Chinese high school students intended to help “bridge the gap” between the Chinese and US educational systems and provide students with “incontrovertible” video evidence of their academic readiness, which Wake Forest will send to college admissions offices on their behalf.

“Our notion was by going to the high schools and providing exposure to Western-style pedagogical
practices, we’ll both have a better sense of who’s applying, at least in some cases, and we’ll have a head start on integrating students once they’re here,” said Rogan Kersh, Wake Forest’s provost.

American colleges have struggled both with validating the credentials of the increasing numbers of applicants from China - the number of Chinese students in the US has increased by 139 per cent in five years, and the heavy involvement of agents in the application process has brought with it concerns about fake transcripts, essays and letters of recommendation - as well as with helping students adjust to American classroom practices once they arrive. Intensive English or pathway programs frequently cover acculturative academic content, such as oral presentation skills or citation practices, but Wake Forest wants to bring that content to Chinese students before they graduate from high school.

Ann Cunningham, an associate professor of education at Wake Forest, has spearheaded the development of what’s called the Wake Forest Advantage curriculum, which focuses on four core learning skills - academic research and inquiry, academic discourse and communication, exploring US college and university culture, and refining individual learning strategies - and emphasises collaboration and reflection.

Wake Forest has partnered with the company EdisonLearning, and will be offering the curriculum in several formats. It will offer a two-week intensive summer academy, taught by its own education faculty and teacher education alumni and students; it will employ and train local teachers to deliver the curriculum in an after-school setting; and it will train instructors at partner high schools to teach the content during the normal school day. In the latter case, Wake Forest enters into a financial relationship directly with the high school; otherwise, the 72-hour summer academy costs $1,500 (£970), while students who take a 90-hour after-school programme pay $2,500.

One key difference is that students in the after-school programme, but not the summer academy, produce a “digital portfolio” that Wake Forest will distribute directly to US admissions offices upon their request. The student-created DVDs will show the students engaging in common Western-style classroom practices – such as giving presentations, debating with classmates, and working in groups - as well as reflecting on those experiences. A team of school teachers in North Carolina will evaluate the videos, which will be placed in envelopes sealed with gold, silver or bronze stickers to indicate the students’ level of preparedness for a US classroom.

“Just having a course like this under their belt is going to be a good sign for a university admissions office,” Dr Cunningham said.

However, Parke Muth, a consultant and former director of international admissions at the University of Virginia, questioned the value both to students and to admissions officers given that the only evaluative grade is a colour-coded seal. “For $2,500, you get a star,” he said. “That to me just isn’t worth it.” By contrast, he said, a signed letter from a Wake Forest faculty member describing the student’s progress in the classroom would be much more valuable to admissions officers.

“This sounds like a really good money-making venture potentially,” Mr Muth said.

Professor Kersh, the Wake Forest provost, maintained that profit isn’t a main motive behind setting up the programme. “It’s much more important that we have a clearer sense of who these applicants are, and that we can at least in a small way help prepare them for the very different college and university experience in the US. If it winds up being more lucrative than we imagine that certainly would be nice, but that’s not what we’re modelling or expecting,” he said. The programme has been piloted at the Dulwich College International High School Programme, in Jiangsu Province, China. The intensive academy will be run for the first time this summer and Wake Forest hopes to enter into partnerships with up to five high schools this autumn.

“These [types of] programmes really are designed to ensure student success,” said James Cross, associate provost and senior international officer at Champlain College, in Vermont. Champlain also has a presence in Chinese high schools: it offers a one-year bridge programme at Datong High School in Shanghai which focuses on English language skills and American classroom and university culture. Students are granted conditional admission to Champlain pending successful completion of the programme.

“There are other benefits to this – branding and the like. But more Chinese students do want to come to the United States, and those schools that want to accept them want to make sure they’re quality students who can be successful in the classroom. That really is the bottom line,” he said.
Source : www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

Looking Works to Control the Cost of a College Education - Among the most significant barriers facing
Vermonters who are seeking a college degree is the cost of an undergraduate education. Sterling College, a leading voice for environmental stewardship in the United States, is making a new commitment to providing financial aid to graduates of Vermont high schools, as well as associate degree recipients and transfer students.

Sterling College is committed to providing access to students who wish to pursue studies in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Outdoor Education, or Sustainable Agriculture. While Sterling is a private college, it has committed to match in-state public
university tuition of the University of Vermont, for all Vermonters who gain admission for September 2013.

Sterling College is only one of seven federally recognized work colleges helping students reduce tuition and living expenses through on-campus work. Additionally, the College’s Board of Trustees recently limited the increase in tuition to only 2% for 2013-14. “The board understands that these are very challenging financial times for families in Vermont, and it is our intention that Sterling help ease the transition for students who want access to our unique programs of study,” said Wendy Koenig, Sterling College trustee and chair of its Enrollment Committee. (see HERE)

“We know that the growing career opportunities associated with the Sterling College curriculum are the most important areas of challenge facing society in the 21st century, and, that Vermont is the epicenter in the nation for studying critical disciplines focused on food, water, health, energy, soil, climate, and education, as such, it is essential that students who aspire to become environmental stewards have access to a Sterling education,” commented Matthew Derr, Sterling’s new president at the College’s most recent admission open house.

“Sterling College is taking important action to support Vermonters who aspire to earn a college degree. The College is committing itself to keeping educational costs under control. I commend President Derr’s leadership on both access and affordability,” offered Congressman Peter Welch of the College’s recent actions. (see HERE)

“Sterling College is committed to educating future generations of environmental stewards, and providing financial aid is a key commitment we make to see that that happens” continued President Derr. “We think big and act on our convictions, whether it’s divesting our endowment from fossil fuels or offering scholarships to climate justice activists.

Knowing Our child's learning ability - Each and every child is different and so also is their learning ability.

Some may learn and understand faster than others. Some children, whether they are in school, junior college or university, may require some additional help to grapple with their school or college work. Often it is not that the child isn't capable, it is just that he might not be able to fully understand what he heard in class and may need to revise what he has learnt or get further explanations on the subject. Such a child should consider taking extra tuition in that particular subject to enable him cope.

Although home tuition in Singapore is expensive, it has several advantages. It helps your child improve his or her performance in class. If your child is lacking in confidence or independence, then giving him home tuition may assist him reach his full potential. Some children have uncertainties and problems with certain subjects. By taking home tuition, the tutor is able to identify the child's strengths and weaknesses and will be able to tailor the tuition to focus on the needs of the child without neglecting the child's strengths. Also this allows the tutor to go at the child's pace and allows him to focus on the areas that need the most attention.(see HERE) Having a home tutor could also be less intimidating for a student who is shy and finds it difficult to speak in front of a group. Taking tuition at home provides the child the flexibility of choosing the preferred time and days when to have his tuition and he gets to have it in the comfort of his home.

Ohio State Men's Basketball Student Managers - The squeaking of brand new Nikes against polished hardwood fills the expansive interior of an empty Schottenstein Center. Bouncing basketballs, blowing whistles and exhausted grunts combine to form the soundtrack of a Buckeye basketball practice. Some of the members of the Ohio State men’s basketball program stand drenched in sweat, hands on their hips and watch as others participate in drills.

These spectators and participants combine to comprise an indisposable crew on the floor, but they aren’t the basketball team. They’re the seven members of the Ohio State men’s basketball managerial staff.

While the actual team wins the games and earns the headlines, the staff supporting the team is happy to sit behind the bench on game days, out of the spotlight. They’re OK with the idea that the outside world has no clue how important they were to coach Thad Matta and his teams’ preparations for victory.

“A lot of people just think we’re all ‘water and towels’ and just kind of there,” said Weston Strayer, manager and a fourth-year in marketing. “But they don’t understand just how much time and work we put in each week to the program.”

Their contributions are noticed by those who pay attention though.

“The managers do everything you really don’t want to do, and they do it with a smile on their face,” said senior forward Evan Ravenel. “They’re one of the key components to our team, and we wouldn’t be half as good without those guys.”

A typical OSU student gets up, goes to class, maybe goes to work afterward and then juggles homework with a social life. The managers have those same obligations, but in addition to their school obligations, they deal with between 35 and 40 hours a week of unpaid work for basketball activities.

They show up for 10 a.m. practice an hour before to set up. They stay two hours after to rebound for players who want to get extra shots up or to run errands for coaches. It can end up being a five-hour shift. On game days, they’re there for the pre-game shootaround five hours before tip-off and will stay at the arena for the next eight hours, through the pre-game team meal and the game itself.

During the games, they take advanced stats for the coaches, set up chairs on the court for the team during timeouts and manage Matta’s play-calling whiteboard.

“Once the game starts, nothing we have done is going to change anything, but preparation-wise, we definitely help them out where we can,” Strayer said. “We try and do our best to help them prepare and make everything a little bit easier for them.”

The man in charge of the managers is David Egelhoff, director of basketball operations. He’s been on the OSU staff for 10 years and in his current position for seven. In addition to handling the day-to-day, off-court activities of the basketball team, he handles the application and hiring process of the team’s managers and serves as their boss.

It’s a position his past has qualified him for.

Egelhoff served as a student manager for OSU’s basketball team from 1998 to 2002 under former OSU coach Jim O’Brien. He said his times as a manager make up some of his favorite college memories.

“I’ve made lifelong friendships, not only with the managers but the coaching staffs and players I’ve worked with as well,” Egelhoff said. “We had a really enjoyable time doing a lot of things … those experiences we had were pretty special to me.”

The sheer quantity of time the managers spend with each other has allowed them to form a special bond.

“It’s a great group of guys, we joke and mess with each other and it’s a lot of fun,” Strayer said. “We kind of joke when we walk out of the tunnel (during home games), they announce the ‘three-time defending Big Ten champions’ and then we all kind of just come out before everyone, so I always wonder what people think when they see us in the suits walking out by the team.”

Evan Kurt, a third-year manager and a fourth-year in marketing, said the experiences of going to the Final Four and to different venues around the country have made managing the “best time” of his life.

While the managers know they will never make the game-winning shot, they also are aware that their weeklong contributions before the 40-minute games are vital.

“There’s a lot that goes on at practices that people don’t see. If you don’t know all about what goes on behind the scenes, you don’t really understand,” Kurt said. “Game to game, it’s players and coaches who determine success, but behind the scenes, it’s us helping everybody improve and helping everybody get better.”

The managers’ reward for the hours upon hours of dirty work isn’t fame, money or recognition. It’s something less tangible, but something the managers say is much more important.

“The sense of being a part of the team,” Strayer said. “It’s one thing to be a fan, but to be emotionally involved, and to be with the team all the time and to be a part of the team is something I’ll never forget.”

Ravenel, a player who has played on three Big Ten championship teams and two Final Four teams, expressed the team’s gratitude for its managers.

As STEM education programs take hold, Colorado seeks common vision - Students in Travis O'Hair's Creative Engineering class at Skyline High School had grown accustomed to designing solutions to problems stemming from hypothetical hurricanes or earthquakes.

Then he introduced them to a 10-year-old girl from a neighboring elementary school whose debilitating joint condition made it impossible for her to operate a water fountain. She became their "client," and their adaptive-technology project became more than just a school assignment.

"They became very invested in their product," said O'Hair. "They felt like they had a mission, or vision, around what they were building."

O'Hair's class, and its project-based learning, represent just one cog in a burgeoning approach to STEM education — shorthand for science, technology, engineering and math — embraced by the St. Vrain Valley School District and many others.

While a proliferation of grass-roots efforts isn't necessarily bad, stakeholders from education and business are seeking to apply greater coordination to dozens of disparate STEM programs whose popularity spiked in recent years.

Experts such as Brad McLain, who co-directs the XSci Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative at the University of Colorado Denver, said agreement on a set of common goals could streamline what's now a collection of scattered initiatives.

"Having the ability to go after what you're interested in, or even compete for the grant money that's out there, is a healthy thing, like a competitive marketplace in the private sector," he said. "But pulling in the same direction is important, so we can do our own thing in service to larger goals."

The Colorado Department of Education created a new state position last May, financed by federal Race to the Top funds, that administers $500,000 in federal grant money for STEM programs.

But at this point, the definition of a STEM program in K-12 education can mean almost anything, from programs that emphasize math and science, to schools that offer an engineering course, to districts that want to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum.

"We need a vision that moves us forward instead of everyone doing their own thing," said Violeta Garcia, Colorado's newly minted STEM education coordinator. "To have a vision with common goals seems appropriate at this time, but it's not happening yet."

It's getting closer, though.

Colorado Legacy Foundation, in conjunction with the governor's office and a variety of other groups, has been working on a project to more clearly define criteria for quality initiatives and collaboration. Once that framework has been established, both public and private entities can determine how to replicate and grow successful programs — and where industry partners can invest resources.

An online portal will help students and educators connect the dots between those programs and illuminate STEM pathways through school to workforce. Organizations looking to fund STEM initiatives could also use the information to determine which gaps in the pipeline they'd like to fill.

"So how can we take what's good about everything, how can we harness that energy and find common ground and purpose and get everybody moving in the same direction?" said Heather Fox, spokeswoman for the Colorado Legacy Foundation. "That's where there's renewed energy and push."

Even at the federal level, there's a push to consolidate and coordinate. President Barack Obama's proposed 2014 budget, while pumping up funding for STEM education by nearly 7 percent, calls for trimming the number of federally funded programs in half to more precisely target the money.

Launched amid concern over the ability to fill the growing ranks of science- and engineering-related jobs, particularly as those fields expand in Colorado, STEM education has gained traction in the K-12 arena as schools have pursued initiatives both large and small.

DSST Public Schools have grown since 2004 to enroll more than 2,000 students at six STEM charter schools — with big plans for expansion that will more than double enrollment.

CEO Bill Kurtz last week testified before a U.S. House of Representatives education subcommittee on the factors that have contributed to those schools' high performance.

St. Vrain Valley, aided by associations with the University of Colorado at Boulder and IBM, has constructed a STEM program that begins in preschool and encompasses six elementary schools and two middle schools that feed into Skyline High School.

Students who successfully complete the prescribed courses of the "STEM Academy" can earn guaranteed admission to CU's engineering school. That's one reason enrollment has more than tripled from 40 to 130 over the last four years.

"We'll have changed the culture of that whole feeder," said Regina Renaldi, an assistant superintendent in the district. "If we have the success we think we'll have, it will be easy to replicate and sustain in another feeder."

The efforts, aided by a $16.6 million grant from the Race to the Top program and $3.6 million from Investing in Innovation, also have attracted lots of outside interest. Sporadic visits from other districts have turned into a steady stream that necessitated a twice-a-month tour schedule.

It hasn't hurt St. Vrain Valley to have a big hitter like IBM, with many employees in the Longmont area, as a partner.

"The public is realizing the need to start early, not wait until high school or middle school," said Ray Johnson, IBM's corporate citizenship manager. "I was hearing 6-year-olds use the word 'prototype.' "

The district drew on collaboration with Adams 12 Five Star Schools, which three years ago launched its STEM Magnet Lab, one of the first K-8 public STEM schools in Colorado, said Kellie Lauth, the district's science and STEM coordinator.

It started small, with only 250 students. By year's end there were 483 families on the waiting list, and the school expanded to double its original enrollment.

Last year, Adams 12 closed a failing middle school and reopened it with an identical K-8 STEM model with 920 students. The wait list exceeded 300 families.

As students from the K-8 model now move on to high school, Lauth has been working on turning Northglenn High School into a comprehensive STEM high school that will begin operation next fall.

In all, Adams 12 will have more than 4,000 students in its K-12 STEM pipeline at three sites identical in design and with more than 50 strategic partnerships. The district did it all without grant money and at a time of severe budget constraints

Lauth said she's asked all the time how STEM can remain relevant in a few years, when some other initiative becomes education's flavor of the month.

"It's because we don't define it by four letters, but by a teaching and learning vision directly tied to workforce readiness and the promise to have children well prepared," she said. "That need is never going to be gone. We stay relevant because we're constantly hitching ourselves to industry and to what they need, to their problems, to their different careers."
Source : Denver Post

University helps Erica combine study and rugby - WHEN Erica Fowler first picked up that oval-shaped
ball at age six, she was surrounded by a bunch of smelly little boys.

Rather than running away, she embraced being the only girl on the field.

Erica played rugby union with boys until Year 5 when she was told she could no longer be a member of the team - a bunch of kids she considered her best mates.



The 20-year-old Peregian Beach resident went on to play with girls, which she says was when the "rough stuff" began.

"When I was playing with the boys, they didn't want to touch me because I was a girl," she said.

"It was a shock to the system when I first played with the girls because I was actually being tackled.

"Girls are rough."

Now a member of the Noosa Dolphins Phinettes Women's team and the Stingrays Women's Sevens side, Erica juggles her love of rugby with her paramedic science studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Her dual passion for sport and her career was recognised yesterday when she received one of two USC Encouragement Foundation Rugby Scholarships. (see HERE)

Erica is believed to be the first female rugby sevens player in Australia to receive the scholarship, which will provide $3000 for each year of her degree.

Fellow scholarship recipient Luke Kimber, a Sunshine Coast Stingrays player studying to be a physiotherapist, said seeing a woman recognised for her success in rugby was great.

"It's a pleasure to watch Erica play," he said. "She's a great player and she deserves all the recognition."

The scholarship will help Erica complete her degree while undertaking work experience with Queensland Ambulance Service, doing part-time work with ASSIST First Aid and playing rugby.

She hopes to realise her ultimate dream - making the Australian Women's side - by 2016 for the Rio Olympics.

Source : http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au

Compares College Costs Regionally and Nationwide 2013 - The cost of attending colleges and

Graduation rates, meanwhile, put regional institutions mostly in the middle of the pack nationally.

North Dakota University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani, who has expressed concern with costs and graduation rates, said he thinks North Dakota institutions can do better.

universities in eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota are still mostly on the low end compared to similar institutions nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s new online “college scorecard.”

Among four-year institutions around the nation, UND, North Dakota State University, Valley City State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead are all considered low-cost universities with medium graduation rates.

It cost a North Dakota State University student an average of $13,284 a year in 2010-11, including tuition and room and board. Of students who began in the fall of 2005, 53.7 percent graduated within six years with a bachelor’s degree. (see HERE)

The annual cost at MSUM was $11,684, while the six-year graduation rate was 44.7 percent.

For UND, the annual cost was $11,952, and the graduation rate was 54.3 percent.

At VCSU, the annual cost was $9,947, and the graduation rate was 42.1 percent.

Some four-year institutions in the three-state region boast better graduation rates.

Concordia College – a medium-cost institution at an annual price of $19,948 – ranked as having a high graduation rate, with 69.4 percent.

South Dakota State University is also low-cost at $12,815 but boasts a high graduation rate of 59.7 percent. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is medium-cost at $16,019 and has a high graduation rate of 70.2 percent.

Among two-year institutions, Lake Region State College in Devils Lake and North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton and Minnesota State Community and Technical College, which has a campus in Moorhead, are all considered medium-cost colleges. Lake Region costs $7,460, MSCTC costs $10,578 and NDSCS costs $9,365.

Lake Region and NDSCS both have what’s considered a high graduation rate among their peers: 52.4 percent of students graduate with an associate degree within three years at Lake Region and 52 percent and NDSCS. MSCTC has a medium graduation rate of 35.4 percent.

Earlier this week, Shirvani said he believes graduation rates can be improved with the statewide education reform plan he introduced last year, which aimed to pair students with institutions they are most suitable for. He stressed the importance of students at four-year institutions graduating in four years, particularly for the state’s two research universities, UND and NDSU.

The college scorecard does not show how many students graduate in four years, but Shirvani said Thursday that 23 percent of UND students and 22 percent of NDSU students do so compared to 47 percent of U of M students.

Student debt was considered medium at the majority of colleges and universities in the region. After completing or leaving school, former UND students pay a median $197.02 per month. For former NDSU students, it’s $182.98, and for those who attended MSUM, it was $175.50.

Loan payments for former VCSU students were deemed low at $151.53.

Concordia’s monthly loan payments were ranked as high at $272.44.

Former Lake Region students pay $77.68, considered low. Median monthly loan payments for former students at MSCTC were $109.33, while it was $123.62 for former NDSCS students.

The median monthly payments were based on an interest rate of 6.8 percent and included all federal loans borrowed by a student who graduated or withdrew in 2010-11.

The cost of higher education in North Dakota has skyrocketed in recent years, with total student debt at the Bank of North Dakota alone reaching $1.68 billion at the end of 2012.

Shirvani said the college scorecard data is evidence that UND and NDSU have avoided charging high tuition adopted by other public colleges and universities in the mid-1990s, and he expects the state’s two research universities to keep costs low. (see HERE)

“Given the state’s newfound wealth,” he said, “we would expect both our institutions to steer clear of what has become a national embarrassment with so many low- and middle-income families choosing to opt out of postsecondary educational opportunities due to the high level of debt from borrowing.”

Source : www.inforum.com

American Liberal Education (The Decline and Fall) - Liberal education once stood for something grand Conservatives have complained of this for decades, with little effect. A slew of books over the past 25 years have exposed what goes on in the ivory towers, from Allan Bloom's treatise "The Closing of the American Mind" to Dinesh D'Souza's polemic "Illiberal Education." But none had provided a careful, in-depth study of a single school until the National Association of Scholars (NAS) this week released its 360-page report "What Does Bowdoin Teach?"

and good: the study of the arts, humanities and sciences with the aim of improving the mind through the acquisition of knowledge and the pursuit of truth. But some of America's most elite colleges and universities have all but abandoned this goal. Instead, many selective schools favor the faddish, the politically correct and the dogmatic, all the while proclaiming their devotion to promoting "critical thinking" and tolerance.

Bowdoin College is a small private "liberal arts" school in Brunswick, Maine. Its admissions standards are demanding. Bowdoin accepts fewer than one in five who apply (though the school admits about a third of black and other "underrepresented" applicants to satisfy its commitment to "diversity"). The cost of tuition, room, board and fees for the school's roughly 1,800 students is hefty: $56,128 for the 2012-13 academic year, a sum that exceeds the annual income for half of all American households. (See HERE)

The school was founded in 1802 and boasts a distinguished cast of graduates, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and U.S. President Franklin Pierce. But as the report's authors, Peter Wood and Michael Toscano, demonstrate, Bowdoin is not the school it once was. Nor does it provide the education, I venture, that most parents who send their children there believe they are getting, nor one most donors to the school's nearly $1 billion endowment would approve.

Bowdoin requires all freshmen to take a first-year seminar, which is supposed to provide the gateway to the "critical thinking" skills the college purports to value. Among the 35 courses from which students must pick, easily half are either frivolous or, worse, tendentious exercises in identity politics. The titles alone tell the story: "Fan Fiction and Cult Classics," "Beyond Pocahontas: Native American Stereotypes," "Racism," "Fictions of Freedom," "Sexual Life of Colonialism," "Prostitutes in Modern Western Culture" and "Queer Gardens," to name a few. The latter course "examines the work of gay and lesbian gardeners and traces how marginal identities find expression in specific garden spaces." One can only infer that the college deems such knowledge a necessary building block to every student's intellectual development.

Wood and Toscano do more than catalogue the obvious excesses of the modern academy, however. Wood brings his training as an anthropologist to the examination of campus life and culture, painstakingly researching the college's records, including minutes of academic meetings, to reveal how Bowdoin's mission changed over the past 40 years. In a series of appendices and within the actual report, the authors document the decision-making process that has transformed Bowdoin into the school it is today. (see HERE)

The study also looks at the college's implicit promotion of sexual promiscuity and the "hook-up" culture among students, which begins during first-year orientation. A play called "Speak About It," which all incoming students must attend, includes what its authors say are autobiographical sketches from current and former Bowdoin students. The play depicts graphic on-stage sexual encounters between heterosexual and gay couples -- complete with simulated orgasms. Paradoxically, the Bowdoin community also seems obsessed with preventing sexual assault, which administrators seem to believe is rampant on campus despite the low incidence of reporting alleged attacks.

If Bowdoin were unique in its abandonment of traditional liberal education, this study might be of no more than passing interest. What the authors found at Bowdoin, however, exists to some degree at many if not most elite colleges and universities. This study deserves widespread dissemination and discussion -- first among Bowdoin's alumni, donors and the parents of current and potential students. But anyone interested in the future of higher education in America should take note.

Our colleges and universities shape the next generation of leaders and citizens, for better or worse. And the country's most elite schools will influence disproportionately who we become as a nation and a people in the future. What has happened to Bowdoin College should matter to all of us. Examiner Columnist Linda Chavez is nationally syndicated by Creators Syndicate.

Source : http://washingtonexaminer.com

Is a College Degree Still Worth the Cost for 2013 - Much has been written lately concerning the rising

During the last generation, college costs increased 6.8 percent annually, while medical costs increased by a much more criticized 4.9 percent per year.

Also, state governments require families to pay a higher proportion of the total cost at state universities than they did for the previous generation.

Programs foster Israel education in North America 2013 - An ​"Israel Throughout The Year" The eucalyptus tree tale is just one of the many stories that are the focus of a new curriculum developed by Bar-Ilan University’s Lookstein Center for Jewish Education, with support from Dr. Shmuel and Evelyn Katz from Bal Harbour, Fla. As the 65th Israel Independence Day approaches, JNS.org takes a look at two recently launched programs, the Lookstein Center’s “Israel Throughout The Year” and the Israel Institute in Washington, DC, both of which work to educate and engage scholarship about Israel.

“I think there is a negative prejudice and attitude towards Israel in the press and in the universities,” Rabbi Yonah Fuld, educational director of the Lookstein Center School of Education at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, told JNS.org. Five years ago, the Lookstein Center “set out to create a curriculum” about Israeli history meant to be “charming and

program educational booklet. JNS.org looked at programs fosterin Israel education in North America for Israel Independence Day. Credit: Lookstein Center.

Israeli spy Eli Cohen worked for the Mossad in Syria, he suggested that Syrian soldiers plant eucalyptus trees near army fortifications in the Golan Heights. He told Syrian officials this would make Israel think the area was unfortified and would help Syrian soldiers stationed there survive the heat. Shortly after, he conveyed the locations of the trees to Israeli officials, helping the Israeli army know exactly where the Syrian bunkers were.

Download this story in Microsoft Word format here.

Source : Alina Dain Sharon/JNS.org

Telling Online Learning Benefits the Environment 2013 - Online students have the flexibility to log in

What's more, students save time and energy by taking courses online. Typically, they also realize cost savings associated with commuting, such as bus fare or gasoline, parking, and vehicle wear and tear as well as time away from work, child care and various other expenses. (see HERE)

As Earth Day approaches on April 22, here's something

Source : www.prnewswire.com

Detailed Overview University of Kansas 2013 - Since its founding, the University of Kansas has Nearly 150 years later, KU has become a major public research and teaching institution of 28,000 students and 2,600 faculty on five campuses (Lawrence, Kansas City, Overland Park, Wichita, and Salina). Its diverse elements are united by their mission to educate leaders, build healthy communities, and make discoveries that change the world.

A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities since 1909 (see HERE), KU consistently earns high rankings for its academic

Source : http://www.ku.edu/about

Richard Griffiths Glimpse of History Education - Richard Griffiths has died on Thursday in Coventry, England. He was 65. As a tribute to of his achievement this time I'll tell you about At 2007 Former RSC actor, Richard Griffiths, has been awarded an OBE for his services to drama.

The 65 years old actor, who lives in a small village just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, was born to deaf and mute parents on the 31st July 1947 at Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire. His father was a steel worker, and his mother a so called 'bagger' in a local supermarket.

Griffiths learned sign language as a young child so that he could converse with his parents, at the same

Strategic Approach to Dealing Lith Education Budget Shortfall - Faculty, staff and students at With its draft Letter of Expectation from Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education in hand, the college knows its operating grant will be roughly $40.4 million, down from about $47 million last year.
Lethbridge College got a budget update last week at two town hall meetings.

At the town halls, people wanted to know how the college would balance its budget and whether it would dip into reserves. "We were clear about what our goal is, which is to submit a balanced budget to our board," said Paula Burns, president. The college will not be doing across-the-board cuts but will take a strategic approach to position the college in the new post-secondary reality. Burns said she couldn't yet say whether the budget cuts will mean job losses but that could happen.


Even before the letter arrived, Burns said the college was looking at its strengths and how it meets the need of the economy, both provincially and regionally. Her vision of the college is that it will be a leader in transforming the education system (see HERE).
"We are going to be a big part of the move toward whatever it's going to look like, which is very unclear at this point," she said.
Burns said she wasn't surprised by anything in the letter and added she believes there's plenty of room for consultation and for the college to provide leadership in defining itself and how it contributes to Campus Alberta.
Faculty at Lethbridge College are well aware of the possibility of job losses, even though that has yet to be finalized.
"It's very clear that administration wants to have a fairly collaborative process in which faculty members also contribute ideas to how the college could manage such a massive cut to their operating budget," said Rika Snip, president of the Lethbridge College Faculty Association.
The draft letters of expectation sent to all post-secondary institutions talk about reviewing the programs being offered to build on existing institutional strengths while advancing the Campus Alberta system and offering programs that employers and students want. The letters also talk about reducing program duplication.
"We're a comprehensive community college. As the system moves to creating these specialized centres and trying to reduce duplication they're also going to reduce access for students because there are going to be fewer programs, students are going to have to move. It will be more competitive because there will be fewer programs," Snip said.
Faculty also have concerns about the consequences of the budget cuts.
"It seems to me the government has decided that the professions are all too highly overpaid and particularly college administrators are too highly paid so we can darn well take a cut. What it means, though, is that the cut will be carried by particularly casual faculty and programs that are small," Snip said.
Casual faculty have no collective agreement and program cancellations could lead to further job losses.
"For those who remain the implications suggest that we will have larger classes and that faculty therefore will be forced to figure out ways to manage their workload with a higher student load," she said.
Snip said faculty are feeling generally disappointed in the government that, on the one hand, wants post-secondary institutions to educate people for the workforce and the economy but, on the other, doesn't want to pay for it.
The Lethbridge College Students' Association also came forward with concerns about the Letter of Expectation (see HERE).
"The thing with these mandate letters is once they're signed it gives the government a lot of leeway in making these decisions, possibly to the detriment of students," said Dillon Hargreaves, LCSA president.
The LCSA doesn't support the government's intentions for the post-secondary education system. Hargreaves said the government will be evaluating programs offered and deciding what programs will be offered where. And if students have to leave home anyway Hargreaves predicts they'll head right out of province.
Source : www.lethbridgeherald.com

First Female Hispanic to Chair APCEF - The American College of Prosthodontists announces that its American College of Prosthodontists Education Foundation (ACPEF.) David A. Felton, D.D.S., M.S.D., F.A.C.P., will serve as Vice Chair. Dr. Garcia was confirmed as the new Chair of the Foundation at its February meeting effective immediately, with a term through February 2014.
Immediate Past President Lily T. Garcia, D.D.S., M.S., F.A.C.P, has been confirmed as Chair of the

In addition to serving as Chair ACPEF, Dr. Garcia was appointed Chair-Elect of the Board for American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and is the recipient of the 2012 Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) Women’s Leadership Award. Dr. Garcia is Professor of the Advanced Education and External Affairs in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (see HERE). An accomplished author, Dr. Garcia has published numerous articles and abstracts. She has edited several dental textbooks, served as a reviewer and editorial board member for several scientific journals, and co-authored the text Osseointegration and Occlusal Rehabilitation. Dr. Garcia is a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics and Fellow of the ACP. Dr. Garcia maintains a practice limited to prosthodontics. Dr. Felton is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Prosthodontics.

The ACP is the only prosthodontic specialty organization whose membership is based solely on education credentials. ACP members must be in or have completed an ADA-accredited advanced education program in prosthodontics.

The mission of the ACPEF is to secure and steward resources with the aim of advancing prosthodontics. As a catalytic agent for prosthodontics, the ACPEF provides funding to support education, research and growth of the specialty and discipline of prosthodontics.

The American College of Prosthodontists is the professional association of dentists with advanced specialty training who are the experts in the restoration and replacement of teeth to create optimal oral health, both in function and appearance including dental implants, dentures, veneers, crowns and teeth whitening. To learn more about prosthodontists and prosthodontic procedures or to find a prosthodontist near you visit http://www.gotoapro.org. The ACP is a proud sponsor of the Ad Council’s first oral health campaign in its 70 year history, the Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives. The ACP is committed to educating the public about preventative, proactive simple habits honed early in life.

Source :  http://www.prweb.com/