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COMMENTARY
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The Winning Attitude
June 11, 2010
WATSON SCOTT SWAIL, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute
I write today's commentary from Chicago, Illinois, where we are in the final day of our International Conference on Student Success, or RETENTION 2010. Thus, no more emails for another six months about this event. You must be relieved (Retention 101 coming up, though!).
More significant, perhaps, is that our host city is in the midst of a celebration after winning the Stanley Cup after a 49-year drought. The city just held a ticker-tape parade this morning and a few of us missed a conference session or two to watch the procession.
As a hockey fan, it was fun being here in Chicago for game 6 when the Blackhawks won the Cup two nights ago. There are many connections between my hometown of Winnipeg and Chicago. Twenty-two year-old phenom Jonathan Toews, a Winnipegger, led his team to Victory. And former Blackhawk and Winnipeg Jet Bobby Hull, who, as a 21-year old, led the Hawks to their last win in 1961, is taking it all in. READ MORE...
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| STATISTIC OF THE WEEK |
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The estimated total charitable contributions from American individuals, corporations and foundations fell to $303.75 billion in 2009, down from a revised total of $315.08 billion for 2008. Giving to education declined to an estimated $40.01 billion, a drop of 3.6 percent in 2009 (-3.2 percent adjusted for inflation). This is the second consecutive year that giving to education has declined.
Source: Giving USA Foundation
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THE NEWS
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ACADEMIC PREPARATION
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Ohio OKs standards in math, English
By Catherine Candisky, The Columbus Dispatcher
Ohio has become the seventh state to adopt common academic standards spelling out what students should know in mathematics and English-language arts to ensure they are ready for college and a career. The Ohio Board of Education voted unanimously at its monthly meeting yesterday in Columbus to use the grade-by-grade guidelines. Ohio was among 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia working together for the past year to develop Common Core State Standards.
Group seeks to improve college credit system
By Bob Moen, The Associated Press
A broad-based education group is working to bring uniformity to the college credits that Wyoming high schoolers can earn. The group consists of some 35 state and local educators, lawmakers, school administrators, and parent and student representatives. They met Monday to begin fashioning proposed guidelines that seek to make college credit more accessible and equitable to high school students across the state. Currently, Wyoming's seven community colleges have separate agreements with high schools around the state to provide classes that count for college credits. As a result, there's disparity among high schools in the quality and accessibility of college credits that students can earn.
Pennsylvania to test high school graduation in as little as 2 years
By Daveen Rae Kurutz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Starting in fall 2012, Pennsylvania will become a testing ground for the National Center on Education and the Economy, a Washington-based nonprofit that advocates allowing students to graduate from high school in as few as two years if they want to. The state Department of Education is seeking school districts to participate. Student volunteers would earn high school diplomas in two years, using accelerated curriculum the state chooses. Center President Marc Tucker said many students become bored in high school and want to move at a quicker pace or find challenges. He wants to speed up the four-year course to graduation and enable students to graduate when they're ready to tackle college-level work.
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| POST SECONDARY ACCESS SUCCESS |
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For community-college students who struggle with arithmetic, some solutions
By Elizabeth Redden, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Today's lesson is how to add mixed numbers: 6 2/13 + 8 7/26. "Is anyone still having difficulty finding the least common denominator?" the instructor, Robert Fusco, asks. One student raises her hand and asks for help. "I've never seen this before," she tells Mr. Fusco. For many students, this is where community college begins—in a remedial arithmetic class, reviewing mathematics concepts they learned, or should have learned, before they graduated from high school. Nationally, about 60 percent of all community college students enroll in at least one remedial course in English or math, where they can get stuck studying elementary- and middle-school-level concepts.
Colleges extend the welcome mat to students’ pets
By Jacques Steinberg, The New York Times
Ms. Allison Frisch is one of 30 incoming freshmen at Stephens College who have asked to bring a family pet to campus when they arrive this fall. That represents an increase of 20 over last year’s freshman class. With these efforts, Stephens is hoping to smooth the transition of some students who may be so anxious about leaving home or adjusting to college life that a stuffed animal will not be of sufficient comfort. Stephens joins a growing number of colleges putting out a welcome mat for pets. They include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the State University of New York at Canton, which allow cats in some dorm rooms; and Eckerd College in South Florida and Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania.
Movement aims to foster college-going culture
By Melissa Ludwig, The Texas Express-News
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Monday announced the rollout of a $3 million grass-roots movement and marketing campaign to create a college-going culture throughout Texas, starting with San Antonio and Fort Worth. Called Generation TX, the movement aims to build support for the idea that every student, regardless of income or background, should pursue education beyond high school. On a practical level, it bales together various college-going programs, giving families one focal point for information about college and work force readiness standards, admissions and financial aid.
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| INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
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Careers-guidance statements demanded as Willetts unveils choice agenda
By Simon Baker, The Times Higher Education
Every university will be asked to state how they prepare students for the world of work by David Willetts' opening salvo to improve transparency in the sector. The Higher Education Funding Council for England is to write to institutions asking them to produce Graduate Employability Statements explaining how they support students in areas such as careers guidance and work placements, the universities minister announced. Mr Willetts said it was the coalition government's first move to help students make more informed decisions about their choice of university, and said he hoped to announce further measures in the months ahead.
Report warns of research shortfall
By Guy Healy, The Australian
China and India are attracting greater numbers of the world's top researchers, making it increasingly difficult for Australia to counter a looming researcher shortfall, the federal government has been warned. Allen Consulting, in a report to the government, says Australia will find it increasingly difficult to attract researchers from these countries as their economies continue to expand and funds flow into their domestic innovation systems. The report, titled Employer Demand for Researchers in Australia, comes to this stark conclusion after receiving advice from 72 survey respondents, including the University of Sydney, Queensland University of Technology and the CSIRO.
Students at Canadian university get extensive real-world experience
By Karen Birchard, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Every four months thousands of University of Waterloo students leave their classrooms for offices, factories, and hospitals, supplementing their university education with real-world professional experience. The unusual combination is known as a cooperative program, and while the idea for it originated decades ago in America, it has blossomed at Canada's Waterloo. Waterloo, in Ontario, operates what it believes is the largest co-op in the world, with more than 13,000 students enrolled in it. And Waterloo's program is increasingly attracting international students, along with a growing number of marquee global companies, like Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, and Google.
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| REPORTS WORTH READING |
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A Portrait of Low-Income Young Adults in Education
This brief by the Institute for Higher Education Policy takes a broad look at low-income young adults in an effort to contribute to the national discussion on improving degree completion by increasing participation among all disadvantaged populations—especially those who attempt to succeed in postsecondary settings under financial stress. Understanding the linkages between low-income young adults’ involvement in postsecondary education and their transition to the labor market is critical to improving the additive value of these experiences.
Graduation by the Numbers: Putting Data to Work for Student Success
A new national report from Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center finds that the nation’s graduation rate has dropped for the second consecutive year, following a decade of mostly solid improvements. Although the latest decrease is considerably smaller than that found the previous year, the report shows that, on a national scale, 11,000 fewer students will earn diplomas. These new findings raise cause for concern, as those who fail to finish high school will face far greater hardships than their graduating peers, particularly during a period of economic instability.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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RETENTION 2010, International Conference on Student Success, June 9-11, 2010, Chicago, IL
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