COMMENTARY

Major Survey Finding: University is Really Expensive

DR. WATSON SCOTT SWAIL President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute

I know it sounds like an Onion piece, but this is the major finding in this week’s release of The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2009 (see the related Chronicle article). Specifically, the Chronicle noted the following:

About two-thirds of freshmen said they were either somewhat or very worried about their ability to finance their college educations. Those citing "some" concerns about money increased about two percentage points, to 55.4 percent, while students citing "major" concerns remained at 11.3 percent, about the same as in 2008. [WSS asks: increase from what?...poor journalistic writing!]

This must be the “duh” statistic of the year, and it’s only January. I don’t mean to knock HERI and UCLA; it’s just the survey finding, nor the Chronicle, who are just reporting. I guess my greatest surprise is that only 11.3 percent of those surveyed thought finance was a major concern, while over half of students had some concern. I would have thought that “major” would have been about 20-25 percent. Still, when 2 of 3 students find READ MORE...

The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. And because so many of them are multitasking — say, surfing the Internet while listening to music — they pack on average nearly 11 hours of media content into that seven and a half hours. This provides support for technology being used as educational tools.
Source: New York Times

Education Secretary's First Year in Office Provides Template for Agency's Direction
Michele McNeil, Education Week
A year ago, Arne Duncan was known as a long-serving urban district chief who had used his collegial management style to push innovation and close failing schools in Chicago. This week, he enters his second year as U.S. secretary of education pursuing a similar national policy agenda that could place him among the most influential leaders in his department’s 30-year history.

Foreign Languages Fade in Class — Except Chinese
Sam Dillon, NY Times
Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a government-financed survey — dismal news for a nation that needs more linguists to conduct its global business and diplomacy. But another contrary trend has educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese.

Obama to Seek $1.35B More for Education
USA Today
President Obama announced Tuesday he'll ask Congress for $1.35 billion to extend an education grant program for states, saying that getting schools right "will shape our future as a nation." Obama outlined the proposal that will be part of his budget request for this year at an elementary school here, where he also held a short discussion with sixth-grade students.

Quality of Questions on Common Tests at Issue
Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week
Most experts in the testing community have presumed that the $350 million promised by the U.S. Department of Education to support common assessments would promote those that made greater use of open-ended items capable of measuring higher-order critical-thinking skills. But as measurement experts consider the multitude of possibilities for an assessment system based more heavily on such questions, they also are beginning to reflect on practical obstacles to doing so.

School Adds Weeding to Reading and Writing
Kim Severson, NY Times
This summer, supporters will tear up a quarter-acre of asphalt parking lot and start building the first New York affiliate of the Edible Schoolyard program, developed by the restaurateur Alice Waters. It’s a $1.6-million architect’s dream. A new building, powered by the sun, will hold a kitchen classroom with communal tables where children can share meals they make from food they grow in the garden.

Group Urges Improved Value, Breadth of College Degrees
Mary Beth Marklein, USA Today
In all the recent talk about boosting the number of Americans with college degrees, some worry that an essential element has been missing: whether the degree has value. On Wednesday, a national association of colleges called for a "far-reaching national commitment" to improve "the breadth, level and quality of students' actual learning."

Never Too Late
Chicago Tribune
The reasons why an adult goes back to school are as diverse as the individuals themselves. Some students are setting foot in college for the first time. Others seek to complete the degree they abandoned or add another degree. Several area universities reach out to this wide-ranging population meeting their needs and upholding their dreams.

Annual Poll of Freshmen Shows Effect of Recession
Kate Zernike, NY Times
The recession hit this year’s college freshmen hard, affecting how they chose a school as well as their ability to pay for it, according to an annual nationwide survey released Thursday. Over all, students were more likely than previous freshmen to have a parent who was unemployed and less likely to have found a job that might help pay for college.

'Desperate' UC Students Scurry to Snag Key Classes
 Larry Gordon, LA Times
For the current term, 500 students are enrolled in Professor Athanassakis' Greek mythology course, filling the lecture hall to capacity. And 300 others have tried to land a spot on the roster. Recent state funding cuts have translated to reductions in undergraduate course offerings, sending students scurrying for classes that fulfill various requirements. Athanassakis said it's "the most desperate" start to a winter quarter that he can recall in 41 years of teaching at UC Santa Barbara.

A Degree Closer
Chicago Tribune
Residents of the northern Chicago suburbs don't have to travel downtown or move to a far-flung location to attend top Illinois colleges and universities, thanks to the University Center of Lake County. As a consortium of institutions, the University Center hosts classes from 18 schools. Students can choose from more than 90 programs and can finish their bachelor's degree, earn a graduate degree, or pursue professional development.

Record Applicants Accepted at UK Universities in 2009
Gary Eason, BBC News
More students than ever before were accepted for UK university courses in 2009 - but higher demand meant applicants' chance of a place fell. There were 481,854 accepted applicants in 2009, 25,227 more than the previous year - an increase of 5.5% overall. But the number of applicants had been 8.7% higher. The rate of acceptance fell from 78% to 75%.

Ontario Schools to Be Junk-Food-Free in 2011
Don Lajoie and Tony Spears, Ottawa Citizen
Ontario students will no longer be able to buy candy, chocolate, pop, fries and energy drinks on school property, starting in September 2011, the provincial government announced Wednesday.

Fewer Schools Hit Language Target
BBC News
Fewer secondary schools in England are meeting a government target on pupils taking a GCSE in a modern foreign language. Ministers want schools to have "between 50% and 90%" of pupils taking a modern foreign language at GCSE. But a survey for The National Centre for Languages (Cilt) suggests only 40% of state schools meet this target - and that the trend is downwards.

Changing Race Relations in the U.S.
Winnipeg Sun
MSNBC held a forum on the Obama presidency and race relations Monday night at Texas Southern University, a historically black college. Hardball host Chris Matthews hosted the event with black morning radio legend Tom Joyner. Panels in the two-hour live broadcast dealt with the parade of flashpoints from the past year, from the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest to the "negro dialect" debate to larger issues of cultural integration, affirmative action and education.

Teachers Vote to Boycott School Tests
Emma Rodgers, ABC News- Australia
Public school teachers at an Australian Education Union meeting have voted unanimously to boycott national literacy and numeracy tests unless the Government changes its plans to publish the results online. But Education Minister Julia Gillard is refusing to back away from the Government's plans and has not ruled out taking action against the union under industrial relations laws if it bans the tests.

Interventions to Support Readiness, Recruitment, Access, Transition, and Retention for Postsecondary Education Success: An Equity of Opportunity Policy and Practice Analysis
Recognition is growing about the public health and civil rights imperative for reducing the high rate of school dropouts. However, too little policy attention is paid to enhancing equity of opportunity for those transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood by increasing enrollment and success in postsecondary education. Given concerns about diversity and the degree to which some subgroups are underrepresented in postsecondary education, the report stresses that it is essential to use the lenses of equity of opportunity and social justice in rethinking postsecondary education policies and practices. Using these lenses, the report focuses on interventions for improving K-12 in ways that reduce dropouts and improve readiness for postsecondary education, programs for bolstering recruitment and access, and efforts to facilitate transition and retention; recommendations for a shift in policy to enhance equity of opportunity are offered.

American Association of State Colleges and Universities: Top Ten State Higher Education Policy Issues for 2010
For the second year in a row, the ongoing fiscal crisis is the number one higher education policy issue facing the states, according to the most recent “Policy Matters” brief from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010” also identifies President Obama’s “American Graduation Initiative,” which seeks to position the U.S. as the country with the most college graduates by 2020, and the growing importance of veterans education in the wake of the “New GI Bill” as other issues of interest to states in the coming year. The brief concludes that the continuing economic downturn will force state policymakers to further increase their focus on college access, affordability, and accountability throughout 2010.