It’s been a busy couple of weeks
for EWA Summer School, our webinar series designed to help
education reporters sharpen their skills, deepen their knowledge,
and develop story ideas. If you missed out on the webinars the
first time around, you can catch the replays:
More students are earning high school diplomas – but the diplomas
don’t mean those students are ready to succeed in college.
Nicholas Donohue, president and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education
Foundation, made that observation as he began to argue for a
dramatic rethinking of the way schools measure learning, promote
students and award diplomas. He made the argument during a “Deep
Dive on Competency-Based Education and Student-Centered Learning” at
EWA’s National Seminar in Nashville in May.
The summer slide doesn’t just pertain to flagging academic skills
while kids soak in the sun and skip the books. Increasingly, even
as math and literacy fall by the wayside, high school students
are losing out on access to summer wages.
In the wake of the 2008 recession, college cost and affordability
have become increasingly hot topics. As tuition prices have
continued to rise well above the pace of inflation — with no
accompanying growth in family incomes — the issue of access for
low- and middle-income students has received more attention, to
the extent that, in January, President Obama held a White House
summit to press college leaders to do more for the poorest
students.
Competitive colleges in the U.S.
have an image problem: By many accounts, their student bodies are
much whiter and richer than the general population. Over at The
Hechinger Report, Jamaal Abdul-Alim
reports on a program aimed at steering academically
high-flying low-income and minority students to the nation’s
top-ranked universities.
Dave Breitenstein of The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press for EWA
The main purpose of college is to transfer knowledge to students,
but that requires getting them to the classroom… and actually
keeping them there until graduation. Nationwide, less than 60
percent of college students complete a bachelor’s degree within
six years.
Starbucks made a splash Monday when the company announced plans
to pay tuition for its employees to take online classes from
Arizona State University.
Employees who are admitted as juniors or seniors will receive
full tuition scholarships, those with less will receive partial
scholarships.
To qualify, employees must work at least 20 hours a week and
qualify to be admitted to Arizona State.
While the program is not explicitly designated as benefitting
minorities, it is clear that many of those Starbucks employees
who stand to benefit are Latino.
State governments increasingly are tying money for
higher-education institutions to performance-based outcomes such
as graduation rates, rather than just student enrollment.
Twenty-five states now have some sort of performance-based model
and four others are planning to follow. But there are still major
questions about how schools respond to these models and what
outcomes they have. Those issues were the focus of a panel
discussion at EWA’s 67th National Seminar, held last month at
Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
A panel discussion at EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt
University proved that fervor has not dimmed in the debates over
affirmative action and the related issue of whether quotas limit
Asian-American enrollment in the Ivy League.
It’s well known that obtaining a college degree can give
graduates a leg up financially over their lifetime, but it turns
out that a person’s overall well-being after commencement has
little to do with the type of institution attended.
Follow-Up Friday: Get Up To Speed With EWA Webinars
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for EWA Summer School, our webinar series designed to help education reporters sharpen their skills, deepen their knowledge, and develop story ideas. If you missed out on the webinars the first time around, you can catch the replays:
How Are Competency-Based Education and Student-Centered Learning Changing Schools?
More students are earning high school diplomas – but the diplomas don’t mean those students are ready to succeed in college.
Nicholas Donohue, president and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, made that observation as he began to argue for a dramatic rethinking of the way schools measure learning, promote students and award diplomas. He made the argument during a “Deep Dive on Competency-Based Education and Student-Centered Learning” at EWA’s National Seminar in Nashville in May.
The Summer Jobs Slide
The summer slide doesn’t just pertain to flagging academic skills while kids soak in the sun and skip the books. Increasingly, even as math and literacy fall by the wayside, high school students are losing out on access to summer wages.
Report: “Tough Love” Standards Should be Applied to Colleges
Low-income students are more likely to attend colleges and universities that do the poorest job of producing graduates.
And on the other end of the spectrum, many elite higher education institutions are doing little to enroll poor students.
A new report from the advocacy group The Education Trust entitled “Tough Love: Bottom-Line Quality Standards for Colleges,” suggests that the government should impose quality standards on both sorts of institutions.
‘Tuition Tracker’ Shows Real Price Tags For College
In the wake of the 2008 recession, college cost and affordability have become increasingly hot topics. As tuition prices have continued to rise well above the pace of inflation — with no accompanying growth in family incomes — the issue of access for low- and middle-income students has received more attention, to the extent that, in January, President Obama held a White House summit to press college leaders to do more for the poorest students.
In High Schools, Overcoming ‘Undermatching’
Competitive colleges in the U.S. have an image problem: By many accounts, their student bodies are much whiter and richer than the general population. Over at The Hechinger Report, Jamaal Abdul-Alim reports on a program aimed at steering academically high-flying low-income and minority students to the nation’s top-ranked universities.
New Center Will Track Hispanic-Serving Institutions
A new online resource center called the Hispanic SERVING Institutions Center for Policy and Practice will track information on the so called “HSIs.”
New Coach on Campus: Student Success and Support in Higher Ed
The main purpose of college is to transfer knowledge to students, but that requires getting them to the classroom… and actually keeping them there until graduation. Nationwide, less than 60 percent of college students complete a bachelor’s degree within six years.
How Will Starbucks Tuition Program Impact Latinos?
Starbucks made a splash Monday when the company announced plans to pay tuition for its employees to take online classes from Arizona State University.
Employees who are admitted as juniors or seniors will receive full tuition scholarships, those with less will receive partial scholarships.
To qualify, employees must work at least 20 hours a week and qualify to be admitted to Arizona State.
While the program is not explicitly designated as benefitting minorities, it is clear that many of those Starbucks employees who stand to benefit are Latino.
Performance-Based Funding: Do the Numbers Add Up?
State governments increasingly are tying money for higher-education institutions to performance-based outcomes such as graduation rates, rather than just student enrollment. Twenty-five states now have some sort of performance-based model and four others are planning to follow. But there are still major questions about how schools respond to these models and what outcomes they have. Those issues were the focus of a panel discussion at EWA’s 67th National Seminar, held last month at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Does Affirmative Action Hurt Asian-American Students?
A panel discussion at EWA’s 67th National Seminar at Vanderbilt University proved that fervor has not dimmed in the debates over affirmative action and the related issue of whether quotas limit Asian-American enrollment in the Ivy League.
Higher Ed: How Satisfied Are College Graduates?
It’s well known that obtaining a college degree can give graduates a leg up financially over their lifetime, but it turns out that a person’s overall well-being after commencement has little to do with the type of institution attended.