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commentary
Myths on College Costs and Prices? I Don't Think So...
Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute/EPI International
Earlier today, Elyse Ashburn of The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote about the cost of higher education in her piece, News Analysis: Higher-Education Misperceptions, Myths, and the Media. In the article, Ms. Ashburn discusses recent findings from Jane Wellman’s group, the Delta Project.
Contrary to perhaps the point of her article, I argue that the reality is this: the “cost” and “price” of the US postsecondary system (and this pertains to Canada, too) is simply out of hand, if not out of touch. It has become too costly a service for what students are now getting in return. From an ROI perspective, a BA is not nearly worth what it was 25 years ago, for many reasons, including a flood of BA and other recipients and participants in the market (from a purely economic perspective, this runs true). In the article Ms. Ashburn uses the example of MIT and Black Hills State University, whereas in a recently Bloomberg Businessweek article MIT was the best investment and Black Hills the worst. READ MORE...
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STATISTIC OF THE WEEK
Just over 1,112,300 students were enrolled in Canadian universities during the academic year 2008/2009, up 3.7% from the previous year. This increase was due mainly to the attribution of university status to five colleges in British Columbia. If there had been no changes in the number of universities surveyed between 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, the growth in enrolments would have been 0.7%. Of the 1,112,370 students enrolled in 2008/2009, 57.6% were women and 42.4% were men. The proportion of female students was virtually unchanged from 2007/2008. Full-time university enrolment rose 4.0% to 828,216 in 2008/2009 while part-time university enrolment increased 2.9% to 284,154.
Source: Statistics Canada
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THE NEWS
ACADEMIC PREPARATION
Summer school a hot subject for Edmonton students
By Thandiwe Vela, Edmonton Journal
Edmonton public and Catholic school districts are experiencing a spike in summer school enrolment in part because of a job shortage. Plus, the stigma that summer school is only for students who have failed is no longer felt, Harry Ainlay summer school student Liban Aden, 15, said. Career and Life Management, a required course, is one of the most popular summer school courses because it's one of the least popular courses overall, Louis St-Laurent summer school student Tarika Pather said. "Now I won't have to take it the whole semester," Pather said, happy she will have more room on her schedule next school year to explore other courses. Catholic summer school enrolment jumped to almost 2,400 this year from 1,600 students in 2008, Edmonton Catholic Schools assistant superintendent Rick Dombrosky said.
Few Toronto Catholic schools accept non-status students
By Nicholas Keung, The Toronto Star
Only one in seven Toronto Catholic schools will take in children of illegal migrants, despite an Ontario law that mandates them to accept students regardless of immigration status, a new study has found. According to the study released Wednesday by Social Planning Toronto, only 31 of the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s 201 schools said they would enroll children who lack status. While 57 or 28.4 per cent of the schools completely denied admission for non-status children, 113 or 56.2 per cent said they did not know whether these kids could be registered in the school system.
Keep kids career expectations realistic
By Misty Harris, CanWest News Service
Encouraging kids to follow their dreams is great, if they want to be a dentist or a veterinarian. But what if they expect to be the next Justin Bieber? Although youths overwhelmingly say they picture themselves attending college, a new study finds only those focused on careers requiring post-secondary education actually put in the work to do so. The other half -- and it was indeed about a 50-50 split -- envision becoming sports stars, famous athletes or entertainers, which was linked to poor grades and less time spent on homework. Fortunately, researchers uncovered something that trumped even the grandest of YouTube success expectations: money.
POSTSECONDARY ACCESS & SUCCESS
Durham College “GPS” helps students navigate through first year
By Academica’s Top Ten Daily News
Durham College has launched a new portal called "Get Prepared for Success" (GPS), through which first-year students can virtually navigate through campus services and complete their college business, such as paying tuition, booking a locker, and registering for courses. Through the microsite, students can take a virtual tour of the campus, get in contact with current students, and schedule an in-person GPS Live session. The portal is one of 2 new microsites developed by the college. The other, called "Building for our Future," documents the ongoing construction and expansion taking place at the Oshawa and Whitby campuses.
Accueil Plus: A new service reduces waiting time for international students at Montréal-Trudeau Airport
By Conference of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities (CREPUQ)
From May 17 to September 6, 2010, international students who are registered at a Québec college or university will be able to use the new Accueil Plus Service. The service combines online registration with personal arrival assistance and will simplify customs processing at Montréal-Trudeau airport, especially for students who need to receive a Canadian study permit when they arrive. Accueil Plus is an extension of the Montreal airport reception program for international students and has been coordinated by the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities (CREPUQ) in partnership with the Conférence régionale des élus de Montréal (CRÉ Montréal) since 2008.
Canada’s government encourages young Canadians to discover careers in Science and Engineering
By Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada News Release
Young Canadians will have greater opportunities to learn about science and engineering, thanks to a new federal investment. Speaking at Science Alive at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced funding for 51 organizations across Canada to encourage the next generation of young scientists and engineers to learn about subjects such as robot programming, environmental science and renewable energy. Over $3 million will be invested through the PromoScience program administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Academic outcomes of study abroad
By Elizabeth Redden, InsideHigherEd
In 2000, researchers began an ambitious effort to document the academic outcomes of study abroad across the 35-institution University System of Georgia. Ten years later, they’ve found that students who study abroad have improved academic performance upon returning to their home campus, higher graduation rates, and improved knowledge of cultural practices and context compared to students in control groups. They’ve also found that studying abroad helps, rather than hinders, academic performance of at-risk students.
Social sciences: 2010 World report observes growth in emerging countries
By UNESCO Media Services
According to the study, North America and Europe still publish 75% of social science journals worldwide, with 85% of them partially or totally in English. A quarter of them are published in the United States. The disciplines that are the subject of greatest number of publications in the world are economics and psychology. Two-thirds of social science journals in the world are published in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany. The UNESCO and ISSC report highlights contrasting developments in the different regions of the world. Social sciences are developing in countries such as China, India and Brazil.
Skills shortage a danger
By Guy Healy, The Australian
Skills shortages in key professions and vocations have escalated so that they now present a "high to extreme" risk of impeding business operations this year. This is the finding of a survey of 400 companies by the Australian Industry Group. AIG chief executive Heather Ridout said business was "hugely frustrated" that half the respondents cited a lack of both the specialised and underpinning skills and experience in applicants as causing the shortages. Presented with the considerable graduate numbers this week, the AIG said it stood by its claims, saying a qualification did not necessarily equate to a job.
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upcoming epi events
HACU/EPI Student Retention Workshop, September 21, 2010, San Diego, CA
AACRAO 20th Annual Strategic Enrollment Management Conference, in partnership with the Educational Policy Institute, November 7-10, 2010
Nashville, TN
RETENTION 101 & 201, December 6-8, 2010, Dallas, TX
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